Noah: What Does It Really Mean to Be Righteous?

These are the generations of Noah, Noah was a righteous man, perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with G-d. (Bereshith 6:9).

The Mefarshim question why the word “Noah” is mentioned twice. The Zohar explains that it means “pleasant (noah) for above and pleasant (noah) below.”

Hakham Yoseph Hayyim, a”h, the holy Ben Ish Hai, explains in Addereth Eliyahu that a person whose nature is pleasant (noah) in his speech when dealing with people will find favor in the eyes of others, as a result of his pleasant comportment and manner towards them. The word “noah” in Hebrew has the same letters and the word “chein” (favor). If he is pleasant with them he will find favor in their eyes.

If a person wishes to attain both levels of “pleasant above” and “pleasant below,” which means being both righteous and wealthy, he needs the following three qualities which are mentioned in the verse above:

To be a “righteous man” (ish tzadik). This means that he must be righteous in his youth. It is normal for a person to become more righteous in his old age, when the evil inclination (Yetzer Harah) has diminished. An ish tzadik must be as righteous when he is young as when he is older.

He must be “perfectly righteous” (tzadik Tammim). There are some commandments that go against a person’s nature, such as fasting. There are others that are easy for the body, such as delighting in Shabbat and the Holy days (Oneg Shabbat and Yom Tov). When a person is an ish tzadik, he performs both these types of commandments with the same excitement and desire.

“In his generations”: One who mixes with those around him might stumble and sin; therefore, he keeps away, not even having any direct business contact with them either. “In his generations” means that he mixes with them, while still being perfect.

The common thread is that his righteousness is complete, irrespective of whether it is easy, or goes against his nature. Whether he is young or he is old, whether it is something he enjoys or is difficult, whether he separates or mixes with others, his righteousness is intact.

When this common thread is in place, G-d will react the same way by giving the person tranquility of both body and soul, making him both righteous as well as wealthy (tzadik as well as ashir).

Rabbenu Bahye writes (Parshat Noah) that what makes a person a tzadik is that when he performs the mitzvot, his entire purpose is to do it because of his love and fear of G-d, and not for the purpose of self-aggrandizement or to boast, or in order to receive honor from others.

Additionally, when one performs good deeds, one shouldn’t speak about them for the purpose of making them known to others. One reason is that the mere fact of repeating the good deeds that one has done can cause arrogance. Secondly, it causes embarrassment to the person to whom he did the kindness.

In Moreh Be’Esba, Rabbenu the Chida mentions that when a person gives charity, he should not publicize all the generosity he does with people, because the service of G-d has to be leshem shamayim, without any personal interest.

In Ben Ish Hai Derashoth it mentions that Razal tell us that there is no greater blemish than arrogance. If a person sees himself as being full of Torah, mitzvot, and good deeds, how is it possible for him not to feel conceited?

One answer is that he must have in mind that this is not the first time that he has come to this world. Rather, he has already been here, once, twice, three times, and the reason he is here to rectify the wrongs that he committed previously. That is why it says “perfect in his generations,” - “generations” refers to his previous gilgulim. If a righteous person wants to ensure that he is free of the blemish of arrogance, he must think of his generations, which are all his previous gilgulim.

Another answer is that a tzadik does not look at what is not his. tzadikim do not have a desire to take that which is not theirs, because they know that G-d gives everyone their own portion.

There is a story about a G-d-fearing individual who always went to the yeshivah to study, after midnight. He was always the first to enter and the last to leave. Once, while on his way, he saw a gate to a yard that was left open. It led to a house where a rich widow lived. She used to sleep in her room together with a box where all her money, gold, and jewels were kept. One of her maidservants would also sleep in that room.

He entered the room and neither of them woke up. His Yetzer Harah tempted him to steal the wealth. He extinguished the candle and broke the lock of the box. The noise woke the two women up, but they were too afraid to scream, because they were afraid that this might be an armed robber who may kill them.

He took the bounty, but remembered a saying of Ben Azzai, which his Rosh Yeshivah would expound upon. He said to himself, “If this money is meant for me, why should I take it in a forbidden way? And if it is not meant for me, stealing me will not help me either.” So he returned the money to the box and left.

In the morning, when the widow saw that nothing was stolen, she said to herself that this was nothing short of a miracle, and since miracles don’t happen all the time, it would be better for her to marry so that she and her money would be better protected.

So she went to that Rosh Yeshivah and told him the story. She asked him if he could suggest a G-d-fearing individual who she could marry. That particular man had been sitting there on his own, all the time, and heard the entire conversation. The Rosh Yeshivah pointed him out to her and said, “Take this man, because he is extremely G-d-fearing.”

They got married and the man said, “I said the right thing when I said that if this money were meant for me, why should I take it in a forbidden way? And if it is not meant for me, stealing me will not help me either.”

This is a major principle in the service of G-d that a person should totally believe in. One must not set one’s eyes on what is not his, but must believe that if something is meant to come to you it will come the right way. If it is not meant for you, you must not look at it and, as a result, desire it.

This is the true midah (trait) of the righteous.

Rabbi Ya’aqob Menashe is a renowned author and lecturer, whose Shiurim continue to inspire thousands around the world. Many can be seen at www.NonstopTorah.com. His daily Torah Minutes are eagerly anticipated by thousands every morning. They can be seen at www.ATorahMinute.com. Rabbi Menashe is the spiritual leader of Midrash BEN ISH HAI. More information is available at the Midrash website,
www. Midrash.org.