Rabbi Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev, commenting on the Torah portion of Noach (Genesis 6:9), distinguishes between two types of righteous people, and the difference has cosmic consequences.
The first type of tzaddik (a righteous person) serves God with tremendous devotion, but only as an individual. He does not try to bring sinners closer to their Creator. Noah was this kind of tzaddik. The Torah calls him "righteous and wholehearted in his generation," a perfectly pious man. But he did not convert a single pagan. Not one. The Torah limits his legacy with the word eileh (אלה), "these," meaning these descendants and no others. His "generations" were his three biological sons. That was it.
The second type of tzaddik not only serves God personally but actively draws sinners back. Abraham was the supreme example. When he left for the Land of Israel, he took with him "the souls they had acquired in Haran" (Genesis 12:5), meaning the people he and Sarah had converted to monotheism. Abraham was busy building souls, not just saving his own.
The Talmud (Kiddushin 40) distinguishes between a tzaddik, who is "righteous toward God," and a tzaddik tov, a "good righteous person," who is righteous both toward God and toward other people. Being "good" to your peers includes admonishing them when they go astray and teaching their children Torah. According to Sanhedrin (the supreme rabbinic court) 99, teaching someone's child Torah is so significant that the teacher is considered as if he fathered that child.
According to the Arizal, Noah was punished for his failure to rebuke the people of his generation. His soul was reincarnated as Moses, who spent his life doing exactly what Noah had not: constantly challenging the Israelites to be better. The Torah says Noah "walked with God" (Genesis 6:9). Abraham, by contrast, "walked before God" (Genesis 17:1). Walking with God means you need divine support. Walking before God means you lead the way.
Genesis 6,9. “these are the generations of Noach;" there are two types of righteous people, both of whom serve the Lord. The first category does so with enthusiasm and profound devotion, but does so as an individual only, not endeavouring to draw other people, admitted sinners, nearer to their Creator.There is a second category of tzaddik, righteous person, who not only serves the Lord himself, but who also is instrumental in leading sinners back to their Creator. Avraham was a prime example of the latter type of tzaddik. He was busy converting pagans to monotheism.According to Ari’zal, Noach was even punished for not rebuking the pagans in his time; his punishment consisted of his soul being reincarnated in the body of Moses in order to accomplish then what it had failed to accomplish on its first round inside a human body. Moses made up for the sin of omission of Noach by constantly rebuking the Israelites for their shortcomings. When our sages in Kidddushin 40 discussed the difference between a צדיק, “a righteous individual,” and a צדיק טוב, “a good righteous individual,” they said that the former is righteous vis a vis G’d, whereas the latter is “righteous both vis a vis G’d, and vis a vis his fellow man.” Being “good” to one’s peers involves more than being helpful and charitable; it includes admonishing one’s neighbour when one observes him violating G’d’s commandments. According to Sanhedrin 99, teaching one’s neighbour’s son Torah is one of the most important ways in which to demonstrate one’s concern for him, so much so that a student who has been taught Torah by someone other than his biological father is deemed as having been sired by that teacher. In introducing Avraham to us, the Torah underlines (Genesis 12:5) that when heading for the land of Israel from Charan, Avraham and Sarah took with them את הנפש אשר עשו בחרן, “the souls they had acquired while in Charan”. (the converts to monotheism)When the Torah refers to Avraham, it never wrote the line: אלה תולדות אברהם, as opposed to Genesis 6,9-10 where amongst the תולדות of Noach we are told about his three sons; there is no mention or allusion to any converts that Noach had attracted to monotheism other than his own flesh and blood. The word אלה, “these,” is almost always used as a limitation, i.e. “these and none other.” In Noach’s case, he had failed to “acquire souls.”When we reflect on this we will understand why the Torah wrote ונח מצא חן בעיני ה', instead of ונח היה לו חן בעיני ה'. The latter formulation would mean that when Noach faced G’d he brought with him much to commend him, i.e. his converts, whereas the formulation the Torah uses implies that G’d had to go looking for Noach; indeed he was a valuable find, a צדיק תמים, a perfectly