Page 127 - BERESHIT

Chazal bring a conversation held between Moshe Rabbeinu and Noach.
Noach contested that he was greater in stature, as he was instrumental in
saving the entire world from utter destruction. Moshe countered that his
actions to save Am Yisrael from being annihilated after the sin of the
Golden Calf shows his pre-eminence. Moshe said: I davened to Hashem
that He should spare the whole of the Jewish nation from the impending
danger, not just myself. That is why I am greater than you. From this
dialogue we see that a person should shoulder responsibility for others A
bachur in a yeshiva should help his peers in their struggles.

Chazal teach us, “On three things the world stands, on Torah, on Divine
service, and on kindness to others.” Perhaps we can explain this statement
to refer to the miniature world of man as well. A bachur establishes
himself based on his Torah and tefillah, and on the chessed he does with
his friends.

The building of the Ark for so many years caused the opposite reaction of
what Noach hoped it would accomplish. Instead of moving people to do
teshuvah, people ridiculed Noach’s prophecy that there would be a flood,
proving their point by its prolonged construction. Noach should have been
busy traveling from place to place to arouse the masses to teshuvah as
Elkanah and Shmuel Hanavi did.