Noah 5774 - English

By Rabbi Daniel A. Kripper
Beth Israel Aruba

“These are the generations of Noah. Noah was in his generations a man righteous and whole-hearted; Noah walked with God.” (Gen. 6:9)

The starting verse of our parashah has caused a continuous debate regarding Noah’s somewhat ambiguous character.

Two parts of this verse give occasion to the reading of the Midrash.  First, because the text affirms that Noah was a righteous man ”in his generations”.  How should we understand this seemingly superfluous phrase?

While some rabbis try to explain this assertion on behalf of Noah, saying that if he was righteous in his generation, where wicked men prevailed, much more so would he be among the righteous of later generations, others make a completely opposite reading.  Seeing that the people were so execrable and evil in Noah’s generation, Noah, in comparison, was a righteous man.  He was, so to speak, the one-eyed man in the land of the blind.  So, perhaps he showed a little bit more mercy than the other human beings.  Maybe he was thoughtful and righteous in his time, but if he had lived later on, he would have been considered an absolutely unexceptional person.

Second, the verse poses another interesting idea: that “Noah walked with God.”  Clear evidence of this is that he built the ark according to what God commanded; He delivered the instructions word by word, detail by detail, while he was preparing for the flood.  Noah followed God’s orders methodically, almost as an automaton, seemingly incapable of being proactive or making a decision by himself.  In silence, he follows the instructions and walks with God.

Of Abraham, on the other hand, the Torah says: “walk before Me” (Gen. 17:1).  In other words, Abraham was capable of making his own way.  Apart from trusting the Creator, he had the capacity to recognize, with profound clarity, the good, moral, and ethical dimensions of this world.  And thus was our ancestor Abraham able to advance in his spiritual path, to transcend to all the nations of the earth.

The sages compare this situation with a king who had two sons.  To the youngest, he says, “Take my hand and walk with me”, whereas he says to the oldest, “Go before me.”

Perhaps this double utterance expresses two types of religious personality. The first one leads a life ruled by traditions and customs and, based on faith, tries to preserve the spiritual inheritance along with other people who shelter under the same personal ark.   The second one is a pioneer of the spirit and, like Abraham, imagines new horizons, facing new realities and exploring new religious possibilities.

In Achad Haam’s typology, on his classical essay “Kohen be’Navi”, the cohen (priest) constitutes the conservative par excellence, who shelters his people under the protection of his ark (the temple).  The prophet, in return, is the leader of the spiritual adventure whose limit is the sky; he represents the celebration of human freedom.

Both bearings are necessary, for in the dialectic tension between them we can all find an ark of religious support and a comforting inspiration of life.

Rabbi Daniel A. Kripper

Beth Israel Aruba