righteous man, but not one that could not be overlooked such as Avraham’s “Chassidim.”When the Torah testifies that את האלוקים התהלך נח, “Noach walked with G’d,” this sounds as proof of Noach’s aloofness vis a vis his fellow man [at least during the 120 years prior to the deluge when he was busy building his ark. Ed.] He was in step with G’d, but out of step with his peers. This is why the Torah repeats once more (verse 10) that he sired three sons, although the Torah had informed us of this already at the end of the last chapter (Genesis 5:32).Noach, though aware of the many sexual perversions practiced by the people around him, and being steadfast in not copying their behaviour, is attested to by the Torah describing him as תמים היה בדורותיו, “he was perfect in his time.” Nonetheless, his loyalty to the Creator certainly did not endear him to his peers, hence “he walked with G’d”, as there was no one else “with whom to walk.” Sadly, only G’d appreciated his self-restraint, his righteousness. Having said all this, we are faced with the question why according to Rashi, (Genesis 7,7) Noach was of a category described by our sages as קטני אמונה, “lacking in adequate faith.” How could a man be described as perfectly righteous, צדיק תמים, and at the same time display a lack of faith in the Lord? Another question we must ask is why Noach, if he did not feel that rebuking his peers would help, did not at least pray for his fellow human beings prior to the deluge?We must refer once more to the distinction between the two categories of righteous people. One category has earned the title “tzaddik” because he serves only the one and only true G’d, the Creator, and believes that this Creator is all powerful and guides the universe in accordance with His wishes.Noach, though aware of the many sexual perversions practiced by the people around him, and being steadfast in not copying their behaviour, is attested to by the Torah describing him as תמים היה בדורותיו, “he was perfect in his time.” Nonetheless, his loyalty to the Creator certainly did not endear him to his peers, hence “he walked with G’d”, as there was no one else “with whom to walk.” Sadly, only G’d appreciated his self-restraint, his righteousness.Having said all this, we are faced with the question why according to Rashi, (Genesis 7,7) Noach was of a category described by our sages as קטני אמונה, “lacking in adequate faith.” How could a man be described as perfectly righteous, צדיק תמים, and at the same time display a lack of faith in the Lord? Another question we must ask is why Noach, if he did not feel that rebuking his peers would help, did not at least pray for his fellow human beings prior to the deluge?We must refer once more to the distinction between the two categories of righteous people. One category has earned the title “tzaddik” because he serves only the one and only true G’d, the Creator, and believes that this Creator is all powerful and guides the universe in accordance with His wishes.Rabbi Shmuel bar Nachmeni in Moed Katan 16 commenting on Samuel II 23,1 where the prophet introduces King David’s last utterances, (actually a “hymn,”) with the words: נאום דוד בן ישי ונאום הגבר הוקם על, ”words of David son of Yishai, and of the strong man who has been elevated and anointed by G’d, etc.” He continues there in verse 3: אמר אלוקי ישראל לי דבר צור ישראל מושל באדם צדיק מושל יראת אלוקים, “Israel’s G’d said concerning me: ‘be ruler over mankind, be ruler over awe of G’d.’” According to Rabbi Shmuel bar Nachmeni, the somewhat enigmatic verse must be understood as follows: David, who had raised high the banner of repentance (when he said to the prophet Natan in response to his rebuke that he had been guilty of without ifs or buts in the matter of Bat Sheva) “G’d rules man, whereas the righteous rules G’d.” What is meant by “the righteous rules G’d?” Initially G’d decrees what man’s fate will be; however, the intercession of a tzaddik’s prayer” may result in G’d’s decree being cancelled.” The Talmud suggests that when a tzaddik is not only concerned with his own salvation but endeavours to bring sinners closer to G’d, his prayer can influence G’d to the extent that He will cancel a decree of death already promulgated in heaven against certain individuals or groups of people. Noach, alas, did not engage in active attempts to influence people by rebuking them.