Noah 1997

In today's Torah portion, Noah, we learn about Noah. The Torah says that Noah was a Tzadik, a righteous man, "perfect was he in his generation and Noah walked with G-d." Although Noah is one of the very few people referred to as a Tzadik in Torah, yet, many rabbis question whether he was really a righteous man.  They say because it says in the Torah that he was righteous in his generation, it means that he was righteous only in comparison with the people of his generation.  This is the opinion of Rabbi Yochanan.  On the other hand, Roshlokesh says that no matter when Noah lived, he would have been a great Tzadik. Although the other rabbis claimed that if Noah had lived in the generation of Abraham, he would have been just a run of the mill person, Roshlokesh claims that if Noah would have lived in Abraham's generation, he would have been even a greater Tzadik. Why is it that the rabbis question the fact that Noah was a Tzadik? Why does he have this bad reputation? Also, why is it that G-d had Noah make an ark? After all, G-d could have saved Noah in many different ways.  This is what Rashi says.  He could have put him in a cave and closed it up and had a ventilation system to protect him, or put him on top of a mountain.  He could have saved him many different ways. Why did He have him make an ark? What's more, according to Rashi, it took him 120 years to build that ark, and when the people of the generation of the flood would see that he was occupied 120 years in building this ark, they would ask him, "What are you doing?", and he would say to them, "In the future G-d is going to bring a flood on this world.  Perhaps you will repent."  So we see that Noah was concerned about his fellow human beings.  Some rabbis question the fact that Noah seemed passive in his determination to cause the people of his generation to repent.  After all, G-d had him build an ark for 120 years, and he did it, so that people would ask what he was doing, and he subjected himself to all sorts of ridicule so that he could bring the message of G-d to the people so that they would learn to repent so the world would not be destroyed.  Of course, you could ask the question, why did G-d have to have him build an ark? Why didn't G-d have him do what we do today to bring people closer to Judaism? Why wasn't he making seminars and making Shabbatonim and publishing fliers and trying to stimulate the people through speeches for them to repent and return to G-d and to the moral principles He wants us to live by? The answer to that is that actually these other things, like Shabbatonim that we have in our synagogue, are all fine and good, but they ultimately depend upon the fact that the person who is giving these messages is a sincere person who really believes what he says.  This we can see. We see many times that people sincerely believe in things, but when it comes to their own actions, they leave much to be desired.  It is like people in America say they are great Zionists, but when their children decide to go to Israel, they almost have a heart attack. I remember when I first got into the rabbinate there were many pious people who just could not stand it if their child wanted to go to yeshiva.  Here these were pious people. 

After all, their child might become a rabbi, and that to them would be the worst possible thing that could happen to their child. We know, though, that Noah was a person who showed by building the ark that he really meant what he said.  He lived by his principles, and that is, of course, ultimately the only way to convert people to your views.  It is not only that you espouse certain views, but that you live by these views. So we see here that Noah was a sincere individual who really tried to convert the people of his generation to moral views.  So why do certain rabbis condemn him? Why should they say he really was a Tzadik Impels, which means he was a Tzadik Confers. What is the difference between a Tzadik Confers and a regular Tzadik? A Tzadik Confers means that when you go into a cold room and you put on a coat, you warm only yourself but not anybody else.  If you are a true Tzadik, you light a fire so you not only warm yourself but also others.  This does not seem to be borne out by the facts. Perhaps we can understand this view if we learn what happened with Noah when he came out of the ark.  Of course, when he first came out of the ark, he offered a sacrifice to G-d, thanking Him for saving himself and his family, but after this, and after G-d promised that He would not longer ever bring destruction to the world again, and even brought him a rainbow to show him this fact, it says that Noah began the ground and planted a vineyard. What is the first thing that Noah did? He planted a vineyard and got drunk.  Noah was terribly depressed now.  He was a man who, up to this time, did not really know how much he needed other people. We learn before that he did not pray for the people.  He tried to help the people and get them to convert back to the laws of morality, but he did not seem to pray to G-d for them.  In the very beginning, we learn that Noah was an Eesh, a man with superb accomplishments. 

The rabbis say the he was the man who invented the plow.  He was a righteous man.  He was always there helping people and doing things for people.  He was Tomeem, which meant that he was whole and did not do things for honor.  He did not always brag about his accomplishments.  He was humble and did not talk about his accomplishments.  He did them matter of factly because they were the right thing to do. Nowhere in this account does it say the he really felt that he needed these people.  He was Noah.  Noah means to be self-contained.  He was at rest, at peace with himself.  He did not realize how much he needed these other people.  Even though these other people may not have been up to his standard, but, yet, he needed other people.  What was the first thing he did afterwards? He planted a vineyard because he was terribly depressed.  He had lost all his friends and his community, people with whom he had related for so many years.  He planted a vineyard and got drunk, which caused a terrible episode among his sons. We know that from, then, that it is not enough to be a righteous person or a person of achievement or a humble person.  You also have to realize that you need other people.  You need other people to be you.  If you do not have other people, then it is very difficult to make it in the world, especially with all the problems of the world.  Therefore, I would like to thank all of you today, especially during this last difficult week and a half when I was ill, how much your calls and cards and prayers meant to myself and my wife and family.

I am reminded of the story of a little girl brought to the doctor by her father.  She has a very raspy voice and had laryngitis.  The doctor said, “Young lady, are you a little hoarse?"  She said she was not.  The doctor said, "Are you sure you are not a little hoarse?"  She replied, "Yes, I am sure I am not a little hoarse, but sometimes my daddy thinks I am a little  monkey." We see from this that things are not always the way they seem.  Thank G-d, the doctors were able to make a diagnosis, and I hope to be completely recovered soon.  I want to thank you all for your support because your support meant so much to my family.  May we all know only good health and good things in the years ahead.  Amen.