WHY WE ARE WHO WE ARE?
This week’s Parsha, Noach, presents us the personality of Noach and contrasts him with our father Avraham. Regarding Noach the Torah states that he was a perfect tzadik who walked with HaShem. Regarding Avraham HaShem instructs him “walk before Me and be perfect”. In this short contrast there are two noteworthy distinctions. The first is that Noach walks with HaShem while Avraham walks in front of HaShem. The second distinction is that Noach is perfect and Avraham is to become perfect implying that he is not yet perfect.
There is another distinction which our Sages point out. Although Noach was a perfect righteous man, nevertheless he failed to move the members of his generation towards HaShem. Our father Avraham, on the other hand, created a society of tens of thousands of followers who moved towards HaShem.
I heard a profound insight from Rabbi Aaron Lopiansky that explains the primary difference between these two great personalities.
Noach was raised in an outstanding family. His grandfather, Mesushelach, was a truly great tzadik. Mesushelach learnt about HaShem from Adam and lived his life accordingly. Even though the people of that period of history were notoriously evil, nevertheless, Noach was raised in an environment that was conducive to walking with HaShem. HaShem was in his home and Noach walked with Him. He did not go off the path that lay in front of him; he remained a perfect tzadik.
Avraham was raised in quite a different environment. His father, Terach, was a devout idol worshipper. By profession, Terach encouraged a greater and stronger worship of idols. In the environment which Avraham was raised nobody even considered the notion that there was only One G.D. If anyone harbored such a notion they was killed. At the tender age of three years Avraham began thinking about the world around him. Over the course of 45 years he arrived at a complete understanding of HaShem and committed himself to the teachings of HaShem as he understood them. For the subsequent 25 years Avraham lived his life in total devotion to HaShem teaching His ways to thou-sands of others. Finally at the age of 70 years HaShem appeared to Him and instructed him to move to the Land of Israel.
Avraham began walking in ways of HaShem before meeting Him. Noach walked in the ways of HaShem together with HaShem. Noach never went into unfamiliar territory before knowing HaShem, he was always with HaShem.
Let us put it this way; Noach was who he was because that was who he was. Avraham, on the other hand, was who he was because he made himself into who he was.
Perhaps the reason why Avraham was able to inspire the people of his generation to reorient their worldview and accept HaShem into their lives was because he reoriented his own self. Noach never made that paradigm shift himself, how could he inspire others to do so?
Perhaps the reason Avraham was instructed to become perfect which implies that he was not yet perfect is because when one is developing themselves into something greater than they already are, there is no limit how high they can go. HaShem in-structed Avraham to continue his quest for perfection. Noach was not engaged in any quest for something greater than he al-ready was. Regarding Noach it therefore says that he was just perfect, no more.
Have a wonderful Shabbos.
Paysach Diskind