Noach 5774

The Midrash says that Shem merited a Tallis when he covered Noah in a cloth. However, Chazal say that Avraham merited techeiles on his tzitzis. The Kli Yakar explains that there is no contradiction here; these two actions work as a tag team. Shem's actions saved Bnei Yisroel from immorality while Avraham's actions saved Bnei Yisroel from poverty (he refused to take any money from the king of Sodom because he was happy with what he had). The mitzvah of tzitzis provides protection from both: it saves a person from immorality which in turn saves a person from poverty.