Parshat Noach 5773 Schedule

Weekly Words of Torah

Holy Fire

Insights into Parshat Noach of Mr. Adam Venick of Yeshivat Sha’alvim, by Rav Re’uven Ungar of Yeshivat Sha’alvim.

If a person is cold there are two ways for him to warm up. One is to put on a jacket. The other is to light a fire. What’s the difference? When one puts on a jacket he is only keeping himself warm, but when one lights a fire, he warms up everyone around him.

This weeks Parsha begins “אלה תולדות נח נח איש צדיק תמים היה בדורותיו” (These are the generations of Noach; Noach was a righteous man, pure in his generation). The Torah says “אלה תולדות” (These are the generations) by Noach, but does not say it by Avraham Avinu. The Kedushat Levi explains that there are two types of tzadikim in the world. There is one Tzadik who is incredible in his relationship with ה’, however, he does not strive to inspire others in their Avodat Hashem. There is another type of tzadik who not only has a personal connection with ה’ but inspires others to grow as Jews. The Kedushat Levi explains that these two figures respresent Noach and Avraham. The Torah calls Noach a tzadik, but he never inspired the rest of the world to do Teshuvah. He kept to himself and only saved his family. The pesukim regarding Noach reflect this idea. The pasuk says “את האלוקים התהלך נח” (Noach walked with G-d), depicting his relationship only with ה’. On the other hand, Avraham is referred to by the Medrash as megayer gerim (he converted many people). Avraham was constantly involved in what we call nowadays kiruv – outreach. (see רש”י 12:5)

One difference between Avraham and Noach is recorded in the גמ’ (Talmud) in Sanhedrin. The גמ’ tells us that “anyone who teaches his friend’s son Torah, he is considered his own son.” Because Noach did not inspire others to become closer to ה’, the Torah writes “these are the descendants of Noach,” as if to say, these are his ONLY children. However, by Avraham the Torah never writes, “these are the descendants of Avraham”, because he was Megayer Gerim and therefore his children are beyond number.

Whether Noach was only a tzaddik in his time, or even if he was a tzaddik in the greatest of generations, The גמ’ in ברכות tells us that the status of tzaddik pales in comparison to that of a baal teshuva. The גמ’ says that “במקום שבעלי תשובה עומדים צדיקים גמורים אינם עומדין,” (in a place where there are baalei teshuva, the righteous do not stand). This concept seems troubling at first, however Rav Renod explains that the גמ’ is telling us an important lesson. The גמ’ means to say that the level that a person who is mekarev others, the level that the בעל תשובה – meaning the cause of the teshuvah, can reach, is higher then that of a tzadik Gamur. We need to strive for lofty goals as individuals, attaining the level of Noach, while acknowledging our responsibilities which we inherited from Avraham Avinu, to continue to use the fires inside ourselves to ignite the sparks within our fellow Jews.