113. What did the Creator reply to Noah when he came out of the ark and saw the world ruined, and began to cry over it, and said, “Lord of the world, You were called ‘merciful,’ You should have had mercy on Your creations.’”
114. The Creator replied to him, “Foolish shepherd, now you say this, and not when I told you in soft words, ‘Make for yourself an ark of gopher wood … For behold, I will bring a flood of waters upon the earth to destroy all flesh in which there is the breath of life … Come into the ark, you and all your household, for I have seen that you are righteous before Me in this generation.’
“I was so delayed with you, and I told you so you would ask for mercy on the world. And since you heard that you will be saved in the ark, the sorrow over the world did not enter your heart, and you made the ark and was saved. And now that the world is lost, you opened your mouth to say before me pleas and litanies.”
115. Then Noah offered, as it is written, “and took of every pure animal and of every pure bird, and offered burnt offerings on the altar.”
116. What is the difference between the righteous who were in Israel afterwards, and Noah? Noah did not protect his generation and did not pray for it like Abraham. When the Creator said to Abraham, “The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great,” it is immediately written, “And Abraham approached and said” many things against the Creator until he asked that if there are ten righteous ones there, He will atone for the whole generation for them. Abraham thought that there were ten righteous ones in the city, with Lot and his wife, and his sons and daughters and sons-in-law, which is why he did not pray more.
117. Moses came and protected the whole generation. When the Creator said to Moses, “Israel have sinned,” as it is written, “They have quickly turned aside from the way,” it is written, “And Moses pleaded.” Pleaded implies that he prayed until trembling gripped him. But Moses did not let the Creator alone until he gave his soul on them, from this world and from the next world, as it is written, “Yet now, if You will forgive their sin—but if not, I pray, blot me out of Your book which You have written.”
118. It is written, “And He sought to destroy them,” were it not for Moses, His chosen one, who stood up for them before Him. Similarly, all the righteous protected their generation and did not let the quality of judgment control them.
119. But Noah, the Creator was delayed with him and said to him many things, perhaps he would ask for mercy on them, but he did not notice and did not ask for mercy on them, and made the ark, and the whole world was lost.
120. What did Noah see that he did not ask for mercy on his generation? It is that even he did not think in his heart that he would escape. It is like one who finds a cluster of grapes that were not ripe, among the unripe, for if they were among ripe grapes, they would be nothing.
121. This means that the words, “For I have seen that you are righteous before Me in this generation,” He should have said “righteous before Me,” but what is “in this generation”? It is according to the generation. This is why he did not ask for mercy. He said in his heart, “I wish I will ask for mercy on myself and escape, much less that I should pray for others.”
122. Still, he should have asked the Creator for mercy on the world, since one who speaks well about His children pleases the Creator.
123. How do we know this? From Gideon son of Yoash, who was not righteous or a son of a righteous, but because he spoke favorably about Israel, it is written about him, “And the Lord turned to him and said, “Go with this might of yours and save Israel from the hand of Midian.” “With this might of yours,” namely the good that you said about My children, you will have great strength to save them from the hands of Midian.
124. Even if one is a greater righteous than the whole world, if he says bad things before the Creator, or hatred about Israel, his punishment is greater than all. We did not find a righteous man like Elijah in the whole generation, but because he spoke of Israel with hatred, as it is written, “For the children of Israel have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars, and killed Your prophets with the sword.” At that time, it angered Him very much.
125. It is written about Elijah, “And he looked, and there by his head was a cake baked on coals.” What are coals? This is what one who speaks with hatred about My children deserves to eat.
126. It is written, “And he went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights as far as Horev, the mountain of God.” Did he walk so much by the strength from eating the cake baked on coals?
12y7. The Creator cast sleep on Elijah and showed him the matter of Moses, who sat before Him forty days and forty nights. While he was there, Israel worshipped the calf. And because he was forty days and forty nights without eating bread or drinking water, he did not move from there until the Creator forgave them.
128. The Creator said to Elijah, “This is what you should have done, like Moses. Also, you should have seen that they are My children, My beloved children who received My Torah [law] on Mount Horev.” This is why it is written, “And he went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights,” since he saw the matter of Moses, who stayed before Him forty days and forty nights, and the matter of Israel receiving the Torah on Mount Horev, as it is written, “as far as Horev, the mountain of God.”
129. Elijah did not move from there until he swore to the Creator to always instruct Israel’s merit, and anyone who does merit, Elijah rushes and says to the Creator “So and so did this,” and does not move from there until that person’s merit is written down, as it is written, “And a book of remembrance will be written before Him.”
130. What was Noah’s punishment for not praying for his generation? That he went out from the ark limping on his legs, and lied down and was disgraced, and his son laughed at him and did to him what he did.
131. One should walk on the straight path. Because Jacob took the blessings by acts of deceit, no nation in the world was given permission to enslave Israel, except for the nation of Esau.
132. “And he sent out the raven.” It is written, “Then David said to all his servants who were with him at Jerusalem, ‘Arise, and let us flee, or else there will be no escape for us from Avshalom.’” Although he fled, it is written, “A psalm of David when he ran away from Avshalom his son.” Although he was running and was expelled from his kingdom, he did not refrain from saying psalms before the Creator, and to plead before Him once again. “And he sent out the raven” is David, who was always calling among them like a crow.
133. The crow that came from Judah is David, who was called a “crow,” as it is written, “I will guarantee his safety.” The crow is written without a Vav [in Hebrew]. He was called “crow” since he was walking in the mountains like a crow. It is as he said to Saul, “as when one hunts a partridge in the mountains,” he said to him, “You have placed me to be as a partridge in the mountains.” Here, it is written, “partridge,” and it is written, “and to the young ravens that cry” [in Hebrew, partridge is spelled the same word as “calling”].