[No doubt, whenever Noach was asked during the 120 years that he built the ark why he did so, he told his peers that G’d had instructed him to do this in order to escape the deluge that would occur. Ed.]One of the reasons that he did not pray for his fellow man may have been that he felt inadequate to be able to cancel a decree that G’d had told him He had issued. He may have been motivated by considerations we encounter in connection with Neuchadnezzar (Sanhedrin 92). We are told there that when throwing Chananyah, Michael and Azaryah into a fiery furnace from which all three were saved, G’d also commanded Ezekiel to revive the dead bones of the Jews that had been killed by Nevuchadnezzar when he destroyed Jerusalem and burned the Temple. One of the newly revived was instructed to touch Nevuchadnezzar on his forehead and to identify himself as one of the many thousands who had been resurrected. Nevuchadnezzar was so impressed that he began to compose songs of praise extolling the Almighty. Thereupon an angel shut Nevuchadnezzar’s mouth to prevent him from continuing. Had the angel not done so, all the hymns composed by King David would have lost in value when compared to the songs composed by Nevuchadnezzar.The word used by the Talmud to describe what would have occurred is לגנות, “to denigrate, or defame.” When reminding ourselves of the tzaddik’s ability, under certain conditions to reverse a decree that originated from the Attribute of Justice, and to cause it to become a beneficial decree, we can understand why Nevuchadnezzar had begun to sing the Lord’s praises; [after all he had deliberately destroyed G’d’s Temple on earth. Ed.] When he noticed that Ezekiel’s prayers had resulted in an army of people being resurrected, he became afraid that another prayer by the same person, or persons like him, would result in his life’s work, the destruction of the Temple, being reversed also. In order to pre-empt any prayer by any tzaddik being able to achieve this, he tried to pre-empt anyone from offering such a prayer and being granted his request, by extolling G’d’s greatness in even more glowing terms than David had done in the Book of Psalms.Noach, far from being a boastful individual, proclaiming himself as a major deity, was the very opposite, a humble person, to whom it would not have occurred that a prayer of his would influence G’d to reverse a decree which He had certainly not arrived at without first having agonized over it. [He even told Noach that He would delay execution of this decree for up to 120 years, this is why He told Noach when he was 480 years old to start building the ark. Ed.] It was because he did not consider himself as especially righteous, that he reasoned that just as he would be saved, so there must be numerous other people of similar stature who would also be saved. When G’d noticed this, He told Noach (Genesis 6,13) that He would have to proceed with His intention to destroy the human race as there was no one who had tried to intercede on their behalf. Nonetheless, He made plain to Noach, that although he had not interceded on behalf of his fellow humans, He would maintain the existing covenant between G’d and mankind through Noach and his family. (Genesis 6,18). An alternate approach to the verse commencing with אלה תולדות נח. The word תולדות is a euphemism for the pleasure/satisfaction afforded G’d by the righteous person who observes His commandments. The Torah informs us that the true pleasure the tzaddik enjoys from performing G’d’s commandments is the certainty that he has contributed to His Creator deriving satisfaction from his deeds. Still another facet of the line:אלה תולדות נח, נח איש צדיק, תמים היה בדורותיו, may be appreciated by the reader after we have “digested” Rashi’s commentary on Genesis 7,7 ויבא נח..... אל התבה מפני מי המבול, “Noach (and family) entered the ark on account of the waters of the deluge.” Rashi uses this verse to state that Noach was deficient in his faith in G’d. [Rashi based himself on Bereshit Rabbah 32,6 who explains the extraneous words: “on account of the waters of the deluge,” as telling us that Noach did not enter the ark until the rising waters of the flood made this unavoidable.”] This exegesis appears to fly in the face of an explicit verse in Genesis 6,22 according to which Noach carried out every single one of G’d’s instructions without exception. How could the author of the Midrash accuse Noach of being lacking in faith? If someone spent 120 years building an ark, anticipating a deluge, because G’d had told him to do so, how can this be interpreted as “lack of faith?”We must bear in mind that all the holy “sparks” are possessed of an urge to serve their Creator, just as do the different categories of angels all of whom vie to fulfill the wishes of their Creator while being in awe of Him. The tzaddik, being a mortal human being and burdened with an evil urge within him, may not always serve his master with a similar degree of single-mindedness. He may be sidetracked by thinking of money, or the allure of secular attractions, including good-tasting fruit, etc. One of the causes distracting the tzaddik from serving his Creator with the same degree of single-mindedness as the angels is that in order to bring the sinners closer to G’d, he must first befriend them. The sinners are sinners because the have within them some of the 288 sparks that “fell off” the Shechinah, as we explained on page 21.