וַיֹּ֗אמֶר הִנֵּֽה־נָ֤א הוֹאַ֙לְתִּי֙ לְדַבֵּ֣ר אֶל־אֲדֹנָ֔י אוּלַ֛י יִמָּצְא֥וּן שָׁ֖ם עֶשְׂרִ֑ים וַיֹּ֙אמֶר֙ לֹ֣א אַשְׁחִ֔ית בַּעֲב֖וּר הָֽעֶשְׂרִֽים׃
האָט ער געזאָגט: זע, איך בעט דיך, איך אונטערשטײ מיך צו רעדן צו מײַן האַר: טאָמער װעלן זיך דאָרטן געפֿינען צװאַנציק? האָט ער געזאָגט: איך װעל ניט צעשטערן פֿון װעגן די צװאַנציק.
Siftei Chakhamim
[The word הואיל means] he began, etc. See Rashi’s commentary in Parshas Vayeira (Bereishis 18:31).
Rabbeinu Bahya
At this point, an intelligent child must surely ask how it is possible that a man whom the Torah described in the most glowing terms as a righteous and perfect individual did not turn to G-d in prayer in order to help save the members of his generation and give them a chance to repent and rehabilitate themselves?. Why did he not engage G-d in a dialogue as Avraham did after him when G-d had informed him that He was going to destroy the city of Sodom and its inhabitants? Avraham had prayed repeatedly and almost insistently as we know from the report of the Torah in Genesis chapter 18.
The answer to this question is that Noach did not “neglect” to pray for his contemporaries either because he did not care or felt that they deserved to perish. He knew that there was a need for only ten righteous people in order to ensure the survival of the world as it was. He based this tradition on the ten directives G-d employed to create the universe. He reasoned that if there were indeed ten righteous people alive at that time G-d would not have instructed him to prepare for the deluge by building the Ark. Under the prevailing circumstances, only eight people had been commanded to enter the Ark, ( Noach and his wife, his three sons and their respective wives) i.e. proof that at that time there were already no ten righteous people left on earth. [Avraham had also stopped praying when he realised that there were fewer than ten good people in Sodom. Ed.] Seeing there were no ten good people left on earth it was clear to him that the generation did not merit survival on account of the remaining eight good people. Under the circumstances, the most that G-d was willing to do was to save Noach seeing he was the first member of the tenth generation of mankind. G-d accommodated Noach by also saving his immediate family. The fact that Avraham himself did not bother to implore G-d to save the city of Sodom for the sake of fewer than ten righteous people proves that Noach cannot be faulted for not having prayed when told to take only seven additional human beings into the Ark with him. In fact, Noach was not even allowed to pray when he knew there were fewer than ten good people. In addition, as opposed to the people of Sodom, the people at the time of Noach had been given 120 years warning The people of Sodom had not been given any kind of warning by G-d prior to Avraham being informed of their impending doom. G-d is not in the habit of decreeing doom unless the potential victims had been warned (Yuma 81).
The answer to this question is that Noach did not “neglect” to pray for his contemporaries either because he did not care or felt that they deserved to perish. He knew that there was a need for only ten righteous people in order to ensure the survival of the world as it was. He based this tradition on the ten directives G-d employed to create the universe. He reasoned that if there were indeed ten righteous people alive at that time G-d would not have instructed him to prepare for the deluge by building the Ark. Under the prevailing circumstances, only eight people had been commanded to enter the Ark, ( Noach and his wife, his three sons and their respective wives) i.e. proof that at that time there were already no ten righteous people left on earth. [Avraham had also stopped praying when he realised that there were fewer than ten good people in Sodom. Ed.] Seeing there were no ten good people left on earth it was clear to him that the generation did not merit survival on account of the remaining eight good people. Under the circumstances, the most that G-d was willing to do was to save Noach seeing he was the first member of the tenth generation of mankind. G-d accommodated Noach by also saving his immediate family. The fact that Avraham himself did not bother to implore G-d to save the city of Sodom for the sake of fewer than ten righteous people proves that Noach cannot be faulted for not having prayed when told to take only seven additional human beings into the Ark with him. In fact, Noach was not even allowed to pray when he knew there were fewer than ten good people. In addition, as opposed to the people of Sodom, the people at the time of Noach had been given 120 years warning The people of Sodom had not been given any kind of warning by G-d prior to Avraham being informed of their impending doom. G-d is not in the habit of decreeing doom unless the potential victims had been warned (Yuma 81).
Rashi
ויואל — Translate this as the Targum does: AND HE WAS WILLING. Similar are: (Judges 19:6) “Be content (הואל), I pray thee, and tarry all night”; (Joshua 7:7) “would that we had been content (הואלנו)”; (Genesis 18:31) “I am content (הואלתי) to speak”. A Midrashic explanation is that it has the sense of taking an oath (אלה), so that it should be rendered, “And Moses pledged himself by an oath to remain with the man” — he swore to him that he would not stir from Midian save by his permission (cf. Exodus 4:18) (Nedarim 65a).