And HASHEM saw that the evil of man was great in the earth, and every imagination of his heart was only evil all the time. And HASHEM regretted that He had made man upon the earth, and He became grieved in His heart. And HASHEM said, “I will blot out man, whom I created, from upon the face of the earth, from man to cattle to creeping thing, to the fowl of the heavens, for I regret that I made them.” But Noach found favor in the eyes of HASHEM. (Breishis 6:5-8)
There were ten generations from Adam to Noach, in order to make known how patient is HASHEM; for all those generations kept on provoking HIM, until HE brought upon them the waters of the flood. There were ten generations from Noach to Avraham, in order to make known how patient is HASHEM; for all those generations kept on provoking HIM, until Avraham, came and received the reward of all of them. (Pirke Avos 5:20)
There is a very important and fundamental lesson to be learned from Noach. The entire world is worthy of being saved just because of one person.
The Mishne in Sanhedrin explains how they would frighten witnesses who are giving testimony that might spell death for the one being testified about, “Chayav Adam lomar, bishvili nivra haolam” “Every person has an obligation to say, “The whole world was created for me!” If one person is eliminated then it is considered as if a whole world has been destroyed. That is the value of an individual!
This is spelled out as an “obligation” for every person. When is one required to make this declaration? Isn’t this awfully risky for anybody to say. It sounds like it could be abused by haughty and self-centered individuals. It may even begin to promote narcissism if misunderstood. That can’t be and that can’t be tolerated. Shlomo HaMelech, the wisest of all men states in Mishlei, “To’eives HASHEM call gava lev” – “It is disgusting to HASHEM any haughtiness of the heart”. So, what does it mean and when is it applicable!?
It is fascinating that the Talmud Brochos 58A (If you want to remember where 58 is the numerical value NOACH) employs the term BISHVILI as in “FOR ME”. It asks, “What does a good guest say? “How much effort did the host exert “FOR ME”. How much meat he brought before me!? How much wine he placed before me?! How many loaves of bread did he put before me?! And all that effort he only exerted FOR ME!” However, a bad guest, what does he say? What effort did this host make?! I only ate one slice of bread! I only drank one cup! All of the exertion that this host expended was for his wife and kids!
Is the Gemara telling us only about the mindset of a Shabbos guest? We cannot hear them actually saying these things. This is an internal memo, a thought that they “say” to themselves. So, what’s the point? Maybe the Talmud is coaching us on how to be good guests. That might work. Yet, not everybody has that regular opportunity to be a guest by someone else. Again, what’s the larger point? The Talmud is asking “What does a good guest in this world say? The one who declares that that whole world was created for me, is a much more grateful person than the one who suddenly hides in the crowd and says “I only ate a small amount, so what do I owe?!”
During Sukkos in Hallel we repeated the words of Dovid HaMelech, “MAH ASHIV L’HASHEM KOL TAGMELOHI ALAI” – “How can I repay HASHEM for ALL that HE has granted to me?!” The Alter from Kelm explained that if someone has internalized the notion that “the whole world was created for me”, then he owes endless gratitude not just for what he consumed and benefited from but also for “ALL”- The WHOLE WORLD, from the beginning until the end of history!
These two guests are having completely different experiences while walking on the same planet. One’s heart is brimming like a fountain with constant gratitude. The other is continuously complaining. It has been said that, “It is not that happy people are more grateful but rather that grateful people are happier.” So, our job is to be that person for whom the whole world was created.