Parashat Noach
October 7, 2021
Seth Pertain, High School Talmud Teacher
This week’s parashah contains the second time that God decides to start the world from scratch. Within ten generations of Adam and Eve, the world has become so corrupt that God needs to hit a reset button. And Noah becomes the progenitor of all those who will live in World 2.0. The Torah refers to Noah as “אִישׁ צַדִּיק תָּמִים הָיָה בְּדֹרֹתָיו” – “a righteous man, simple in his generation.” There is no shortage of debate among the rabbis as to whether this is a compliment or a back-handed compliment. Had Noah been born in a different generation would he not have been considered to be righteous? Or, had he been born in a generation with more righteous people, would that context have propelled his righteousness even further? The Kotzker Rebbe once referred to a particular tzadik (righteous person) as א צדיק אין פעלץ — a righteous person wearing fur. This title may be a fitting one for Noah as well. When it’s cold out, one can warm up by putting on warm clothes. But one could also warm up by lighting a fire. Putting on a warm coat only helps the individual. Lighting a fire can warm everyone around. There’s no biblical account of Noah arguing with God to prevent the flood when God told him that it was going to happen. In his book Etnachta, Rabbi Benny Lau brings in a Midrash from the Zohar about Noah arguing with God after the flood. In it, God rebukes Noah for waiting until after the flood to argue, as opposed to doing so preemptively when something could have been done to save the rest of the world.
Within ten generations of Noah, the world is again on the path to destruction. Between pagan religion and a generation that plotted to rebel against God, there’s a feeling of “we’ve been here before.” However, restarting again will likely result in an ending similar to the last two times. This time, a new strategy is going to be needed. The parashah ends with the story of Abraham and his family setting out on their journey. However, God does not tell him to do so until the beginning of next week’s parashah. Abraham’s journey that will affect the rest of world begins without prompting from God — it happens because there’s a recognition that there’s a need to make the world a better place. In his book Lessons in Leadership, Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks states:
The first two “beginnings” lacked a role model. In Abraham, God ended up with exactly that. Killing off those who strayed from God’s word would simply put the world into a never-ending cycle of sin and destruction. Instead, the world needed to be shown a different way. Abraham was born into a world of human sacrifice, moral turpitude, and idolatry. However, unlike Noah, he was willing to model a different lifestyle for his neighbors. We see Abraham’s following growing throughout his lifetime as a result.
This week, we had two days of Rosh Chodesh on which we recited Psalm 104, which ends with the request from God: “יִתַּמּוּ חַטָּאִים מִן הָאָרֶץ וּרְשָׁעִים עוֹד אֵינָם” — “End sins from the land and let there be no more wicked.” The Talmud records a conversation between Rabbi Meir and his wife Beruria in which Rabbi Meir prays for wicked people to die. Beruria points out that the closing verse of Psalm 104 says “sins, not sinners.” With a little modeling, Rabbi Meir succeeds in transforming those wicked people into righteous ones. This is really the message of this week’s parashah. Destroying those who are on the wrong path will unlikely make the world a better place. Influencing them will. You are a role model. Be deliberate about what you are modeling.
Shabbat Shalom!
Within ten generations of Noah, the world is again on the path to destruction. Between pagan religion and a generation that plotted to rebel against God, there’s a feeling of “we’ve been here before.” However, restarting again will likely result in an ending similar to the last two times. This time, a new strategy is going to be needed. The parashah ends with the story of Abraham and his family setting out on their journey. However, God does not tell him to do so until the beginning of next week’s parashah. Abraham’s journey that will affect the rest of world begins without prompting from God — it happens because there’s a recognition that there’s a need to make the world a better place. In his book Lessons in Leadership, Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks states:
It seems, though, that the Torah sets a high standard for the moral life. It is not enough to be righteous if that means turning our backs on a society that is guilty of wrongdoing. We must take a stand. We must protest. We must register dissent even if the probability of changing minds is small. That is because the moral life is a life we share with others. We are, in some sense, responsible for the society of which we are a part. It is not enough to be good. We must encourage others to be good. There are times when each of us must lead.
The first two “beginnings” lacked a role model. In Abraham, God ended up with exactly that. Killing off those who strayed from God’s word would simply put the world into a never-ending cycle of sin and destruction. Instead, the world needed to be shown a different way. Abraham was born into a world of human sacrifice, moral turpitude, and idolatry. However, unlike Noah, he was willing to model a different lifestyle for his neighbors. We see Abraham’s following growing throughout his lifetime as a result.
This week, we had two days of Rosh Chodesh on which we recited Psalm 104, which ends with the request from God: “יִתַּמּוּ חַטָּאִים מִן הָאָרֶץ וּרְשָׁעִים עוֹד אֵינָם” — “End sins from the land and let there be no more wicked.” The Talmud records a conversation between Rabbi Meir and his wife Beruria in which Rabbi Meir prays for wicked people to die. Beruria points out that the closing verse of Psalm 104 says “sins, not sinners.” With a little modeling, Rabbi Meir succeeds in transforming those wicked people into righteous ones. This is really the message of this week’s parashah. Destroying those who are on the wrong path will unlikely make the world a better place. Influencing them will. You are a role model. Be deliberate about what you are modeling.
Shabbat Shalom!