THE NOT-SO-RIGHTEOUS TZADDIK

Parashat Noach

Cheshvan 1, 5785 / November 2, 2024

Torah: Genesis 6:9-11:32

Maftir (Shabbat Rosh Chodesh): Numbers 28:9-15
Haftarah (Shabbat Rosh Chodesh): Isaiah 66:1-24

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  "... ת"ר ב"ש אומרים שמים נבראו תחלה"

'Our Rabbis were taught: The School of Shammai say: "The Heavens were created first ..."'

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THE NOT-SO-RIGHTEOUS TZADDIK

"Noah was a righteous man (tzaddik), wholehearted in his generations" (Gen. 6:9)
"For it is you that I have seen to be righteous before Me in this generation." (Gen. 7:1)

There was great disagreement among the Rabbis and many commentators about just how righteous Noah really was. Was he righteous only in comparison to all of the evil people around him, so that in better times he would not have been noteworthy? Or is he truly impressive, being so righteous that he was able to withstand the great evil around him, so that in better times he would have been even more outstanding?

The great weight of rabbinic opinion is that Noah was not so hot, not much of a tzaddik, just the best of a bad lot. The proof of this theory, according to the Zohar, is through comparison to Abraham, who is also described in the Torah as righteous and wholehearted.

When God tells Noah He intends to destroy the world, Noah holds his peace and says nothing. When God tells Abraham that He intends to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah, Abraham approaches God and asks, "Will you also destroy the righteous with the wicked?"

"The Building of Noah's Ark", by Aureliano Milani 

(is he trying to get them to become righteous - or is he telling them to hurry up with the construction? RAF)

In other words, Noah was only looking out for himself. Rabbi Aharon Shmuel Tameret picks up on this, and says that in fact, Noah and his family were punished (!) by being exiled in the ark. Although they were protected from the flood, their isolation in the ark, which they were unable to steer, was a form of punishment. In this view, they were doing penance for the sin of indifference and cold-heartedness.

It has been said that evil flourishes when good people turn away and are silent. Had Noah been more righteous, perhaps he would have saved other people, or even prevented the Flood by convincing others to be righteous. Just as we are able to choose between good and evil, we can also choose the way in which we will be good. We can mind our own business, keep our noses clean, and try to save ourselves. Or we can confront injustice directly, and relieve the suffering of others, and perhaps save the world. How will we be remembered?

Shabbat Shalom!

Rabbi Richard A. Flom

Rabbi Emeritus

Temple B'nai Hayim

"שתיקה כהודאה דמיא"

"Silence in the face of wrongdoing is consent.”

BT Yevamot 88a

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