The story of Noah and the ark is told in this week’s Torah portion. The portion begins by informing us that Noah was a righteous man in his generation, and he walked with God.
The Rabbis were struck by this phrase ‘in his generation’. They debated its significance, noting that it can be taken two completely different ways, one of which increases our perception of Noah’s righteousness, and the other which has the opposite effect.
In Sanhedrin 108z:17-18, we read:
Rabbi Yoḥanan says: Relative to the other people of his generation he was righteous and wholehearted, but not relative to those of other generations. And Reish Lakish says: In his generation he was righteous and wholehearted despite being surrounded by bad influences; all the more so would he have been considered righteous and wholehearted in other generations.…
In other words, according to Rabbi Yohanan, Noah was righteous in comparison to the wicked people in his generation, but in a more law-abiding generation, he would not have been considered so special. Resh Lakish, however, interprets the verse differently – in an age where lawlessness and corruption were rampant, Noah alone resisted all bad influences and remained righteous.
Today we live in an age where many people have fallen under the sway of bad actors who work hard to spread the influence of misinformation and disinformation about so many issues facing our society, from the security of our elections, to the impact of immigration, to the reality of climate change. Our challenge is to resist the urge to participate in spreading disinformation and conspiracy theories. Rather, we must work to promote accurate information, to rebuild trust in our systems, and to be righteous in our generation and for all generations to come.
-Rabbi Bonnie Margulis
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