In Defense of Noach

Parshat Noach

by Rabbi Avi Billet

Of all the Biblical heroes, those we might call the "good guys," Noach gets the worst rap. When we are first introduced to him, we are told he was a tzaddik (righteous man) "in his generation." Rashi famously pounces on the added term, suggesting that he was a good guy in his generation alone, but had he lived in the generation of Avraham, he would not have been a person of significance.

Some further note that Noach never prayed for, or interceded on behalf of the people of his generation, in any manner similar to Avraham's protests on behalf of the doomed inhabitants of Sodom (see Rabbenu Bachaye on 6:14, for example). He may have taken his time building the ark, but as Bill Cosby noted in his popular "Noah" routine, if people asked him why he was building the ark, his response did not exactly inspire repentance (as is indicated by Rashi's "'Perhaps' they'd repent" in 6:14).

The Midrash Rabba compares the Torah's depiction of Noach to how it depicts Moshe. Noach starts as an "Ish Tzaddik" - a righteous man (6:9), but is last depicted as an "Ish Ha'Adamah" - a man of the earth (9:20). While being a man of the earth is not particularly a bad thing, it seems to be a step down from his original status. And once one considers that the epithet comes even after he has offered sacrifices to his God, the evidence is reproving in his disfavor.

Moshe, on the other hand, is depicted in his early days as an "Ish Mitzri" - an Egyptian man (Shmot 2:19), while at the end of his life he is called an "Ish Ha'Elokim" - a man of God (Devarim 33:1). His life seems to be a progression to greater holiness.

These critiques may reflect personality traits of Noach. He listened to God's instructions, but did not have the wherewithal to confront or inspire people, or to teach them to be more Godly. He may have been a tzaddik when others were around, but maybe the same personality trait did not hold water when Noach is the "only" human being around (aside from his immediate family) after the flood.

While I can not defend Noach against these accusations, I would like to share a defense pointed out by the Kli Yakar, which adds to Noach's esteem even beyond the Torah's "And Noach found favor in God's eyes." (6:8)  

Towards the end of Chapter 6, God tells Noach, "And you will take for yourself of all kinds of edible foods. You will gather it to you. And it will be food for you and for [the animals]." (6:21)

Says the Kli Yakar: "Taking for yourself implies 'from your own and not from the [food] of others.' This was to remind Noach not to think that just because everyone else will die soon and will have no need for their money or property, that everything in the world was available to him for the taking." The miracle, he explains, is that Noach's personal rations – from what he personally owned – sufficed for all those on the ark, man and beast, for one year.

This is quite significant. Noach is living in a time in which "Chamas" – robbery – is rampant. The fact that this does not even register as a possibility for him, he being the only one who understands that God will be destroying the world, and how truly "you can't take it with you" applied to the people of his generation, is a remarkable trait for a person living in that time period.

Think about it. Adam and Chava "stole" from the tree from which they were forbidden to eat. The Slonimer Rebbe (Nesivos Shalom) points out a remarkable difference between the offerings of Kayin and Hevel, that Kayin brought from "the fruit of the earth" (4:3) while Hevel brought from "the best of his sheep" (4:4). The source of Hevel's offering was his own property! Kayin's offering may not have been "his!" It may have been stolen!

Noach did not descend from Kayin. Nonetheless it is noteworthy how the concept of taking "that which does not belong to you" is a flaw which afflicted even the first humans on earth. But Noach overcame, and did not have that temptation. This allowed him to even hold back from taking from those who would never miss it.

The message is simple. Noach is a tzaddik in the first part of the parsha because he never let money, or the pursuit of money, get in the way of his relationship with God and other human beings. Any food ultimately brought aboard the ark was either grown by him or purchased honestly.

It takes a big man to go against the grain. Particularly in a society when everyone is stealing because "everyone else does," it is the truly righteous who steps back and says, "I don't. Because stealing is wrong."

By the end of the account of Noach in the Torah, he does not enjoy the same status as he did at the beginning of his tale. But his moral stance should continue to inspire all of us. Unlike many who choose to do the wrong thing following the bad example of others (like, say, double parking on a busy street that has one lane in each direction), who justify their behavior because "everyone does it," Noach set a standard that if it's wrong you don't do it, even if everyone else says otherwise.