Noach - What a Man! What a Man?

The Torah is really good at using enigmatic language. You and I, the readers, are left to try and make sense of something that is - intentionally, in my opinion - vague and ambiguous. It forces us to think, to opine, to question and compare, and to basically engage with the text in an active way. Which, let's face it, is really the ultimate objective of our Biblical heritage. This week, we are introduced to Noah. Remember him? The great Ark-itect. Right off the bat, the Torah presents him with high praise. Well, at least I think it's high praise. Maybe it's a backhanded compliment? It's kind of hard to tell. Geez, it's almost like the Torah did that on purpose...

In Genesis, 6:9, we are told: "Noah was a righteous man; blameless in his generation." Well, we know that Noah lived in a time of terrible lawlessness, corruption, and licentiousness. So is it more impressive to be blameless in an age of violence and chaos, or is it qualified praise? In other words, maybe the text is just saying the bar is so low that if Noah once said "God bless you" to someone who sneezed, he was already a better human than 99% of the people on earth! Or as the expression goes: "In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king." Which way does the Torah want us to take it? That, I would say, is actually the point. You and I are meant to pause and reflect on what it means to be great, or to ACT great.

Perhaps there isn't an objective standard; a scale we could use to neutrally evaluate heroism. In an age of lawlessness, maybe hiding a refugee in your basement and sneaking them tiny morsels of food is incredibly heroic? Small acts of kindness - especially if you have to step off your normal path when it might be inconvenient, unpleasant, or even dangerous for you to do so - can actually be the bravest of choices. When we allow heroism to seem like the stuff of myths and legends, and we stand aside waiting for someone else to lead, I think we are missing the point. Maybe in the end, it doesn't matter if Noah was receiving qualified praise or not. He stood out. In a moment when it was needed, he stepped up and did what God asked of him. We don't need to be a hero for ALL ages. No one is actually ever asking that of us. However, we may have a moral obligation to be a righteous person RIGHT NOW, in this moment in time. What does that look like? Hmmm, good question.