<b>And he planted a vineyard (Gen. 9:20).</b> Noah was one of four men who introduced four things. Noah introduced planting, as it is written: <i>And he planted a vineyard;</i> cursing when he said: <i>Cursed be Canaan</i> (Gen. 9:25); slavery when he said: <i>He shall be slave unto his brothers</i> (ibid.); and drunkenness when <i>he drank of the wine, and was drunken</i> (ibid., v. 21).
Abraham introduced old age, trials, hospitality, and legacies. He introduced old age, for whenever he and his son entered a city, the inhabitants were unable to determine which of them was the elder of the two (and therefore the one) to be honored. Abraham was disturbed by this, and so he said: Master of the Universe, how shall one distinguish between father and son? The Holy One, blessed be He, replied: Be assured, I will begin with you (to distinguish between father and son), as it is said: <i>Abraham was old</i> (Gen. 24:1).
Trials. Abraham said to the Holy One, blessed be He: Master of the Universe, if You had made the generation of the flood feel secure, they would not have angered You or rebelled against You by saying: <i>Depart from us</i> (Job 21:14). Thereupon, the Holy One, blessed be He, said to him: I shall begin with you (to try men). And He tried him through his son (who was to be offered as a sacrifice), as it is written: <i>And the child grew, and was weaned,</i> etc. (Gen. 21:8).
R. Oshaya and R. Abin differed over the meaning of this verse. One said: He was weaned from his good inclination; while the other insisted: He was weaned from his evil inclination.
Hospitality. For it is said: <i>And he planted a tamarisk tree</i> (ibid., v. 33). R. Nehemiah stated: “Tamarisk tree” (<i>alef-shin-lamed</i>) contains the same letters as the word “ask” (<i>shin-alef-lamed</i>).<sup class="footnote-marker">23</sup><i class="footnote">On this word-play, see Bereshit Rabbah 54:6.</i> Whenever a man approached him, Abraham would say: “Ask what you desire, and I will give it to you.” And he built an inn at the crossroads.
Legacies. As it is said: <i>Unto the sons of his concubines Abraham gave gifts</i> (Gen. 25:6).
Moses introduced priestcraft, priesthood, sacrifice, and the law. He introduced priestcraft when he officiated as priest for seven days during the inauguration (of the priesthood); priesthood when He appointed Elazar the son of Aaron to the office of priest in the Temple, as it is said: <i>And the chief over the princes of the Levites was Elazar the son of Aaron the priest</i> (Num. 3:32); sacrifice, for it is said: <i>And Moses made the whole head ram smoke upon the altar; it was a burnt offering</i> (Lev. 8:20); and law, for it is written: <i>And I will give to thee the tablets of stone and the law and the commandments</i> (Exod. 24:12). Balaam instituted gambling, plaiting the hair, sorcery, and unchastity. Hence, Noah was one of four men who introduced four things.