Noach 3

In the opening line of this weeks Torah portion, we read "These are the generations of Noah; Noah was a righteous man (Tzaddik), a prefect man in his generations..." In the Talmud, there are two interpretations of the significance of the apparent superfluous addition of "in his generations". The first interpretation explains it as a praise. He was righteous in HIS generation. He lived in a generation of wickedness. Imagine how righteous he would have been had he lived in the time of Abraham! The second view that it is actually "faint praise". He wasn't really so great; but compared to his contemporaries, he could be called righteous.
Both of these opinions are heavily reflected in the commentaries. There is no excuse for wickedness. "Everyone is doing it" is not an excuse! Maimonides goes as far as saying that if society is wicked, and we are unable to find a just society, we must move out into the wilderness in order to maintain our integrity. We may not become as righteous as if we lived among great saints, but righteous nonetheless! But how good it would be to live in a holy society! How much further we could go! But, on the other hand, one who is unable to be the voice of G-d in a sinful generation, he must AT LEAST maintain a basic integrity, to be righteous compared to his generation.
There is an interesting Chassidic commentary on this as well. Some read the story of Noah, and are astounded by his ability to be righteous when everyone else is wicked. But some say that he really wasn't so righteous, only if we consider the rest of the world, THEN he looks righteous. "Take a look" says this commentary, "even one whom the Torah calls righteous, there will be cynics who say not to take that seriously!" We need to look for the good in all, not to find reasons to think badly of others!
Still another interpretation of Noah's story is to be found in the Zohar. When the flood was over, Noah got out of the ark, looked at the destruction all around him, and said "G-d! What have You done to Your world?!?!?! G-d responded "Now you ask?!?! Why do you think I gave you so much advance notice about the flood?! I expected you to pray for them!" Therefore, the prophet Isaiah calls the flood "the waters of Noah". He could have prevented it. Instead he was so disgusted at mankind, he was ready to see everyone die, only warning those who came to him to ask why he was building an ark...but few asked. When we see evil, we must not wrap ourselves in a warm fur coat and remain comfortable. We must plead with Man and with G-d! We must pray as Abraham prayed for the sinners of Sodom and Gemorra; we must pray as Moses prayed after the sin of the golden calf. Moses put his life on the line "If you won't forgive, then erase me from Your Book!" We need to be like Jeremiah, shouting to the people until society changes! Our love of fellow man must be more important than our comfort!
May we see a righteous world soon, with the coming of Redemption!