(Sermon Originally-Delivered 11/01/08)
 

This Shabbat, our Torah portion is a very interesting one; one that introduces the very famous biblical character, Noah, with the words...

“Noah, ish tzadik v’tamim b’dorotav” – “Noah was a righteous and blameless man in his generation.”

Now, why did the Torah include the “in his generation” phrase?  What was meant by this?

Our Talmudic sages, after much discussion, came up with several possible interpretations…

1)   Noah was a righteous and blameless man who behaved with integrity in spite of the moral corruption of the humankind of his generation; and since he was the only one who behaved right in a terrible world, he was an outstanding character.

Yet (“on the other side of the coin”)…

2)   Noah was righteous only in contrast to the wicked people around him -- not so difficult considering all the corruption that existed back then.  Rabbi Yochanan, summed up this point by stating that in a more respectable era, Noah would actually have been no better than average! 

The Midrash then continues by comparing Noah with Abraham…    

1)   If Noah had lived in Abraham’s generation, he, Noah, would not have been termed a “tzadik”, but just a normal person. 

2)   Abraham was the first Jew and was certainly a tzadik, To him, G-d said: “Get thee out of your country, your father’s house…and to the land that I will show thee…”  [In other words, G-d is telling Abraham that he would be the father of a new people and the first patriarch.  Yet, it is actually Noah that starts a new generation for the world after the flood; and he and his family (like Adam and Eve in the past) – start (or more accurately re-start) -- the generations of the world.]

And there’s another interesting point comparing Noah and Abraham…

After the bible describes Noah, it says: “Et ha-elohim heethalech Noah”- “Noah walked with G-d.”

And, regarding Abraham, in Bereshit it later states that “Abraham walked before the Lord”.

So, what’s better -- to walk with G-d or to walk before Him??

The Midrash answers this by studying the relationship between a father and his son or daughter and noting that the father takes his young child by the hand and walks with him all the time; while an older and more mature child doesn’t need this much supervision, so the child comfortably walks before the father.

Now, we arrive at the last points of comparison – selfishness and solidarity. Consider the following…

Noah was commanded to build the ark; which he did.  He was commanded to summon the animals; and he accepted.  He was commanded to embark with his immediate family and prepare for the flood with food and all that was needed; and he also accepted this.  As stated in the Torah: “To all that G-d commanded, so Noah did.”

But knowing what was to come, why didn’t Noah feel the need to try to save at least one of his neighbors!?  Didn’t Noah have any friends?   We can only assume that Noah was more selfishly concerned for his and his family’s well-being and space on the ark!

Yet, contrast this to Abraham’s pleading to save Sodom and Gomorrah…

When G-d announces the imminent destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, Abraham pleads: “Wilt Thou indeed sweep away the righteous with the wicked?  Perhaps there are fifty righteous within the city… or forty-five… or forty… or thirty… or twenty… or ten… or even five righteous individual’s there?!

In the end, Abraham’s efforts were, of course, useless because of the total wickedness of these cities.   But he was good enough to consider the welfare of his contemporaries, and because of this he will always be considered as the righteous man par-excellence in any generation!