Rav Yehuda Amital zt”l explained that Noach feared a fundamental change in human beings’ status after the flood. After all, humankind had proven itself unworthy of inhabiting the earth, and during the flood, a small representation of people survived in the ark just like all species of animals.
After Noach leaves the ark after the flood, God blesses him and his family, and also informs them that the fear of people would be imposed upon the entire animal kingdom (9:2). It appears as though Noach and his family had reason to feel concerned and threatened by the animals, and God therefore reassured them that they had nothing to fear, for to the contrary, the animals would live in fear of them.
What was the basis for Noach’s fears? Why was he suddenly concerned that he and his offspring would be overrun by the animal kingdom?
Rav Yehuda Amital zt”l explained that Noach feared a fundamental change in human beings’ status after the flood. After all, humankind had proven itself unworthy of inhabiting the earth, and during the flood, a small representation of people survived in the ark just like all species of animals. There was reason to fear that now, after the flood, human beings were simply a more developed form of animal, but nothing more. Noach was concerned that in the postdiluvian world, people would be subjected to the same perilous, jungle existence as animals. God therefore reassured him that even after the flood, human beings retained their unique stature, one which is respected even by the other creatures, who would still be frightened by human might. To reinforce this message, God granted Noach and his descendants permission to kill animals for food, which had been forbidden before the flood.
This question that likely weighed on Noach’s mind, regarding man’s status after the flood, may also underlie the unfortunate incident of Noach’s intoxication, which the Torah relates later in this chapter. When Cham saw his father in a drunken stupor and unclothed, he was intrigued. He might have begun to think that human beings are, in fact, no different from the beasts of the field, who are bare and act with unthinking, mindless instinct. Upon seeing the impact of wine upon his father, effectively reducing him to an animal, Cham felt that the question of man’s status had to be revisited, that perhaps human beings are truly just a developed form of beast. Shem and Yefet, on the other hand, proceeded immediately to clothe their father, to clearly establish his – and all humankind’s – status of dignity and stature. They felt it was critical for their father to remain distinct from the animals, to settle any doubts as to whether human beings retained their special status after the flood.