Parasha Noach
SAN DIEGO — There are only six parashiot named after a person. You won’t find parasha Avraham or a parasha Moshe, but we do have parasha Noach, who is described as an Ish Tzaddik Tamim Hayah BeDorotav, a wholehearted, righteous man, “righteous in his generation.”
Rav Bahya ben Joseph ibn Pakuda, the author of Chovot Halevavot, the Duties of the Heart, describes the ideal of t’mimut as “…complete harmony between inner and outward actions….We see in Psalm 15:2 that this ideal refers to someone “who lives without blame, who does what is right, and in his heart acknowledges the truth…”
The world surely needs this quality from all of us now, perhaps not more than ever, though it may feel that way. Look at the world Noach lived in. Greed, oppression, corruption, sexual excess and incest, violent theft, concerns about the climate and worse. Wait. What’s changed? No COVID? Look at our world. How do we cope with no ark to escape into, to get away from the pandemics that flood our lives? Floods, figuratively at least, surround us. Our Jewish response is to continue to be resilient, to build, to grow, to move forward…to be t’mimut, and to always act as menschen.
Rav Moshe Schwab, the Mashgiach of Gateshead, tells us that Avraham was guided solely by Hashem while Noach relied on his sense of what aligned with Torah. The Sefas Emes teaches that Noach lacked the spiritual strength of Avraham. Yet, even in his imperfection, Noach serves as a special role-model. He is a mensch in a world where there were no menschen. Noach was told to make a tzohar, a window, in the ark to bring in light. Some jokingly refer to this as “floodlights.” He did so and we see that even in the darkness of the ark there is always opportunity to bring light. Every step of our lives can bring light to our world, and like Noach, we must be a window to reflect light into the darkness surrounding us…to be a tzaddik tamim. Noach, the blameless, wholehearted person, reminds us that in the midst of a worldwide indescribable event of horrific proportions, one that tears at our spirit, we hold ourselves in noble ways with integrity, devotion, compassion, righteousness and faith and bring light to the dark that surrounds us. Even if imperfectly.
How can we do this in the midst of such challenge? First, think of who in the Torah we admire most? These heroes acted free of fear of what others think. These Torah giants certainly cultivated self-compassion and courage, took risks, made mistakes, were flawed while they nurtured a resilient mindset, and filled their hearts with gratitude and faith. They lived in a manner fully consistent with their values, purpose and goals. Do you? Are you striving to be tzaddik tamim? Ready for Shabbos? Challah on the table? Ready to make the bracha? But wait. Do you use the large challah that’s already sliced, or the smaller one that’s not yet sliced, that is whole? The Seer of Lublin teaches us that like Noach, we use the smaller whole one since we are to focus on t’mimus, wholeness, not greatness. Every step of life offers us the opportunity to choose t’mimus…let’s do so and live purposefully.
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Michael R. Mantell, Ph.D., prepares a weekly D’var Torah for Young Israel of San Diego, where he and his family are members. They are also active members of Congregation Adat Yeshurun. He may be contacted via michael.mantell@sdjewishworld.com