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Jewish World Review Oct. 30, 2008 / 2 Mar-Cheshvan 5769
Our Immutable Noble Essence
By Rabbi A. Henach Leibowitz
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Noah and us
“Noah was a righteous man, perfect in his generations ... ”— Genesis 6:9
This week's Torah reading states that Noah
was a perfect tzaddik, a truly righteous man. Why, then, does the previous verse
say he found favor — chein — in the Divine's eyes, implying
that he needed special compassion and mercy from Above to
survive the flood?
Imagine yourself in noah's position. You live in an immoral society that has become so debased and corrupt that even the animals, even the earth itself, have broken all barriers of decency (Bereishis Rabbah 28:8). Thievery is the norm — employers rob workers, workers cheat their employers (Sforno 6:13). You proceed to build an ark, on Divine command, for 120 years. As people ask why, you tell them that their terrible sins have brought about their imminent destruction. They ignore you; they jeer and ridicule you (Bereishis Rabbah 30:7). Would you think that these immoral, vulgar, and shameless people could have an appreciation for the lofty concepts of the Divine's kindness and compassion? Could these wicked people, who ignored Noah's
repeated, direct rebuke and refused to repent when faced with doom — could they be inspired by the greatness and beauty
of the Divine's attributes and eventually mend their ways?
A human being, no matter how low he has sunk
into the filth of immorality and corruption, still retains his noble
essence. Buried under the layers of sin and
rationalization is a receptivity, an appreciation for
the splendor and glory of the Divine's infinite kindness.
The commentator Sforno (ibid. 6:8) answers that the Divine's
"favor" was required, not to save Noah himself, but rather to save
Noah's sons and daughters-in-law, because Noah's
own righteousness was insufficient to save them. Why?
Where was Noah lacking? The Sforno explains that
although Noah rebuked his generation for their misdeeds he did
not teach them to "know" the Divine, i.e., to understand G-d's
kindness, mercy, and goodness and to follow His ways.
The Sforno continues: A truly righteous man such as Noah, who perfects
only himself, can merit saving only himself. Others like Abraham,
Moses, or Samuel, who reach out to others to perfect them
as well, can save others through their own merit. Since there is
hope that they will bring their generation back to the Divine in
teshuvah, repentance, the entire generation deserves to be saved.
Man can be motivated by this appreciation — even when all
rebuke has failed — to raise himself from the abyss of sin and return
to the Divine. Noah failed to teach these lessons, did not reach
for the greatness within his fellow man, and therefore lacked the
merit to save his children. Only through the Lord's mercy were
they saved.
In our generation, so many of our brethren have been led
astray by the indecent and corrupt influences of our society. We
look at these tragic victims in despair and resign ourselves to
their loss. "How can we reach them?" we question. "Surely, they
have no appreciation for the ethical and moral beauty of the Torah [Bible]."
Nothing could be further from the truth. They can and do
respond to the grandeur of Biblical morality. We need only teach it
to them to reach the magnificence that lies within their souls.