At the end of last week's Torah reading (Parashat Bereshit) we find the birth of this week's main character: Noah. The Torah relates that the name he was given at birth means (according to Rashi's explanation) "he will relieve us of the burden of our hands.".
Until Noah's time, farming was purely manual. Noah invented tools for plowing, and the land stopped producing so many thorns and weeds after the curse on the First Man. In short, Noah was a farmer.
Later in this week's section, after leaving the ark where he lived with his family (wife, three sons and their respective wives) and all the animals of the earth for a year, the first thing Noah does is plant a vineyard.
Then he drinks the wine produced and gets drunk, which leads to misfortune: according to one opinion he is castrated and according to the other he is raped (see Bereshit 9:20-27).
Now, regardless of differing opinions on Noah's righteousness, he was clearly a person worthy of being saved from among all humanity, and indeed, all human beings, without exception, are descended from him. However, we see that he reached a very low level of humanity... what caused him to fall so far?
The story of his misfortune begins with the verse "Vaiajel Noaj, Ish HaAdamá, Vaitá Carem", which can be translated in two ways:
1) And Noah began to be a man of the earth, and planted a vineyard.
2) And Noah defiled himself, a man of the earth, and planted a vineyard.
According to the first explanation there is not much room for interpretation, but according to the second explanation, what does self-desecration mean?
The word "vaiajel" comes from the word chol - worldly. The Torah is teaching us that the beginning of a person's spiritual decline is becoming worldly. When matters that are actually trivial become (in the person's eyes) the important issues in life, the person defiles themselves, becoming an "Ish HaAdama," a person of the earth, a person so busy and preoccupied with the earthly and worldly affairs of life that they defile and become worldly themselves... Then, the Torah relates, the strangest misfortunes can occur... (God forbid and protect).
The way to save oneself from this self-desecration is by setting aside time to study the Torah, which is our life and the length of our days, and elevates the person above their own limitations to connect them with God, who is the Source of blessings, both spiritual and material.