Parshat Noach 5777
Rabbi Jablinowitz
We read in this week's parsha that Noach brought into the ark with him groups of two, male and female, of all the living creatures. The point of this was to insure the maintenance of the species after the Mabul. In addition, Noach was told to bring seven of each of the kosher animals and birds into the ark. This, as Rashi explains from the Medrash, was in order for Noach to bring sacrifices which could only be brought from kosher animals. And how did Noach know which were the pure and kosher animals? Rashi teaches that we learn from here that Noach learned Torah and he knew the laws of the pure and impure animals.
The Kli Yakar asks if Noach knew which animals were pure because he learned Torah, how could he sacrifice all the animals which were pure. The Torah also teaches that chayos, or undomesticated animals, and most birds may not be brought as a sacrifice even if they are permitted to be eaten. Why didn't Noach limit his sacrifices to the animals which are permitted to be sacrifices, since after all Noach already knew the laws of the Torah?
The Meshech Chachmah answers that the Medrash Tanchuma in parshat Emor teaches that the reason the Torah only allows domesticated animals for sacrifices is because the Torah doesn't want a person to have to go out into the wild and capture animals in order to bring sacrifices. The Torah only allows sacrifices from animals which are readily at hand to the person. And since Noach already had all the kosher animals with him in the teivah, including wild animals and birds, and he didn't need to bother himself and capture them, he brought sacrifices from all animals. The reason for limiting sacrifices to only domesticated animals didn't apply to Noach.
The Ramban learns different from Rashi. In discussing how Noach knew which animals were kosher, he explains that clearly Hashem explained to Noach exactly what the signs of a kosher animal are. The Torah in our parsha, however, didn't go into detail and mention Hashem teaching Noach which animals were kosher. Therefore, the question of how Noach could sacrifice animals which the Torah later on wouldn't sanction as sacrifices is not a question for him. According to the Ramban we have no indication that Noach already knew the laws of the Torah and would have acted accordingly.
This explains another statement of the Ramban. The Ramban quotes Rashi who explains that when the animals came in by pairs they came in by themselves (see Rashi on Chapter 6, Pasuk 20). However, the Ramban teaches that the seven of each species of kosher animals which came into the ark didn't come in by themselves. This is because the groups of two of all the creatures were brought into the ark in order to maintain their respective species. Since it was in their best interest to be in the teivah they came in without Noach searching them out.
But the kosher animals which were in the teivah in groups of seven were there in order to be slaughtered and offered as sacrifices. It was inappropriate for them to come in by themselves. The Ramban teaches that Noach had to go out and hunt them and bring them in by himself.
Therefore, the explanation of the Meshech Chachmah doesn't work for the Ramban. For the same reason that future sacrifices are brought from animals at hand and not to be hunted, Noach should have brought only domesticated animals to be sacrificed. Why didn't Noach keep this part of the Torah as well and only bring animals which didn't need to be pursued?
The answer is that the Ramban didn't learn like Rashi that we deduce from here that Noach learned the laws of the Torah. Hashem taught him which animals were kosher and he brought sacrifices from only those ones. The laws limiting karbanos to domesticated animals and pigeons were something which was added later with all the other laws of sacrifices. And until that time it was fitting for Noach to bring sacrifices from all kosher animals, a law which Hashem taught him as he prepared the teivah for the Mabul.
Good Shabbos
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