[A רשע, sinner, who too has been created in the image of G’d, contains within him some of these sparks, though they have become tainted through their close association with the sinner. Ed.]In the process of “outreaching,” as it is commonly known in our time, the exposure of the highest ranking type of tzaddik to the lure of secularism is such that he may momentarily forget his true calling, feeling drawn to these “perks” of olam hazeh, as advertised by Satan in eye-catching colors. A tzaddik engaged in such activities may be viewed as being engaged in a מלחמת מצוה, “a holy war,” on behalf of his Creator. This idea is alluded to in the wording in Chagigah 3:1. The Mishnah there discussing different degrees of holiness, i.e. that קדשים, sacred parts of sacrificial animals, have a higher degree of holiness than t’rumah, the portion of the farmer’s harvest that has to be given to the priest. An example given by the Mishnah illustrating this is that whereas two vessels which require ritual purification through immersion in a ritual bath may be cleansed even when one of them is inside the other, this ruling is not valid when the vessels in question belong to a higher level of holiness known as קדשים, vessels used in handling the remains of sacrificial animals, for instance. Apparently, the author of this Mishnah relates the rules pertaining to cleansing vessels that have become ritually impure to their respective origins. In other words: the holier one’s origin, the more stringent the rules for recapturing one’s purity once it had been lost. The wording of the Mishnah, i.e.חומר בקודש מבתרומה , can be understood allegorically as: “the reason why higher ranking holiness is subject to more stringent steps of purification than lower ranking holy vessels, is because the higher ranking ones had been inside the lower ranking ones.” The word תרומה chosen by the Mishnah, has a double meaning, i.e. it is something in need of being elevated further. Applied to the צדיק in our parable, it means that the tzaddik engaged in “outreach,” must be much more on guard against being drawn into the sphere of the sinner than the kind of tzaddik who does not venture to mix with the sinners even in order to bring them closer to G’d. A tzaddik faced with this dilemma will do well to remind himself that the allures of this world are transient, and cannot be compared to the delights in store when the soul rejoins its place in heaven after having successfully discharged its duties while within a mortal body.When our sages in Avot 6,10 stated that everything that G’d created, He created only for the sake of His glory, this is another way of saying that He desires to have satisfaction from the conduct of His creatures. This is also the meaning of psalms 119,98 מאויבי תחכמני מצותך כי לעולם היא לי, “Your commandments made me wiser than my enemies; they always stand by me.” The letter מ in the word מאויבי must be understood in the sense of “more than.” When read thus, the word is a reference to the evil urge, which is not only David’s enemy, but the enemy of every human being, implanting within us the powerful desires to taste the gratifications advertised. However, the psalmist, upon reflecting that what is eternal must be far more worthwhile than that which is merely transient, redoubles his resolve to serve only the Creator, rejecting the deceptive allure of physical delights. Applied to the allegory in the Mishnah in Chagigah that we quoted, an addiction to the delights of this transient world, when compared to an addiction to serving the eternal Creator is like placing a tainted vessel inside one that is not tainted, hoping to purify it by immersing only the outer vessel in a ritual bath. Keeping the waters of the ritual bath “at arm’s length,” is simply not good enough to cleanse oneself from the pollutants absorbed through contact with the defilements of the earthly environment. The inner vessel had lost some of the brightness with which it had been endowed as a result of G’d’s original light having shone upon it before it became contaminated through contact with the sinner. Going back to the line: את האלוקים התהלך נח, “Noach walked with G’d;” the emphasis in this line is on the attribute for G’d used, i.e. אלוקים, the attribute of Justice. It was beyond Noach’s kind of tzidkut, righteousness, to turn the attribute of Justice