Holy speech released from exile

במדרש בפסוק וידבר אלקים אל נח צא מן התיבה הוציאה ממסגר נפשי כו'.

In the Midrash, on the pasuk "And Elokim spoke (vayedaber) to Noach: Go out from the teivah" (Bereishis 8:15-16): "Bring my soul out of confinement" (Tehillim 142:8), etc.

The Midrash links Hashem's command to leave the ark with the verse "bring my soul out of confinement," hinting that something had been "imprisoned" until this point — which the Sefas Emes will identify as the power of dibbur (speech).

דהנה מתחלת בראשית עד עתה לא מצינו דיבור.

For behold, from the beginning of Bereishis until now we do not find [the term] "dibbur" (speaking).

The Torah uses "vayomer" (said) earlier, but the word "vayedaber" (spoke) appears here for the first time — signaling that the koach of dibbur was not yet revealed.

שהדיבור הי' בגלות כמ"ש בזוה"ק ביציאת מצרים שהי' הדיבור בגלות עד דכתיב וידבר אלקים עשרת הדברות כן בזמן אדם ונח ע"י החטא לא הי' נגלה הדיבור ולכן לא התפלל נח על דורו כי כח הדיבור הי' סגור עד שבא אברהם ושרי צלותין כמ"ש בזוה"ק בהיכלות ע"ש.

For dibbur was in galus, as the Zohar HaKadosh says regarding yetzias Mitzrayim, that the dibbur was in exile until it is written "and Elokim spoke (vayedaber) the Ten Commandments"; so too in the era of Adam and Noach, on account of the cheit (sin) the dibbur was not revealed — and therefore Noach did not daven for his generation, because the power of speech was locked up, until Avraham came and "began to pray" (sharei tzelosin), as the Zohar HaKadosh says in [Parshas] Heichalos; see there.

The Zohar teaches that the power of holy speech itself was in "exile" — locked away by sin from the time of Adam — and only fully emerged at Matan Torah with "vayedaber." This explains why Noach, unlike Avraham, did not pray for his generation: the koach hadibbur of tefillah was still sealed, and it was Avraham who first opened the gate of prayer.

ולכן ב' אלפים תורה התחילו מאברהם וכאן הי' שורש התחלת התגלות הדיבור.

Therefore the "two thousand years of Torah" began from Avraham, and here [at Noach's leaving the ark] was the root of the beginning of the revelation of dibbur.

The era of Torah is counted from Avraham because he opened the channel of holy speech; yet its very root began here, when Hashem "spoke" (vayedaber) to Noach as he left the teivah.

בי יכתירו צדיקים שזה הי' כתר וראש להתגלות דיבור תורה ותפלה לצדיקים.

"In me the tzaddikim shall crown themselves" (cf. Tehillim 142:8) — for this was the crown (kesser) and the head of the revelation of the dibbur of Torah and tefillah for the tzaddikim.

This first emergence of holy speech is the "crown" and beginning of the dibbur of Torah and prayer that tzaddikim would later draw upon — completing the Midrash's verse "in me the tzaddikim shall crown themselves."

ואיתא נח הי' צריך סעד לתמכו כי תיקון העולם בא כסדר כמו שמצינו בחטא האדם שהי' בו רק ידיעת טו"ר שהי' רובו טוב רק שהרגיש קצת ידיעת הרע ואח"כ רבה רעת האדם שנעשו רוב רע.

And it is brought that Noach "needed support to uphold him" (Rashi, Bereishis 6:9), because the tikkun (rectification) of the world comes in order (step by step), just as we find regarding the sin of Adam, that it brought into him only the "knowledge of good and evil" (daas tov va-ra), in which he was mostly good and only sensed a little knowledge of evil — and afterward "the evil of man increased" until they became mostly evil.

Rashi notes Noach needed "support" to sustain his righteousness. The Sefas Emes explains that the world's repair unfolds gradually, in stages — mirroring the descent: after the eitz hadaas, Adam was still mostly good with only a trace of evil, and only over generations did evil grow to dominate mankind.

