Making Faith Real
Hashem told Noach to build an ark in advance of the flood He would bring upon the world. When the time to bring the flood finally arrived, the Torah’s description of Noach’s entry into the ark adds a statement whose depth Rashi reveals to us in surprising terms. The Torah states (Bereishis 7:7): “Noach entered the ark … because of the waters of the flood.”
To us it sounds obvious. Of course Noach entered the ark because of the floodwaters. Why else would he go in?
Only, Rashi explains that these words reveal that “Noach had little faith. He ‘believed’ but did not believe (i.e., he believed that the flood would come, but was not convinced of this entirely), and therefore he did not go into the ark until the waters actually pushed him in.”
Noach had “little faith?” How can Rashi say that? We know that for the past 120 years he had been building an ark so that people would inquire and he would tell them of the flood that would come if people did not do teshuva (Rashi Bereishis 6:14). If Noach was busy warning others about the flood, then he surely believed that it would happen!
Moreover, in Bereishis (7:4) Hashem makes it clear that “in another seven days I will bring the flood.” Noach was surely anticipating the flood that Hashem promised to bring.
More puzzling is how Rashi knew to attribute Noach’s delaying entering the ark to lack of faith that the flood would come. Rashi himself states (Bereishis 7:12) that Hashem initially brought the floodwaters in a mild manner, so that if people would do teshuva, He would change the flood to blessed rainfall. Only later did the waters become boiling hot and destroy all animal and plant life. Perhaps Noach as well was waiting to see if people would do teshuva and make the flood unnecessary? Why attribute Noach’s slow entry to lack of faith in Hashem’s word?
Rav Simcha Zissel Broideh answers that of course, Noach believed fully that the flood would come. When the Torah testifies that what made Noach enter the ark were the waters of the flood themselves, the criticism is that had Noach’s belief in Hashem’s word been just a bit stronger, he would not have waited for the scalding waters to actually come. His faith would have made the oncoming danger real to him even before he felt it.
When Noach waited to see if people would do teshuva, this did not indicate lack of faith. Once it was clear that this was not blessed rainfall, however, the fear of Hashem’s word should have immediately caused Noach to seek cover inside the ark. Evidently, there was at least a moment in which Hashem’s word alone was not enough to cause him to do this. Although he felt the flood was beginning, he did not enter the ark until the scorching waters pushed him in. In real time, this may only have been a split-second, but for a tzaddik such as Noach, it is viewed as a lack of faith.
Harav Yechezkel Levinstein notes that just as Noach, at his very high spiritual level, lacked sufficient faith to make the flood real to him, so too we must always work to strengthen our level of emuna.
Rav Levinstein gives three reasons why faith needs even more efforts than other important areas of life:
1–Since emuna is so basic and important, the yetzer hara works especially to weaken it.
2-In Bamidbar (15:39) we are commanded “not to stray after our hearts,” meaning that within our heart is an element of heresy that we must not give in to. Evidently, an enemy of faith lurks within our heart and we must remove it.
3-The greatness of a person depends on his level of faith. This is the first question a soul must answer when it ascends to its final judgment (Shabbos 31a). Therefore a person has to strive to reach the highest level he can in faith.
As for how we can strengthen our faith, Rav Levinstein would suggest: “Try to make your faith more real and vivid. When speaking about the Exodus from Egypt, imagine the slavery, work hard to get a clear mental picture of each of the Makos and envision the actual splitting of the Red Sea. As for Matan Torah, imagine the fire, the sound of the shofar, of Hashem’s voice emanating from heaven. Do this regularly and faith will become more real and more a part of you.”
If at times we have question in faith or feel that our faith is weak, two mistakes can arise: 1) We panic, or 2) We view this as a green light to lower our level of observance. Both ways are wrong. Rather, we should view this as a sign that we have to strengthen our emuna. Instead of trying to address the specific question, or overall sense of apathy, work at getting a clear mental picture of the Exodus from Egypt and the Giving of the Torah.
The Chovos Halevavos’ Shaar Habechina suggests studying the wonders of Creation as another way of strengthening our faith. Harav Avigdor Miller would work on this constantly, finding ever new ways to marvel over the plan and design inherent in creation and make it real to him and his listeners.
“Look at the fruit and then look at the tree it came from! The wood of the tree has no flavor to it. Where did this fruit come from? And look inside it! It has seeds that provide another fruit! Let’s say you would find a coin hidden deep inside an apple, wouldn’t you be taken aback? But put the coin in the ground and it’s a dead object. Put a seed in the ground and it becomes a tree! Can you do that? Can DuPont Chemical do that? Can anyone do that besides the Creator?” Rav Miller would ask.
“Look at a leaf. Did you know that every leaf is a factory that takes in sunlight and converts it to sugar? How does it do that? Each leaf is designed to absorb the maximum amount of sunlight, and therefore it has two sides, a ‘glossy’ side to absorb sunlight, and a duller side that stores the sugar. And the glossy side always faces up, and the dull side always faces down. Look at any leaf and you’re looking at the unequaled planning of the Creator!”
May we be zoche to strengthen our faith in Hashem always.