into an attribute of Mercy through his lifestyle. In this respect he was different from Avraham and Yitzchok, concerning both of whom the Torah writes that they “walked before G’d,” not merely “with G’d.” (Compare Genesis 17,1 and 48,15) In those verses the Torah wished to alert us to the patriarchs’ ability to persuade G’d to substitute the attribute of Mercy for the attribute of Justice, on occasion. The words: לפני האלוקים, would have to be translated as “formerly the attribute of Justice.” Genesis 6,14. “you are to construct compartments in the ark.” The word קנים is the plural mode of the word קן, “nest,” as in “bird’s nest.” In other words, the ark was to serve as a residence for all the creatures within it. The word תיבה does not only mean “ark,” but also means: “word.” G’d tells Noach that all his activities, would be confined to the inside of the ark, including speech which would be taking place inside it, including prayer. An alternate meaning to this line when understood in conjunction with the first word of the next verse, i.e. וזה: Noach is told to construct the ark in a way that it be fit for the Shechinah, presence of the Lord. He may have told Noach that by using the right words, he could construct the ark by merely uttering the correct formula. Using the correct words would also ensure that G’d would “feel at home” inside and around the ark. The dual meaning of the word תיבה, would bring home to Noach that he was in effect using words to ensure the survival of man and the earth, i.e. G’d’s handiwork. Genesis 6,15 “You are to construct it according to this blueprint.” (The author continues with an approach bordering on the mystical, involving the difference between the words זה and כה when they appear in the Torah. He elaborates on this theme also in Parshat Vaeyrah, on Exodus 7,16) There are tzaddikim who allow themselves to be guided by letters, i.e. the two letters in the word זה in our instance. Other tzaddikim such as Moses, are far more articulate, and the word זה is merely a prelude for them of the words that follow. Sifri, on Mattot, 2, explains this with the following words: although both Moses and other prophets introduced their prophecies or prophetic announcement with the word כה, i.e. כה אמר ה', “thus said the Lord,” Moses is the only prophet whose pronouncements were sometimes introduced with the word זה, i.e. זה הדבר אשר צוה ה', “this is the word that the Lord has commanded.” (Numbers 30,2). Moses’ advantage over other prophets, sometimes described as that he received a clearer vision than the other prophets, also consisted in his formulating the prophecy instead of merely repeating what he had seen or heard. In the words of our author, he was מנהיג את הדיבור “formulating the wording.” When G’d said to Noach: זה אשר תעשה אותה, “this is how you shall construct it (the ark),” Noach was granted the same level of clear vision as was granted to Moses when we understand the word תיבה as word, דיבור [his reincarnate 800 years later. Ed.] Geneis 6:15 “the length of the ark is to be 300 cubits, its width 50 cubits and its height 30 cubits.”[The author continues with the allegorical approach to the data provided by the Torah, presumably because it is clear that the Torah, when providing us with these measurements, intended to convey more than merely the bare facts. Ed.]Whenever a human being makes use of the ability to communicate his thoughts by articulating them, he must first and foremost remember the exalted position of his Creator, the One, Who had endowed him with the power of speech. Having done so, he will likely relate to the Creator with the appropriate amount of awe and love. Subsequent to this, he may appreciate the conveniences G’d’s puts at the disposal of His creatures in this physical universe. The measurements of the ark listed here contain allusions to the three ethical imperatives just mentioned. The measurement given for the height of the ark alludes to G’d’s exalted position G’d occupies in His universe. The width is an allusion to the love and reverence for the Creator due Him; in terrestrial terms this is expressed by the direction north-south; finally, the availability of the various conveniences for man that G’d has provided is alluded to by the description of the length of the ark, i.e. the direction east-west. Genesis 6,15. “and you are to place the entrance to the ark on its side.” When a righteous person uses the power of speech, he is expected to adapt a manner appropriate to the feelings in his heart at that time, i.e. whether it is an outpouring of his love for the Creator, or of his awe for Him, etc. This is why the Torah refers specifically to the position of “entrance” of the ark; [something that