Here in this powerful piece of analysis, our member Rabbi Paul Bloom parallels the lives and challenges of Noach and Avraham with the middot ascribed to their generations in Pirkei Avot.
Noach: The Righteous Man in His Generations
נֹחַ אִישׁ צַדִּיק תָּמִים הָיָה בְּדֹרֹתָיו,
אֶת הָאֱ-לֹהִים הִתְהַלֶּךְ נֹחַ
“Noach was a righteous man, perfect in his
generations; Noach walked with God” (בראשית ו:ט)
Few figures in the Torah are explicitly described as ‘tzaddik’.
The Torah’s introduction of Noach, however, includes a striking qualifier — בְּדֹרֹתָיו, “in his
generations.”
Much ink has been spilled over this phrase. Rashi famously
cites two views: some interpret it as praise — that, even amid corruption,
Noach remained righteous; others, as limitation — that only “in his
generations” was he righteous but, compared to Avraham, he would not have stood
out.
Yet Midrash Rabbah offers a different and profound
perspective. The phrase “in his generations” refers not to comparison, but to
context — to the dark and morally decaying generations through which Noach
lived and against which his righteousness shone.
שלוש הדורות המקולקלים
– The Three Corrupt Generations
The Midrash (בראשית רבה ל:ז)
teaches that Noach lived through three particularly depraved generations — each
marked by a different form of spiritual collapse:
1. דור אנוש – The Generation of
Enosh
This was the first
generation to turn from faith (אמונה)
to idolatry (עבודה זרה).
As the Torah says,
אָז הוּחַל לִקְרֹא בְּשֵׁם ה' (בראשית ד:כו)
which Chazal
interpret as “then they began to profane the Name of Hashem.” Humanity shifted from belief in the Creator
to the worship of created forces, inaugurating the long history of paganism.
2. דור המבול – The Generation of
the Flood
The Torah describes this
generation as being consumed by desire and corruption:
(כִּי מָלְאָה הָאָרֶץ חָמָס מִפְּנֵיהֶם (בראשית ו:יא
Their society was
driven by ta’avah — unrestrained self-gratification. They took whatever
they wanted, without regard for others, leading to theft, immorality, and
violence.
3. דור הפלגה – The Generation
of the Tower of Bavel
These people were
motivated by ga’avah — arrogance and hubris. Discovering how to make
bricks,
וַיֹּאמְרוּ הָבָה
נִבְנֶה לָנוּ עִיר וּמִגְדָּל וְרֹאשׁוֹ בַשָּׁמַיִם (בראשית יא:ד)
Their newfound
technology bred the illusion of limitless human power. They sought to dominate
nature and dethrone Heaven itself. Each generation embodied a different
corruption of the human spirit — the idolater’s denial of God, the hedonist’s
indulgence in pleasure, and the arrogant’s rebellion through pride.
קִנְאָה, תַּאֲוָה וְכָבוֹד
– The Triple Threat
The Mishnah in Pirkei Avot (ד:כח) summarizes these corruptive tendencies in
timeless psychological terms:
הַקִּנְאָה וְהַתַּאֲוָה וְהַכָּבוֹד מוֹצִיאִין
אֶת הָאָדָם מִן הָעוֹלָם
“Jealousy, desire, and the pursuit of honor
drive a person from the world.”
Each of these drives, when unrestrained, destroys both the
individual and society. Yet in moderation, they have a legitimate, even
necessary, place in life. A measure of ta’avah is needed for sustenance
and family; kavod inspires self-respect; kin’ah — in its positive
form — motivates personal growth. But excess turns them toxic. Already in the
earliest chapters of Bereishit, we see how they manifest:
● Kayin,
whose name derives from (קָנִיתִי אִישׁ (בראשית ד:א, embodied
possessiveness and envy. His jealousy of Hevel led to murder.
● The
Generation of the Flood was destroyed by ta’avah, unbounded lust and
greed.
● The
Builders of Bavel were consumed by kavod, imagining that human
achievement could replace divine authority.
