Noah – A Second Look

Every year when we read commentary or discuss the Torah portion of Noah, I hear lots of criticism about this holy Tzadik whose exemplary conduct preserved the world. This most recent cycle a few weeks ago was no different. 

Noah is described by the Torah as a tzaddik, perfect in his generation. One view says that he was righteous only in relation to his own generation. Had he lived in the time of Moses or Samuel, he would not have been considered special at all. 
 
According to another view, however, this verse is said in Noah’s praise, implying that maintaining righteousness in such an evil and immoral climate, was a phenomenal accomplishment. He would have been even greater had he lived in the time of Moses or Samuel with role models from whom to learn. This latter view is the one that’s always appealed to me.  
 
How did Noah find grace in the eyes of Hashem? One reason was his emuna – Hashem finds grace in those who believe in Him. This reason is alluded to in the verse, Noah found favor “in the eyes” of Hashem. Noah always thought that he was standing before the eyes of Hashem and everything that occurred was from Him. This emuna evoked Divine compassion. 
 
How was Noah able to withstand the prevailing environment of immorality and theft? 

 
The Beis Avraham says Noah had grace because he guarded his eyes. This too is alluded to in the verse with emphasis on the phrase “in the eyes.” This implies that Noah was watchful of his eyes and therefore received Divine favor. Our sages say that what the eyes see, the heart desires. By being careful to guard his eyes, Noah was able to avoid coveting personal relationships or property that was forbidden to him. 
 
A little known fact is that Abraham personally knew Noah and benefitted from his teachings. He actually lived in the house of Noah and Shem for 39 years. Noah passed away when Abraham was age 58, the same Gematria (numerical value) as the name Noah. 
 
We also need to acknowledge his mistakes. Noah is criticized because he did not pray for his contemporaries. I read that the reason for this is that he thought they were incorrigible and that Hashem would not listen to their prayers.  Nevertheless, he should have prayed because there is no person so lowly or hopeless that he or she cannot receive Divine mercy via prayer. G-d specifically defines Himself as “ranchman” – merciful. As Rabbi Arush says – “If only a person could love the biggest tzaddik (righteous person), the way Hashem loves the biggest rasha (evil person).” 

Even if Hashem had not answered these prayers favorably, there would have been enormous merit generated for Noah and his descendants. This happened when Abraham prayed for the citizens of Sodom and Gomorrah. From this we learn that there’s never room for despair and we should always believe in the power of our prayers. You can bet that Noah taught this lesson from his experience when he spent time giving guidance to the young Abraham. 
 
Noah is also criticized for planting grapevines and getting drunk instead of attending to higher priorities. There were windows in the ark designed to let in light and at the same time enable the occupants to witness the devastation of humanity so they wouldn’t become insensitive or callous. This must have filled Noah with a profound sense of grief and sadness and he decided to drown his sorrows. This was certainly a major error. This shows how harmful it is to make decisions when we are sad. We should try to reverse a negative spiral as soon as possible and especially pray and ask Hashem to have mercy on us and give us happiness and simcha b’chelko – to be happy with our portion, knowing it is exactly from Hashem – including our mistakes. Rabbi Arush says we should avoid sadness like the bubonic plague. 
 
The Torah does not cover up shortcomings of even the greatest people. These are not presented to us so that we should criticize and condemn the tzaddikim, Heaven forbid. Rather we should learn from their mistakes. The Torah narratives are not just stories. The Torah relates these accounts to give us guidance on how we should live. 
 
Just as one person, Noah, literally saved the world and humanity so too the individual service of each Jew in Torah and mitzvot hastens the future Redemption. Over two hundred years ago Rebbe Nachman predicted that our last generation before Mashiach would be inundated by a wave of atheism and immorality. Like Noah we have to stand tall and resist the sick and twisted hedonism of our times. Noah shows that just one person can make all the difference in the world.  

Rabbi Meir says in Gemara Yoma that one person doing teshuva can bring forgiveness to the entire world. In the merit of our standing tall with emuna may the world be spared the upheavals and tribulations that may otherwise be associated with the coming of Mashiach and may we soon welcome the full redemption our people and the world with rejoicing, singing and dancing.