From Generation to Generation

A generation can be understood as a segment of time within each individual’s life. When we change our personality, focus etc. we have lived in several generations. We were created to live life to the fullest in each of these changes/generations,

Qualified Righteousness

“Noach was a righteous man.” So says the Torah in this week’s parsha.

However, the Torah qualifies his righteousness by stating that he was righteous “in his generations.” What exactly does that mean? How can one be righteous in a relative sense? Either one does the right thing or does not. We can apply relativism to aesthetics, capabilities, wealth, etc. But how can we say that Saddam Hussein is a righteous man compared to Hitler?

To be sure, there are degrees of righteousness. One can be more charitable than another. One can devote more time and energy for good causes than another. However, if that is what the Torah meant to suggest that Noach was not as righteous as others, why would the Torah want to belittle the very man it was trying to praise?

Moreover, Noach lived in his own generation. Why should he be compared, and unfavorably at that, with the righteous of other generations?

Another question: Why does the Torah use the plural term “generations?”

And finally, and most importantly, we must be able to apply everything the Torah tells us to our own lives. What do we gain from the knowledge that Noach was “righteous in his generations?”

Noach was a Surfer

Noam Elimelech, a classic Chassidic work by Rabbi Elimelech of Lizensk, explains that the reference to the “generations of Noach” is a reference to the changes and vicissitudes of Noach’s own life. No matter where he was, no matter what situation he was in, Noach found a way of instilling righteousness into that segment of his journey through life. Noach did not stay on one level. He was able to surf the waves of society without drowning.

Many Generations Within Each Generation

We usually define the term generation as an expanse of time measured by one’s life until his or her child is born to start a new generation. There is another definition to a generation, however. When new dimensions of life are discovered and entered into. And the later generation is begotten by living righteously in the earlier “generation” phase of one’s life.

From the vantage point of this new definition of generation, Noach’s life covered the expanse of many generations. For every phase of his life was comparable to a new generation.

A person who stays on one level has lived through no more than one generation. Even one who is consistently righteous but does not meet any new challenges has lived only in one generation. Only the one who seeks to constantly grow—especially by taking on new challenges—can be said to have lived in many diverse generations.

King David alludes to the multiple generations one goes through, in the 145th Psalm (which is recited in our prayers three times daily) where he states: “One generation to another will praise Your work…” Noam Elimelech interprets this verse ingeniously: If one praises G-d’s handiwork, if one appreciates the Divine character in all that one does, then one grows from one generation to the next within one’s own lifetime.

What this means is that if we go through diverse experiences and see no new challenge in our life and we don’t utilize the new opportunity to connect to G-d in a novel way, then our life, our righteousness notwithstanding, exists only on one plane; in one generation. W When we, however, see G-d’s hand in each and every one of life’s events, regardless of their nature, then we see and live every moment of life. Considering the fact that each event has its own nuances, we have thus lived in many generations.

Thus, when the Torah submits that Noach was righteous in his generations, it does not mean to denigrate Noach’s righteousness. The qualifying phrase “in his generations,” rather speaks his praise that in all of the changes that he experienced in his long life (at that point he was 500 years old!), he praised G-d; he lived his life righteously.

Multiple Generations of Modernity

In the last few decades, we have had an opportunity to go through many generations. We’ve lived through so many geo-political, cultural, technological and moral-climate changes.

More specifically, as a people, we have experienced many fluctuations. We are asked to follow Noach’s example of righteousness. The name Noach denotes peace and connotes Messianic utopia. To further that goal we must emulate his qualities, particularly the one about taking advantage of the new challenges that arise.

In practical terms this means that with the advent of the internet, to cite one example, we must find ways of using it for promoting broader access to Torah knowledge.

We are a New Generation with a New

Mission

In the past our focus was on making the long journey through exile with the Messianic destination in the back of our minds. Today, our Torah leaders, and particularly the Rebbe, tell us:

We have arrived at our destination.

Moshiach and the Redemption are standing right in front of us. We no longer need to wait for Moshiach, rather Moshiach is now waiting for us. If we care to open our eyes and recognize the new challenge of this last “generation” by living our lives in a more complete and positive way, then we can invite Moshiach and Redemption into our lives.

From the book Light from the Future: Parshas Noach by Rabbi Heschel Greenberg, published by the Jewish Discovery Center.