This week’s Torah reading, the second of the year, tells the story of Noah, the deluge, and its aftermath. Examining the biblical account, and various ancient and medieval rabbinic commentaries, Sruli Fruchter tries to make sense of the sometimes-critical light in which tradition casts this flawed savior of mankind:
Throughout the bulk of the story, Noah utters not a single word. He acts in silence, following God’s instruction with mechanical devotion. . . .
Noah’s silent obedience suggests more than a reserved personality. It hints at complicity. Destruction breathes into his ears, humankind’s extinction cries from below, and God anticipates objection. Nothing. Noah cannot approach a single person to warn him, nor can he articulate a single word, a single expression, of dissatisfaction. [Scripture] almost paints him as an unwilling actor, a slave to God, incapable of harnessing independence, of fulfilling his call for heroism—before God or man.
But upon leaving the ark and entering a new world, Noah becomes someone new. “And Noah built an altar for the Lord, and he took from every pure animal and every pure bird, and he offered whole burnt offerings on the altar” (Genesis 8:20). Action of this kind is unprecedented for him.
Read more on Lehrhaus: https://thelehrhaus.com/timely-thoughts/noah-and-the-trauma-of-heroic-destiny/