Hashem had an infinite number of ways in which to rescue Noach and his family from the flood. For example, according to tradition, the flood did not affect the Land of Israel; Hashem could have thus simply had Noach and his family move to Israel so he would be saved.
Yet, He had Noach spend 120 years laboring to build an enormous ark, while the people of his time laughed and jeered at him. Why?
Rav Yaakov Galinsky spent time in Siberia during World War II. He would later recall that there was a fellow inmate who would wake up every night in the middle of the night, put on a stolen army uniform which he had with him, and walk up and down the barracks like a general.
Finally, one night, Rabbi Galinsky asked the inmate why he did this.
“I was a general in the Lithuanian army,” the man explained, “and the Soviets captured me and sent me here to Siberia. Right away when I was captured, I knew that they would going to have me perform slave labor and live in miserable conditions, in order to humiliate and disgrace me. I resolved that I was never going to forget who I really am. I promised myself that I would always remember that I am a distinguished army general, not a lowly prisoner. And so every night, I spend a few minutes marching as a proud, strong general, so I never forget who I am.”
Noach lived in a world that was overrun by evil and sin. The pressure was overwhelming. The only way he was going to survive was by remembering who he was, by fighting like a general. This was not going to happen if he just relaxed and took it easy.
This is why Hashem had him work hard to build an ark. The only way to win this battle was through hard work and sacrifice. By the time Noach was finished, he was able to march onto the ark like a proud general, knowing that he had won the battle. He walked into the ark knowing that he had fought valiantly to achieve this, to stand apart, to resist the pressure, to triumph over the evil that surrounded him.
Today, we are all fighting a battle. There is so much hype all around us, and we cannot escape from it. Trillions of dollars are being spent to not only grab our attention, but to get us addicted, to get us obsessed. Whether it’s movies, games, sports, politics, or worse – entire industries exist aimed at pulling us in and keeping us there.
We need to remember who we are – that we are proud soldiers in Hashem’s army, and we are dutybound to fight this battle as valiantly as we can. We must understand that we will need to put in effort and make sacrifices in order to win this war, to resist the pressure, to rise above the “floodwaters” of hype that are all around us.
Just as Noach had to build an ark to protect himself and his family – so do we need to work hard to protect ourselves and our homes from the “floodwaters,” to remain firmly devoted to Hashem, and to never forget who we really are.