most of us reading the report after 3700 years could hardly be expected to be very interested in. We must therefore endeavour to find a mussar, ethical instruction, alluded to in every detail of the ark that the Torah provides. Ed.] Genesis 6,21. “and you are to take for yourself some of everything that serves as food, etc;” here the Torah alludes to the reason why until the deluge man was forbidden to eat animals, (according to Nachmanides). Noach saved the animals from extinction during the deluge; he therefore- as representative of the human race- became the “owner” of the animal kingdom, and as such entitled to use some of the animals, after due preparation without causing pain to the animals, as food for himself. When Avraham, in Genesis 23,13 urged Efron to accept the money he had readied for the purchase of the cave of Machpelah wherein he planned to bury Sarah, the word קח is used as denoting the acquisition of something. Avraham had learned this expression and its meaning from our verse where it is used in this sense for the first time. Noach made an additional acquisition when taking the animal into the ark with him. [He had previously been permitted to use the animals as beasts of burden, etc. Ed.] An alternative explanation of G’d’s directive to take along provisions. [The following is based on the Torah choosing the word מאכל instead of the customary word אוכל, for food. Ed.] (Compare Genesis 41,35; 41,48; 42,7 et al) By using the causative mode, מאכל as in מאכיל, the Torah suggests that G’d made it Noach’s task to feed others, primarily the animals, of course. When understanding the word מאכל in this way, a commentary by Bereshit Rabbah 19,12 becomes clearer. Rabbi Abahu there draws our attention to Adam when challenged by G’d (Genesis 3,12) if he came by the knowledge that he was nude because he had eaten from the tree that G’d had forbidden him to eat, having said: האשה אשר נתת עמדי הוא נתנה לי מן העץ ואכל, “the woman that You have given me to be my mate, she gave me from the tree vaochel”. Adam used the future tense when describing his having eaten instead of saying אכלתי, “I ate.” The author of the midrash sees in this Adam’s implied promise to repair whatever damage he had done by eating the forbidden fruit, by in future pronouncing a blessing before partaking of anything that G’d put at man’s disposal in this universe. He hoped to undo any harm his eating from the tree of knowledge had done. When Adam’s eating from the tree is looked at in this light, he had indeed “fed” the human beings that were born after him, by bequeathing them a world that they could call their own. This was confirmed by G’d at the moment when He told Noach קח לך מכל מאכל אשר יאכל, “Take for yourself of all the food that is fit to be eaten.” Noach’s taking with him all the animals into the ark set the stage for man’s being permitted to eat the meat of animals after they had died and become fit as food. This is also the allusion contained in Yoel 2,26 ואכלתם אכול, “and you will eat your fill (and praise the name of the Lord).” The repetition of the word אכול is the veiled reference to Adam’s having been responsible for all this in a constructive sense. [This editor views this midrash as especially inspiring, as it suggests that Adam himself “invented” the principle of the punishment having to fit the crime. Ed.] Once Avraham was born, G’d did not again punish a nation collectively unless the nation in question had deliberately harmed the Jewish nation. Sins committed by the members of other nations against G’d are stored up in His memory to be requited at the time when the birth pangs of the messiah have begun. Prior to Avraham’s birth, G’d’s attribute of Justice punished the generation of Noach and the generation of the Tower collectively for sins committed against Him. Genesis 7,1 “For I have seen you being righteous before Me in this generation;” these words must be understood according to the Zohar I, 67. The author of the Zohar contrasts Moses’ reaction to G’d’s threat to annihilate the Jewish people and to substitute him for the Jewish people (Exodus 32,10) with Noach’s silence. Moses, had immediately responded to this threat by saying: “erase me from Your Book, rather than make me the founder of a new Jewish people. Moses was willing to give up his life if he could thereby save his people”. When G’d (7,4) used the same expression ומחיתי את כל היקום, “I will erase all breathing living creatures,” He elicited no response from Noach, just as He had not elicited a response from him in 6,13, or in 6,17. Moses, by offering his own life on behalf of his people during the episode of the golden calf, atoned for Noach’s insensitivity at this time. Moses is viewed by