Parashat Noach : What is a Tzadik? In memory of Rabbi Jim Michaels

Parshat Noach ~ Genesis 6:9-11:32

 

What is a Tzadik?

 

This week’s parsha begins with the words, “…Noach was a righteous man; he was blameless in his age….” (Gen 6:9). These two phrases are curious. How does “blameless in his age” impact the first description of Noach as “a righteous man”? Would he be considered righteous in other eras, like those of Avraham or Moses?

 

Initially, I was skeptical of Noach’s status as a Tzadik, a righteous man. Then I studied the writings of Rabbi Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev, an 18th-century Hasidic master. In his book Kedushat Levi, he teaches that Tzaddikim are individuals who open paths for the world. This insight shifted my perspective and helped me see Noach as a Tzadik in his own right, without needing to compare him to others. Noach, despite the corruption of his time, managed to rise above it all and was given the task of saving the world.

 

One thing that has always puzzled me, though, is why Noach never warned anyone about the upcoming flood or gave them a chance to repent, as Jonah did in Nineveh. However, if we closely read the text in chapter 6, it doesn’t seem like God gave Noach much flexibility. God’s words were clear and direct: Noach had a specific job to do, and he did it.

 

What does it mean to be a Tzadik today? It’s difficult to recognize someone’s role in opening a path for the world. However, I believe righteousness in our time involves emulating righteous qualities. While I’m not in a position to judge who is truly righteous, we can all recognize when someone brings godliness into the world.

 

During the year I mourned my father, I encountered such a person: Rabbi Jim Michaels. He was the rabbi at the Hebrew Home of Greater Washington (now Charles E. Smith Life Communities) and became a solid presence in my life. Rabbi Jim developed a chaplaincy training program, in which I participated. He taught by example, demonstrating how to be present for those in need, how to listen to both spoken and unspoken words, and how to be attentive even to those who had lost the ability to speak.

 

Rabbi Jim was a modest man, yet he touched everyone he met with respect, care, and genuine attentiveness. His simple question, “How are you?” came with a sincerity that showed he truly cared about the answer—a rare quality. Through his actions, he showed that he had a path to walk, one that would leave the world better than he found it.

 

In our parsha, Noach may have known about the impending catastrophe yet did nothing to try help others. We, however, are called to act. We cannot be like those who built the Tower of Babel, speaking the same language but failing to truly understand one another. Their punishment—scattered languages—highlighted their inability to communicate on a deeper level.

 

If we are fortunate, we will meet individuals like Rabbi Jim Michaels who truly understand. They accompany others, listen, and provide guidance while modeling righteousness. I honor the memory of Rabbi Jim Michaels, my teacher, mentor, and friend. He would be the first to admit he wasn’t perfect, but his life impacted many because he understood that we are all created in God’s image. May his memory always be for a blessing.

  

 

In Memory of Rabbi Jim Michaels, 2024

 

Living in multiple civilizations

Parshat Vayigash Genesis 44:18–47:27

In Vayigash we meet Jacob and sons as they go down to Egypt to escape a famine. When they arrive in Egypt they reunite with Joseph and the family is made complete again. They were given a new home, a land, and a future.  We learn this from the final verse in Vayigash: Thus Israel settled in the country of Egypt, in the region of Goshen; vaye’achazu va, and were fertile and increased greatly (Genesis 47:27).

What is the meaning of vaye’achazu va? Some, Rashi (12^th century, France) included, translate it to simply mean that they acquired something material: land or possessions. Others, including the Or HaChaim (18^th century, Morocco), interpret vaye’achazu va to mean that they were not the possessors of the land, but were possessed by it.

Rabbeynu Bachya (14^th century, Spain) translates vaye’achazu va as meaning that “they acquired property in it.” He notes that the word vaye’achazu suggests “the acquisition of permanent, hereditary property.” He says that the passive form of the word vaye’achazu means that “instead of becoming masters of that soil they became enslaved to it. The word is reminiscent of something taking root.”

He concludes that the reason that the Torah earlier had written:  “these are the names of the Israelites who came to Egypt, [46:8]” is because only that generation was still “master” of its destiny. Later generations became “possessed” by the land instead of actively possessing it.”

‎The Hassidic master Kedushat Levi (18th century, Eastern Europe) takes an opposing view to Rabbeynu Bachya.  He teaches an alternate meaning of veye'achazu, namely that it means that the Israelites ‎"adopted," i.e. were taken captive by, the prevailing ‎cultural values of the Egyptians. But here, the meaning is that they were ‎able to sublimate these values and yet remain Yisrael at the ‎same time.

What Rabbeynu Bachya describes is a process of assimilation. Kedushat Levi describes a process that is a form of acculturation, of choosing which cultural traits or social patterns of those around us that we want to adopt and make uniquely Jewish.  This is one of the tactics that has enabled Judaism to survive over time. With each country a Jew lives in, with each move a Jew makes, they must decide what path they will walk.

The relevance of this teaching is clear, especially in this time of year when many deal with different variations of the “December dilemma,” though in reality the dilemma for some is never ending. How do we walk as Jews in a society that is overtly not-Jewish? What does being Jewish mean to each of us and how can we sit comfortably with the understanding that we don’t all think, feel, believe in the same way? How do we act like our ancestors in Egypt and, as Kedushat Levi taught, analyze and pick among the prevailing values to yet remain part of the Jewish Project?

One way to begin is to know our history and the foundations of our people. Our sages gave us a great gift in having us read a weekly Torah portion year after year. Whether or not one believes in all the Torah says is not at issue. What is at issue is that we learn from the examples of our ancestors (like the Israelites in Egypt) and the stories of tradition and use this knowledge as a basis for our personal ethics and values. By doing this we can strive to live fully and completely in multiple civilizations, as Rabbi Mordecai Kaplan taught when writing about living as both Jews and Americans.

Also published in WJW 1/2/20