Noach

Believing in Righteousness

adapted from Rabbi Lawrence Kushner

Rabbinic tradition is conflicted over what to do with Noach. On the one hand, the biblical text describes him as a tzaddik, a righteous person who walked with God. On the other, unlike Avraham and Moshe, Noach never protested God's harsh decree - not so much as even one peep. How righteous could a person be who watched the destruction of an entire generation in silence?

Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev offers a solution based on an insight into the personality of a religious leader. The difference between the two kinds of tzaddikim does not derive from the presence or absence of some special moral fiber. It's not even the result of the instinct for self-preservation. What enables a true tzaddik to rise in the defense of the world - even when that world is uniformly and unrepentantly evil - is an expression of one's own self-worth. Noah, suggests the Berditchever, said to himself, "Who am I to be worthy to challenge God's decree?" And so he did nothing. His failure was his humility.

Even though it is the source of all human wickedness (and would doubtless make Levi Yitzchak cringe), every real tzaddik, sooner or later, needs a little bit of arrogance. A righteous person must believe in the power of his or her righteousness to make a difference in the world.

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