Parsha Perspectives: Parshat Noach

Lower School Judaics Teacher Esther Saghian

In this week's Parsha, we read about the "Tower of Bavel" and Rabbi Shlomo Wolbe points to the negative middah of ingratitude. He explains it as follows:

It is evident from Parashas Noach that ingratitude has been ingrained in mankind since the time of creation. The Torah tells us that Hashem came down to observe the construction of the tower of Bavel: “And Hashem descended to see the city and the tower that were built by the offspring of man.” Rashi, citing Chazal, asks why it is necessary for the Torah to inform us that the tower was built by the offspring of man. Would we have thought that it was built by the offspring of donkeys or camels?

Rashi explains that “man” (adam) mentioned in the pasuk refers not to humans but to Adam HaRishon. The Torah is emphasizing that this generation emulated the behavior of their forefather. Just as Adam, after eating from the Etz Hadaas, displayed ingratitude by blaming Hashem for giving him a wife, the builders of the tower were ungrateful to Hashem, Who had saved them from the flood, and they wanted to fight against Him.

There are two fundamental reasons why people refrain from showing hakaras hatov. The first reason is that people simply think they deserve everything they receive and therefore there is no reason to thank their benefactor. A child is born without intelligence, and by the time he is old enough to comprehend what is going on, he is already used to being healthy, well-fed, dressed, and taken care of. A person is born with a sense of egocentricity that places him in the center of the universe and causes him to believe that everyone around him has been placed there simply to serve him. Hand a child a candy, and he’ll snatch it and run away without saying thank you.

It takes a lot of work for a person to free himself of these attitudes and come to a realization that absolutely nothing, including life itself, can be taken for granted. One who comes to such a realization lives in a bright and happy world, for he perceives everyone around him as cogs in a huge world of kindness. In contrast, his egocentric counterpart looks upon the doctor, the bus driver, and the storeowner as people who serve him for no reason other than to make some money, and he therefore sees no reason to thank them for their services.

The second reason people refrain from expressing gratitude is that they dislike feeling indebted to their benefactor. Acknowledging that one benefited from another person means that he owes him something in return, and no one likes to feel indebted.

Hakaras hatov might be a difficult middah to master, but it is well worth the investment, for it is the key to good interpersonal relationships and a real connection with the Creator.