Shoval Malachi is former shaliach in Melbourne (2022-2023), currently a DevOps student.
Chazal love to compare Noach and Avraham.
About Noach it says that he was “a righteous man, perfect in his generations,” and about Avraham - that he “believed in Hashem, and it was counted to him as righteousness.”
And the Midrash says: some say this is praise - that if Noach had lived in Avraham’s generation, he would have been even greater.
And some say it is criticism - that only in relation to his corrupt generation was he considered righteous, but in truth, he did not reach Avraham’s level.
Usually, we tend to believe the second opinion - that Avraham is the active figure, the man who speaks with God, who prays for Sodom, who spreads faith.
And Noach? He builds an ark, goes inside, and stays silent. But if we think for a moment, perhaps this is the time to defend him a bit.
Noach lived in a generation with no chance. A violent, corrupt, hopeless generation.
He understood that no one would listen to him - and even more than that, if he tried, they would probably destroy him.
So he didn’t fight; he survived. And sometimes, that’s what’s needed.
Not everyone is born to be a revolutionary. There are people whose mission is to keep the light burning, not to ignite a new bonfire. And Noach understood that sometimes the way to save the world is simply to stay alive.
And that is a principle our nation learned very well. Throughout history - in exiles, persecutions, and decrees - Am Yisrael was not always able to change the world.
But they knew one thing: not to let the flame go out.
Even when prayer was forbidden, when yeshivot were closed, when they were exiled, when they were humiliated - there was always someone who lit candles in secret, who whispered a prayer, who continued to keep mitzvot.
That’s not weakness; that’s wisdom. It’s quiet strength. The ability to hold onto tradition even when it cannot be spoken of aloud - that is Noach’s heroism.
And still, there’s truth in the criticism Chazal gave him. Because when Noach leaves the ark, he must take the next step - to build a new world.
But here he falls. He drinks, gets drunk, and collapses. Perhaps he simply didn’t know how to start from zero. He knew how to survive destruction, but not how to build hope.
And here lies the great difference between him and Avraham. Avraham is the next generation. He doesn’t just survive the world - he changes it.
If Noach is the man who preserves life, Avraham is the man who gives life meaning.
And another beautiful idea: both the Flood and the giving of the Torah lasted forty days and forty nights. These two events are both a kind of “reset” for the world.
In the Flood - God erases humanity to begin again. At Mount Sinai - He gives the Torah to recreate the world, this time through moral and spiritual choice.
Both come to create a new world, but with a clear difference: Noach builds a world on a human foundation - the seven Noahide laws, while Moshe builds a world on a divine foundation - the Ten Commandments.
We can say that the seven laws are the base - moral human existence; and the Ten Commandments add partnership with God - faith, Shabbat, holiness.
Noach teaches the world how not to be evil, while Avraham and Israel teach the world how to be good.
Noach, then, was a great man - but not larger than life. He was good, honest, decent. Not a charismatic leader, not a prophet of change - but a man who wanted to live a good and proper life, and to hold on to faith even when everything was collapsing.
And thanks to him, the world was born anew.
For only upon such a foundation of human morality could Avraham arise - the man who did not settle for comfort, but turned the whole world into a home for God.
For comments: [email protected]