אֵ֚לֶּה תּוֹלְדֹ֣ת נֹ֔חַ נֹ֗חַ אִ֥ישׁ צַדִּ֛יק תָּמִ֥ים הָיָ֖ה בְּדֹֽרֹתָ֑יו אֶת־הָֽאֱלֹהִ֖ים הִֽתְהַלֶּךְ־נֹֽחַ׃

“This is the line of Noah: Noah was a righteous man (tzaddik); he was blameless in his age; Noah walked with God.”
— Genesis 6:9

Many commentators point out that this week’s Torah portion begins by noting that Noah was “blameless in his age.” They say that were he to have lived during the time of Abraham, for example, he wouldn’t have been considered such a tzaddik. Others argue that given how poorly those of his generation behaved, Noah’s righteousness was all the more remarkable. It takes true moral fortitude to do the right thing when those around you aren’t.

Rabbi Miles Krassen, quoting Rabbi Aharon of Zhitomer, a 19th century Hasidic master, points out the repetition of Noah’s name in the verse above: “This is the line of Noah: Noah was a righteous man…” Why does the Torah include this apparent redundancy? Rabbi Krassen explains that this suggests to us that Noah knew two truths about himself: that he was both righteous and morally deficient at the same time:

“Why does the Torah repeat Noah; Noah…? Because the Torah was calling attention to the tzaddik Noah’s two ways of viewing himself. On the one hand, he was aware that in a time of such rampant arrogance and destruction, he was unique. At the same time, he also knew that the level of spiritual elevation he had achieved under these difficult circumstances was only modest, compared to what he might have achieved in a more highly evolved age.”

The lesson is one about self-awareness. Can we learn to see ourselves for who we truly are, righteous in some ways and of “modest” spiritual elevation in others?

There are many sides to each of us: good, not so good, and much of what lies in-between. Through reflection and spiritual practice, may we learn to understand ourselves and others better so that we can grow to become our highest, best selves—righteous, blameless, walking as it were with God.

— Rabbi Yoshi Zweiback