the Zohar as possessing a soul composed of all the souls destroyed in the deluge. This is why our prophets refer to the deluge as מי נח, “the waters of Noach,” since Noach had not intervened on behalf of his contemporaries. (Isaiah 54,9). The prophet appears to imply that Noach had been remiss by associating the deluge with Noach (himself) instead of with the sinners.It is known that Moses was considered a tzaddik, righteous person. When our sages state that all the prophets’ prophecies began with the word כה, whereas Moses’ prophecy on occasion commenced with the word זה, “this,” they meant to compare Moses to Noach of whom G’d had said אותך ראיתי צדיק לפני בדור הזה, “I have seen you that you are a tzaddik before Me in this generation”. G’d implied that Noach would be restored posthumously to this stature when Moses, a reincarnation of his soul, would make up for his omission at this time. The words בדור הזה, are understood as a hint that in Moses’ time another tzaddik would compensate for the sin of omission in Noach’s generation. Genesis 8,21. “He smelled the pleasing odour, etc;” The Baal Haturim mentions that the expression וירח את ריח הניחוח, “he smelled a pleasing odour,” occurs only here and when Yitzchok smelled what he thought were Esau’s garments in Genesis 27,27. On the face of it, the comparison appears strange. The Talmud (Sanhedrin 37), throws light on this by suggesting that instead of reading the word בגדיו in Genesis 27,27 we should read it as בוגדיו, “its traitors, deviationists,” and the message is that in the future, even such people will please G’d by their actions. In Esau’s case, the deferential manner in which he addressed his father entitled him to be described in such complimentary terms. Noach’s deference before G’d, (when he could have asked G’d embarrassing questions about finding the earth in ruins) elicited this positive response by G’d. G’d Himself testified to this at the end of this verse (acknowledging the fact that man, having been born with an evil urge, was predisposed to do evil), hence, if he nonetheless decides to follow the path of goodness, thereby defeating the evil urge within him, this is a major moral achievement.The author, quoting his father (if I understand correctly) traces the source of this pleasing odour, הניחוח, to pleasurable experiences by man on earth, (as opposed to spiritual experiences). If man can sublimate these pleasurable experiences to reinforce him in his service of the Lord, then G’d can truly “boast” of him as we read in Isaiah 49,3 ישראל אשר בך אתפאר, “Israel, I can glory in you.” The author continues by quoting Rabbi Dov Baer of Mezeritch, as tracing the word אתפאר, to the word תפר, describing the first garments Adam and Chavah made themselves from fig leaves to cover their nudity. (Genesis 3,7) “A pleasant smell” originating from appropriate clothing, is therefore the most ancient method of ingratiating oneself with G’d after one has fallen out of favour. Pleasant smells as a source of pleasure are familiar to us all, and describing G’d’s reactions to man’s good deeds in such terms is not at all far-fetched. “Clothes” has long been a simile for the deeds of people wearing them, whether good or evil; it is therefore appropriate that when the Torah describes these clothes in complimentary terms, i.e. as pleasing, the reference is to the good deeds performed by the people so described. Genesis 8,21. “and I will not again smite all living creatures in the manner that I have done.” The Zohar II 35 zeroes in on the words כאשר עשיתי, by reporting on a conversation between G’d and the Torah together with which together He had created the universe) when He said: נעשה אדם, “let Us make Man, etc.” The Torah is reported to have warned G’d that man was liable to be sinful thereby causing G’d to become angry so that unless he were to restrain Himself man could never survive G’d’s anger. G’d responded that this was why He employed the Torah as His assistant, so that people would see that any reference to G’d as the merciful, patient G’d, etc., would not be an empty compliment. In other words, the principal attribute of G’d at work on earth is G’d’s attribute of Mercy. The words of the Zohar are echoed by Bereshit Rabbah 12, where the Midrash states that G’d employed the attribute of Mercy as His partner when creating Man. The Midrash quotes the words כאשר עשיתי, as the source for its statement. The author of that Midrash understands G’d as saying that just as He had employed the attribute of Mercy when creating the universe, (man) so He will henceforth continue to employ this attribute in large measure. As a result, He will not again bring a deluge of the dimensions experienced in the time of Noach.
