An Important Clarification About Noach

Based On Rabbi Yitzchak Twersky
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If a Torah starved friend woke you in the middle of the night and asked you to say a Dvar Torah on Parshat Noach, you’d probably come out with the one about whether or not Noach would have been an even greater tzadik, or not such a tzadik at all if lived in Avraham’s generation. This would be the number one answer on Family Feud in the category of “Torah Thoughts on Parshat Noach.” This is also the easiest route for a pulpit rabbi to take: Step One – Read pasuk aloud, Step Two – Read Rashi aloud, Step Three – Pause meaningfully, Step Four - connect with current events concerning Israel.
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The pivot of this most famous Rashi on Noach is the word “bedorotav.” Noach was referred to as a tzadik in his generation. In addressing this curious description, the rabbis go in two directions. One approach says that he was a tzadik in his generation, because he was the most righteous man in unrighteous times, but if he’d have lived at the same time as a righteous man such as Avraham, he’d have paled in comparison. The medrash presents an analogy of a small coin that is valuable compared to lesser coins, but put next to a currency of greater worth it’s inconsequential import is exposed. The other take is that given the fact that Noach acted nobly in a lowly generation how much more so would he have shined as a hero had he lived in the same time as an Avraham. The medrash compares this to a girl that was born into brothels and rises above the immorality that surrounds her.
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The problem with the discussion about what Noach would have been like in Avraham’s generation is that the two men clearly overlapped. This is noted by the Medrash and the Ibn Ezra. If you do the math that’s given in the Torah itself it becomes clear that Avraham and Noach overlapped for 58 years (easy to remember because it’s the gematriah of Noach). If this is so, why does the Medrash cited by Rashi say that Noach and Avraham were not in the same generation? The answer becomes clear if we look at Noach after the mabul. He was not involved in society, and thus even though he was technically alive, was not considered as living in the same generation as Avraham.
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It is fascinating to note that positive and negative views of Noach are both based on the same word. This reflects the idea that Noach’s greatest positive and negative quality each stemmed from the same source. This fits with the commentary of the Rosh who takes the common conception of Noach as a “Tzadik In Peltz” and turns it on its head. Noach is often viewed as the kind of person that would put on a coat in a cold room, rather than turning up the heat. He is considered someone who did not reach out to others, and this observation is usually made in a pejorative light. However the Rosh says that Noach’s generation was no far-gone that he did the right thing. The Rosh says that the secret of Noach’s righteousness is reveled to us in the words “Et HaElokim Hithalech Noach – Noach walked with G-d.” The word “et” connotes a direct connection to G-d, and implies a total separation from the people of his time. This behavior is described immediately following the statement that Noach was righteous and pure in order to teach us that this was the method through which he achieved righteousness and purity.
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After the flood Noach continued using the same modus operandi that he employed beforehand. But a new approach was called for at this time. Not only was Noach thus unable to help others during this era, but this time around his approach led to his own decline in status. After the flood was a chance for a new beginning and this necessitated outreach. Instead of relating with others Noach cocooned, just as he did before the flood. Thus, what was a strength became a weakness.
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It is often the case that people use one approach to survive or even thrive at one stage of their lives. But later in life, when they really need to move on from this approach, they have trouble doing so. What leads to success at one time can lead to stagnation and even failure in another context. An innocuous example of this (that works for students) is the following: A student may stand out in class for constantly adding his own comments. The teacher might love this and point out how much this enhances the class. But when it comes time to review for a test, it’s no longer a time to take the focus off of the key points, and constant commenting becomes disruptive. On a deeper level a therapist friend tells me that therapy is often about getting someone to halt a behavior that once saved his or her life, but is now restricting them from moving forward with that life.
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May we all be blessed to cultivate our strengths and not allow them to morph into fatal flaws.
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Shabbat Shalom,
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Rabbi Neil Fleischmann