אח"כ יצר מחשבות כו' רק רע.

Afterward, "the inclination of the thoughts [of his heart was] only evil" (Bereishis 6:5).

By the generation of the Flood the deterioration had reached its lowest point — the thoughts of man's heart were entirely evil all day long.

וכמו כן ניתקן אח"כ העולם שנח הי' רובו טוב ונק' צדיק וכ' אין צדיק בארץ כו' ולא יחטא לכן הי' צריך סעד.

And likewise the world was rectified afterward in stages: Noach was mostly good and is called a tzaddik, yet it is written "there is no tzaddik on earth who does [only] good and does not sin" (Koheles 7:20) — therefore he needed support.

The repair, too, came gradually: Noach reached the level of being "mostly good," earning the title tzaddik, but since no person is wholly without sin, his good was not yet complete, and so he required Divine "support" to sustain it.

ובזה הסעד התהלך נח את האלקים שהי' מחשבות לבו תמיד בה' בכח הסעד.

And with this support Noach "walked with Elokim" (Bereishis 6:9), for the thoughts of his heart were constantly upon Hashem by the power of that support.

"Noach walked with Elokim" precisely because of this Divine support: it enabled him to keep his thoughts continually directed toward Hashem, since he could not yet sustain it on his own.

אבל אברהם הי' כולו טוב כי האבות תקנו כל חטא האדם וכדאיתא שלשה לא שלט בהם יצה"ר ועליהם נאמר גמלתהו טוב ולא רע כל ימי חיי'.

But Avraham was entirely good, for the Avos rectified the entire sin of Adam; and as it is brought, there were three over whom the yetzer hara had no dominion, and of them it is said, "she did him good and not evil all the days of her life" (Mishlei 31:12).

Unlike Noach, Avraham was wholly good, because the Avos completed the tikkun of Adam's sin. Chazal teach that three people were never ruled by the yetzer hara, and of such tzaddikim the pasuk says they were "good and not evil" all their days — good without any admixture of evil.

ועתה צריכין עכ"פ לראות להיות מחשבת האדם רוב היום במצות ומעש"ט עכ"פ בכח התורה שנק' לקח טוב ומלמדת האדם למצוא דרך הטוב.

And now we must, at the very least, see to it that a person's thoughts be most of the day occupied with mitzvos and maasim tovim (good deeds) — at least by the power of the Torah, which is called "a good teaching (lekach tov)" (Mishlei 4:2) and which teaches a person to find the path of the good.

The practical lesson for us: even if we cannot be entirely good like the Avos, we should strive to keep our thoughts engaged most of the day in mitzvos and good deeds, drawing on the Torah — the "good teaching" — which guides a person onto the path of good.

שהדורות הראשונים שלא הי' להם התורה בודאי הי' נסיון גדול להיות טוב ולא רע ורצה הקב"ה לזכות את ישראל והרבה להם תורה ומצות:

For the early generations, who did not have the Torah, certainly faced a great test (nisayon) to be good and not evil; and the Holy One, blessed be He, wished to grant merit to Yisrael, and so He gave them an abundance of Torah and mitzvos.

Before Matan Torah, being good without evil was an enormous challenge, lacking the Torah's guidance. Hashem, wishing to grant Bnei Yisrael merit (as Chazal say, "Hashem wished to give Yisrael zechus, therefore He gave them abundant Torah and mitzvos"), provided us the very tool the earlier generations lacked.

Summary: The first appearance of "vayedaber" when Noach leaves the teivah marks the beginning of the revelation of holy dibbur, which had been "in galus" since Adam's sin — which is why Noach could not yet daven for his generation, and why prayer and Torah only truly opened with Avraham. The world's tikkun, like its earlier descent, unfolds in stages: Noach was "mostly good" and needed Divine support to keep his thoughts on Hashem, while the Avos became wholly good and completed the repair of Adam's sin. For us, the avodah is to keep our thoughts immersed in mitzvos and maasim tovim through the Torah — the "good teaching" Hashem lovingly gave Yisrael to guide them to the path of good.