נֹחַ וְכֹחוֹ לַעֲמֹד
בְּנִסָּיוֹן – Noach’s Resistance
The opening verse of Tehillim (א:א) beautifully mirrors these three eras:
אַשְׁרֵי הָאִישׁ אֲשֶׁר לֹא הָלַךְ בַּעֲצַת רְשָׁעִים,
וּבְדֶרֶךְ חַטָּאִים לֹא עָמָד, וּבְמוֹשַׁב לֵצִים לֹא יָשָׁב
Chazal (מדרש רבה שם)
interpret this verse as follows:
● לא הלך בעצת רשעים — He did not follow
the sinners of the Generation of Enosh.
● ובדרך חטאים לא עמד —
He did not stand with the Generation of the Flood.
● ובמושב לצים לא ישב —
He did not join the Generation of the Tower of Bavel.
Thus, Noach is “fortunate” because he resisted all three
corrupt influences. He walked with God
when others mocked faith, indulged the flesh, or glorified human arrogance. As
the Rambam writes in Hilchot De’ot (ו:א),
דֶּרֶךְ בְּרִיָּתוֹ שֶׁל אָדָם לִהִימָשֵׁךְ בְּדֵעוֹתָיו
וּבְמַעֲשָׂיו אַחֲרֵי רֵעָיו וְאַחֲרֵי אַנְשֵׁי מְדִינָתוֹ
“It is the nature of man to be influenced by
his companions and environment.”
To remain righteous in a corrupt world is, therefore, no
small feat. This was Noach’s greatness —
he resisted. But here too lies his limitation. Noach saved himself and his
family, but not his generation. He built an ark, not a movement. His
righteousness was defensive, not transformative.
אָבְרָהָם – הַשָּׁלָב
הַבָּא בַּתִּקוּן – Avraham’s Advancement
With Avraham Avinu, the Torah’s story takes a new direction.
Avraham not only resisted the surrounding idolatry; he challenged it. He
“called out in the name of Hashem” —
וַיִּקְרָא בְּשֵׁם
ה'
Chazal teach that Avraham traveled from place to place,
teaching humanity about the Creator, even at personal risk. His mission was to
restore the world’s moral order. Where Noach withstood, Avraham inspired. The
Mishnah in Pirkei Avot (ה:יט)
contrasts the disciples of Avraham with those of Bil‘am:
כָּל שֶׁיֵּשׁ בּוֹ שָׁלוֹשׁ מִדּוֹת הַלָּלוּ
– עַיִן טוֹבָה, רוּחַ נְמוּכָה, וְנֶפֶשׁ שְׁפֵלָה – מִתַּלְמִידָיו שֶׁל אַבְרָהָם
אָבִינוּ
These three middot directly correspond to the rectification
of the earlier corruptions:
● עַיִן טוֹבָה — a “good eye,”
rejoicing in others’ success, rectifies kin’ah (jealousy).
● נֶפֶשׁ שְׁפֵלָה — modest desires,
rectifies ta’avah (lust).
● רוּחַ נְמוּכָה — humility, rectifies
kavod (arrogance).
In Avraham, human nature itself is healed. He transforms the destructive impulses that
ruined the early world into traits of holiness.
מִנֹּחַ לְאַבְרָהָם
– From Resistance to Redemption
The Torah’s record of human corruption is not a chronicle of
despair, but a moral blueprint. It shows how far mankind can fall — and how far
it can rise. Noach was righteous within his world; Avraham was righteous for
his world. Noach preserved; Avraham
built. Noach walked with God; Avraham
walked before God (בראשית יז:א),
taking initiative to bring others along. The spiritual history of humanity thus
moves from survival to mission — from tzaddik bedorotav to av hamon
goyim.
By learning these early parshiyot, we see the continuity of
moral repair:
- ·
from the corruption of kin’ah,
ta’avah, kavod, to their sanctified opposites of ayin tova, nefesh
shefeilah, ruach nemuchah.
- ·
from resistance, to
transformation, to redemption.
May we, the children of Avraham, continue his legacy —
- ·
to resist the moral floods
of our time,
- ·
to build arks of Torah and
faith,
- ·
and to call out, like
Avraham, in the name of Hashem.
