Chasidut for Genesis 5:32
וַֽיְהִי־נֹ֕חַ בֶּן־חֲמֵ֥שׁ מֵא֖וֹת שָׁנָ֑ה וַיּ֣וֹלֶד נֹ֔חַ אֶת־שֵׁ֖ם אֶת־חָ֥ם וְאֶת־יָֽפֶת׃
And Noah was five hundred years old; and Noah begot Shem, Ham, and Japheth.
Kedushat Levi
Genesis 6,9. “these are the generations of Noach;" there are two types of righteous people, both of whom serve the Lord. The first category does so with enthusiasm and profound devotion, but does so as an individual only, not endeavouring to draw other people, admitted sinners, nearer to their Creator.
There is a second category of tzaddik, righteous person, who not only serves the Lord himself, but who also is instrumental in leading sinners back to their Creator. Avraham was a prime example of the latter type of tzaddik. He was busy converting pagans to monotheism.
According to Ari’zal, Noach was even punished for not rebuking the pagans in his time; his punishment consisted of his soul being reincarnated in the body of Moses in order to accomplish then what it had failed to accomplish on its first round inside a human body. Moses made up for the sin of omission of Noach by constantly rebuking the Israelites for their shortcomings. When our sages in Kidddushin 40 discussed the difference between a צדיק, “a righteous individual,” and a צדיק טוב, “a good righteous individual,” they said that the former is righteous vis a vis G’d, whereas the latter is “righteous both vis a vis G’d, and vis a vis his fellow man.” Being “good” to one’s peers involves more than being helpful and charitable; it includes admonishing one’s neighbour when one observes him violating G’d’s commandments. According to Sanhedrin 99, teaching one’s neighbour’s son Torah is one of the most important ways in which to demonstrate one’s concern for him, so much so that a student who has been taught Torah by someone other than his biological father is deemed as having been sired by that teacher. In introducing Avraham to us, the Torah underlines (Genesis 12:5) that when heading for the land of Israel from Charan, Avraham and Sarah took with them את הנפש אשר עשו בחרן, “the souls they had acquired while in Charan”. (the converts to monotheism)
When the Torah refers to Avraham, it never wrote the line: אלה תולדות אברהם, as opposed to Genesis 6,9-10 where amongst the תולדות of Noach we are told about his three sons; there is no mention or allusion to any converts that Noach had attracted to monotheism other than his own flesh and blood. The word אלה, “these,” is almost always used as a limitation, i.e. “these and none other.” In Noach’s case, he had failed to “acquire souls.”
When we reflect on this we will understand why the Torah wrote ונח מצא חן בעיני ה', instead of ונח היה לו חן בעיני ה'. The latter formulation would mean that when Noach faced G’d he brought with him much to commend him, i.e. his converts, whereas the formulation the Torah uses implies that G’d had to go looking for Noach; indeed he was a valuable find, a צדיק תמים, a perfectly righteous man, but not one that could not be overlooked such as Avraham’s “Chassidim.”
When the Torah testifies that את האלוקים התהלך נח, “Noach walked with G’d,” this sounds as proof of Noach’s aloofness vis a vis his fellow man [at least during the 120 years prior to the deluge when he was busy building his ark. Ed.] He was in step with G’d, but out of step with his peers. This is why the Torah repeats once more (verse 10) that he sired three sons, although the Torah had informed us of this already at the end of the last chapter (Genesis 5:32).
Noach, though aware of the many sexual perversions practiced by the people around him, and being steadfast in not copying their behaviour, is attested to by the Torah describing him as תמים היה בדורותיו, “he was perfect in his time.” Nonetheless, his loyalty to the Creator certainly did not endear him to his peers, hence “he walked with G’d”, as there was no one else “with whom to walk.” Sadly, only G’d appreciated his self-restraint, his righteousness.
There is a second category of tzaddik, righteous person, who not only serves the Lord himself, but who also is instrumental in leading sinners back to their Creator. Avraham was a prime example of the latter type of tzaddik. He was busy converting pagans to monotheism.
According to Ari’zal, Noach was even punished for not rebuking the pagans in his time; his punishment consisted of his soul being reincarnated in the body of Moses in order to accomplish then what it had failed to accomplish on its first round inside a human body. Moses made up for the sin of omission of Noach by constantly rebuking the Israelites for their shortcomings. When our sages in Kidddushin 40 discussed the difference between a צדיק, “a righteous individual,” and a צדיק טוב, “a good righteous individual,” they said that the former is righteous vis a vis G’d, whereas the latter is “righteous both vis a vis G’d, and vis a vis his fellow man.” Being “good” to one’s peers involves more than being helpful and charitable; it includes admonishing one’s neighbour when one observes him violating G’d’s commandments. According to Sanhedrin 99, teaching one’s neighbour’s son Torah is one of the most important ways in which to demonstrate one’s concern for him, so much so that a student who has been taught Torah by someone other than his biological father is deemed as having been sired by that teacher. In introducing Avraham to us, the Torah underlines (Genesis 12:5) that when heading for the land of Israel from Charan, Avraham and Sarah took with them את הנפש אשר עשו בחרן, “the souls they had acquired while in Charan”. (the converts to monotheism)
When the Torah refers to Avraham, it never wrote the line: אלה תולדות אברהם, as opposed to Genesis 6,9-10 where amongst the תולדות of Noach we are told about his three sons; there is no mention or allusion to any converts that Noach had attracted to monotheism other than his own flesh and blood. The word אלה, “these,” is almost always used as a limitation, i.e. “these and none other.” In Noach’s case, he had failed to “acquire souls.”
When we reflect on this we will understand why the Torah wrote ונח מצא חן בעיני ה', instead of ונח היה לו חן בעיני ה'. The latter formulation would mean that when Noach faced G’d he brought with him much to commend him, i.e. his converts, whereas the formulation the Torah uses implies that G’d had to go looking for Noach; indeed he was a valuable find, a צדיק תמים, a perfectly righteous man, but not one that could not be overlooked such as Avraham’s “Chassidim.”
When the Torah testifies that את האלוקים התהלך נח, “Noach walked with G’d,” this sounds as proof of Noach’s aloofness vis a vis his fellow man [at least during the 120 years prior to the deluge when he was busy building his ark. Ed.] He was in step with G’d, but out of step with his peers. This is why the Torah repeats once more (verse 10) that he sired three sons, although the Torah had informed us of this already at the end of the last chapter (Genesis 5:32).
Noach, though aware of the many sexual perversions practiced by the people around him, and being steadfast in not copying their behaviour, is attested to by the Torah describing him as תמים היה בדורותיו, “he was perfect in his time.” Nonetheless, his loyalty to the Creator certainly did not endear him to his peers, hence “he walked with G’d”, as there was no one else “with whom to walk.” Sadly, only G’d appreciated his self-restraint, his righteousness.
Ask RabbiBookmarkShareCopy