From unearned chesed to earned righteousness

אלה פסל את הראשונים.

"These" (eleh) disqualifies what came before (Bereishis Rabbah on "eleh toldos Noach").

Chazal note that the word "eleh" ("these") sets apart and supersedes the generations that preceded Noach.

דמקודם הי' כל ההנהגה רק בחסד עליון בלבד.

For beforehand, all of the conduct [of the world] was solely through supernal chesed (kindness).

Before Noach, the world was sustained purely by Hashem's free, unearned kindness.

ומנח התחיל להיות בחי' צדיק פרי מעלליהם יאכלו.

And from Noach there began the aspect of the tzaddik: "they shall eat the fruit of their deeds" (Yeshayahu 3:10).

With Noach a new mode emerged — that of the tzaddik, who receives reward earned by his own actions, "eating the fruit" of what he himself produces.

וכיון שהי' ע"י התעוררות התחתונים נתקיים לעד יותר מבחי' שהי' מקודם.

And since it came about through the arousal of those below (is'arusa de-letata), it endures more permanently than the aspect that preceded it.

Because this flow was awakened by human effort from below, it is more lasting than the earlier pure-chesed bestowal that came unearned from above.

וזה להודיע כי מה שעשה השי"ת להיות השפעה לפי מעשי התחתונים לטובה הוא.

And this is to make known that what Hashem did — that influence (hashpa'ah) should come according to the deeds of those below — is for the good.

Hashem arranged that blessing be drawn down in response to human deeds precisely because this is to our benefit.

שעי"ז מתקיים לעד כענין אשה מזרעת תחלה יולדת זכר.

For through this it endures permanently, like the matter of "when the woman emits seed first, she bears a male" (Berachos 60a).

When the initiative comes from below — as in the teaching that the wife's initiative yields a son — the result is stronger and more enduring; so too blessing earned by human effort lasts.

וז"ש אלה תולדות נח כו' צדיק.

And this is the meaning of "These are the generations of Noach... a tzaddik" (Bereishis 6:9).

The verse links Noach's "generations" with his being a tzaddik — the lasting fruits flow specifically from his righteous deeds.

עי"ז נתקיים יותר.

Through this it endures more.

Because Noach's blessing was earned through his own righteousness, it has greater permanence.

וכ' מי נח זאת לי ועמדו רבותינו ז"ל שנק' מי נח.

And it is written, "the waters of Noach (mei Noach), this is to Me" (Yeshayahu 54:9), and our Rabbis, of blessed memory, dwelled upon why the flood is called "the waters of Noach."

The prophet calls the flood "the waters of Noach," and Chazal probed why the catastrophe is named after the righteous Noach himself.

והענין כנ"ל שע"י שנח התחיל להרויח שכרו עפ"י מעשיו ממילא עי"ז נגמר דינם של הרשעים ונסתלק בחי' הראשונה שהי' בדור הקודם.

And the matter is as above: that because Noach began to earn his reward according to his deeds, automatically through this the judgment of the wicked was sealed, and the earlier aspect [of pure chesed] that existed in the previous generation was removed.

Once reward came to depend on deeds, the wicked could no longer coast on unearned chesed; their judgment was thereby sealed, and the prior era of pure kindness ended. In that sense the flood is "Noach's," for his new mode of earned reward brought it about.

וז"ש במדרש יכתירו בי צדיקים שממנו התחיל בחי' צדיק כנ"ל.

And this is what the Midrash says, "the tzaddikim shall crown [themselves] through Me" — for from him began the aspect of the tzaddik, as above.

The Midrash sees Noach as the starting point of the "tzaddik" category through which the righteous now relate to Hashem by earned merit.

[ולכן הותר להם מאכל בע"ח כי מקודם שהי' רק חסד ה'.

[And therefore the eating of animals (ba'alei chayim) was permitted to them — for beforehand, when it was only the chesed of Hashem.]

The Sefas Emes connects this to the new permission, after the flood, to eat meat: earlier, when everything ran on pure divine kindness, man had no earned standing above the animals.

וזה אדם ובהמה תושיע כו' ואחר כך שהאדם עושה פעולת אמת להרויח בצדקו ממילא מתעלה על הבעלי חיים.

And this is "man and beast You save" (Tehillim 36:7) — but afterward, when man performs a deed of truth to earn through his righteousness, automatically he is elevated above the animals.

In the earlier era man and beast were sustained alike by chesed. Once man earns his standing through genuine righteous action, he rises above the animal, which is why he was now permitted to eat it.

ואחר כך בחי' אברהם אבינו ע"ה הוא חסיד לפנים משורת הדין שהרי נתנסה וביטל כל הטבע.

And afterward [came] the aspect of Avraham Avinu, who is a chassid, [acting] within the line of the law (lifnim mi-shuras ha-din) — for he was tested and nullified all of nature.

Beyond Noach the tzaddik comes Avraham the chassid, who through his nisyonos transcended nature entirely, going beyond the strict requirement of the law.

ולכך הוא המשיך בחי' חסד על כל הברואים גם על החוטאים.

And therefore he drew down the aspect of chesed upon all creatures, even upon sinners.

Because Avraham rose above the measured "earned reward" of the tzaddik, he could draw an overflowing chesed even onto the undeserving.

ובודאי כמו שנוהג הסדר בפרט כן בכלל וזה נוהג בכל עובד ה' שמתחלה השם יתברך מדריכו בחסדו בלבד אחר כך צריך לישר מעשיו עפ"י המשפט אח"כ צריך למסור נפשו ומאודו לה'.

And surely, just as the order operates in the individual, so it operates in the collective; and this applies to every servant of Hashem: that at first Hashem guides him with His chesed alone, afterward he must straighten his deeds according to the law (mishpat), and afterward he must give over his soul and all his being to Hashem.

This three-stage progression — unearned chesed, then disciplined righteousness, then total self-sacrifice — unfolds both in history and within every individual's avodah.

וכן הי' סדר הדורות דור המבול והפלגה הי' רק פסולת הערלה ודור הפלגה בחי' הפריעה שאין מסירין כל העור רק מפרידין ומבדילין אותו:

And so was the order of the generations: the generation of the flood and [that] of the dispersion were merely the "refuse of the orlah" (the foreskin); the generation of the dispersion was the aspect of the periah, where one does not remove all the skin but only separates and divides it.

Using the imagery of milah, the Sefas Emes casts these corrupt generations as the "foreskin" being removed: the flood generation was the coarse orlah cut away entirely, while the dispersion generation corresponded to periah — the finer membrane only peeled back and separated, a further stage of refinement in history.

Summary: The word "eleh" marks that before Noach the world ran on pure supernal chesed, but with Noach began the mode of the tzaddik who "eats the fruit of his deeds" — blessing drawn down by human effort, which therefore endures more (like is'arusa de-letata). This is why the flood is "the waters of Noach": his new mode of earned reward sealed the wicked's judgment and ended the era of unearned chesed, and is also why man, now elevated by righteous action, was permitted meat. Beyond the tzaddik stands Avraham the chassid, who through nisyonos transcended nature and drew chesed even onto sinners. This three-stage pattern — chesed, mishpat, then total self-sacrifice — governs both history (flood = orlah, dispersion = periah) and every individual's avodah.