Noach - You First

Who eats first, you or your animals? The Torah gives two different answers, and Rabbi Shlomo Farhi says the difference changes how you see your whole life.

When Hashem tells Noach to bring food into the teiva, the pasuk says "it will be for you and for them to eat." You first, then the animals. But in the Shema we say the opposite: Hashem gives grass to your animals, and only then "you will eat and be satisfied." In fact, the halacha is that you have to feed your animals before you sit down to eat. So why is Noach's order backwards? Rabbi Farhi brings the Gemara's startling answer: "Man and beast Hashem will save" means man is saved in the merit of the animal. The animal is doing exactly what it was created to do, and if its owner isn't saved, Bessie the cow pays the price. In the teiva it was the reverse: the animals were only saved to repopulate the earth, while Noach was saved as a tzaddik. There, the animals lived in his merit, so he ate first.

That's the point, Rabbi Farhi says: we're mistaken about why we get what we get. You think the blessing came because you worked hard, or gave tzedakah last week. Maybe your whole parnassah is in the merit of your wife, your children, or a mother who hasn't stopped davening for you. So, now what? Widen your circles. He tells the story of a man who gets a call from a king: "My son is coming to live with you for four years." No room? The king buys a house. Not enough food? A private chef. Every child is the son of a King, and comes with what he needs. If you can be blessed for a cow, you can be blessed for a holy Jewish child. And every real friend who would be pained to see you fall is another layer of protection over you. The only price is being invested in them.

Finally: why didn't Hashem just grow mushrooms all over the teiva? Because Noach had to earn his keep. The mitzvah of feeding the animals was his merit, and what Noach did for animals, the Torah asks us to do for people: show up, prepare for their needs, and be there in their hour of need.

CHAPTERS 0:00 Welcome and dedications 1:22 "For you and for them": a strange order 5:25 Who eats first? Noach vs. the Shema 9:44 Saved in the merit of your cow 11:40 Which animals got into the teiva 15:25 Why you get what you get 18:56 Widen your circles 19:34 The king's son moves in 23:20 Why no mushrooms in the teiva 25:10 What Noach did for animals, we do for people

Who in your life might be the reason for your blessings? Tell us in the comments.

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