21 Oct THE CAUSE OF THE DOWNFALL OF THE DOR HAMABUL

The tragic demise of
mankind during the era
of the flood was not just
a punishment for that
wicked generation. Even
more so, it was perhaps
a series of powerful
lessons to be studied by G-d fearing people
throughout the millennia about behaviors
that are so toxic that they can cause the
absolute destruction of an entire world.
This is similar in concept to the Ten Plagues
that Hashem struck the Egyptians with.
These plagues were not primarily to reform
the Egyptians since they were all shortly
thereafter destroyed at the Yam Suf. Rather,
they were primarily for our benefit in every
successive generation to teach us how
Hashem punishes middah k’neged middah /
measure for measure for everything that we
do.
So, let’s take a look at what was the nail in
the coffin for the generation of the flood.
Rashi teaches us, “Lo nechtam g’zar dinam
ela al hagazel – Their fate was not sealed
until they succumbed to the transgression
of theft.” In other words, although they
were steeped in perverted immorality.
As the verse testifies, “Ki hishchis kol

basar es darko al ha’aretz – For all flesh
acted destructively upon the land.” Rashi
interprets this to mean that they descended
into all kinds of twisted immorality. Of
course, included in this was the dreadful sin
of adultery which is a fusion of immorality
and theft. Thus, it was the complete lack of
regard for one’s fellow man that sealed the
fate of this generation.
This lesson must be very clear especially
for us, the children of Hashem, as we say
in our prayers, “Acheinu kol Beis Yisroel –
Our brothers, all the House of Israel.” Since
we are the children of a common Father,
Hashem in Heaven, we are all like brothers
and sisters and we need to strive to behave
that way.
As we embark on the New Year, coming off
Yom Kippur where we asked forgiveness
from one another, we strove to be like
angels who get along with each other. We
then spent eight days in the lofty chamber
of the Sukkah under the schach which
represents the Ananei HaKavod, the Divine
Presence where we were joined by the holy
neshamas of Avraham, Yitzchak, Yaakov,
Moshe, Aharon, Yosef and Dovid, and we
trained ourselves to be very careful not to
be angry or cross at one another. Now, we

need to strive mightily to perpetuate these
behaviors.
In the Artscroll biography on the Tosha
Rebbe, zt”l, zy”a (A must read!), a story is
told of the Rebbe who was sitting in front
of many chassidim at a tisch. Everyone
had a bakery challah in front of him. One
bochur, however, was gingerly unwrapping
a homemade challah that his mother had
baked for him. A boy next to him, eyeing
the tasty challah and perhaps not realizing
it was personal property, grabbed it away
from the bochur. In reaction, the bochur,
now incensed, attempted to grab it back.
The Rebbe, with his amazing peripheral
vision, motioned to the bochur to desist his
struggle. Of course, the bochur listened,
albeit sadly and probably thinking it was
unfair. However, that lasted only for a
moment. The Rebbe personally sent over to
him one of his own twelve challahs, a very
rare gesture. The Rebbe then called him
over and told him, almost pleadingly, to try
not to have a hakpadah, a complaint and a
grudge on another Jew.
I thought long and hard about this story. I put
it to use just this morning in an interesting
way. I was davening in my regular minyan
in one of the wonderful shuls in Lakewood,
New Jersey. Someone got up to lead the
prayers and he davened very fast. I was
annoyed and about to look to see who he
was. Then I remembered what the Tosha
Rebbe said and I restrained myself. After
all, what value could there be in seeing
who he was? It would only serve that I’d
have a hakpadah on a fellow Jew, a brother
of mine. So, I restrained myself and did
not look.
I’m reminded of a lashon hara story. I once
went to a wedding and sat down next to
a famous Rosh Yeshiva. His Rebbetzin
was there and I heard her say, “Oh, he’s
going to sit next to you? He’s going to give
you a headache with all his questions.”
The comment caused me great pain and I
remember that I couldn’t wait to get home
to unburden myself to my first Rebbetzin,
zt”l, zy”a, about what happened. (This
could be permitted as an exception to the
strictures of lashon hara.) But, when I got
home I remembered the words of the Vilna
Gaon, zt”l, zy”a, that for every moment
that one holds back from saying bad about
another, they merit the ohr haganuz / the
hidden light reserved for the righteous. So,
with great effort, I closed my mouth and
didn’t share what had happened. A few
months later, my Rebbetzin was honored
to chair an important symposium together
with the wife of this Rosh Yeshiva,
something which she certainly would have
declined had she known my story. It is
never worthwhile to cause one to have a

hakpadah on another Jew.
I saw a shocking story from Rabbi Shlomo
Goldman, zt”l, zy”a, known as Reb
Shlomke of Zvhil. In his neighborhood of
Yerushalayim, there was a group of wild
cats that often came around his shtibel. He
would lovingly bring out bowls of milk to
them to drink. When his chassidim wanted
to shoo them away, he stopped them. They
repeatedly asked him why, and he finally
divulged that these cats were gilgulim /
reincarnations from two groups of chassidim
that once had been fighting with one another.
They had to come back to this world, not as
a humans, and not even as kosher animals,
but as non-kosher animals for acting like
animals toward each other.
Let’s make it our business to try not to have
raw feeling about one another, especially
our spouse, our siblings, our children and
our parents. In that merit may Hashem
have nachas from us, and in that merit may
Hashem grant us long life, good health, and
everything wonderful.