Sources from essay by Rabbi Andy Kahn in The Mussar Torah Commentary
(ט) אֵ֚לֶּה תּוֹלְדֹ֣ת נֹ֔חַ נֹ֗חַ אִ֥ישׁ צַדִּ֛יק תָּמִ֥ים הָיָ֖ה בְּדֹֽרֹתָ֑יו אֶת־הָֽאֱלֹהִ֖ים הִֽתְהַלֶּךְ־נֹֽחַ׃ (י) וַיּ֥וֹלֶד נֹ֖חַ שְׁלֹשָׁ֣ה בָנִ֑ים אֶת־שֵׁ֖ם אֶת־חָ֥ם וְאֶת־יָֽפֶת׃ (יא) וַתִּשָּׁחֵ֥ת הָאָ֖רֶץ לִפְנֵ֣י הָֽאֱלֹהִ֑ים וַתִּמָּלֵ֥א הָאָ֖רֶץ חָמָֽס׃ (יב) וַיַּ֧רְא אֱלֹהִ֛ים אֶת־הָאָ֖רֶץ וְהִנֵּ֣ה נִשְׁחָ֑תָה כִּֽי־הִשְׁחִ֧ית כׇּל־בָּשָׂ֛ר אֶת־דַּרְכּ֖וֹ עַל־הָאָֽרֶץ׃ {ס} (יג) וַיֹּ֨אמֶר אֱלֹהִ֜ים לְנֹ֗חַ קֵ֤ץ כׇּל־בָּשָׂר֙ בָּ֣א לְפָנַ֔י כִּֽי־מָלְאָ֥ה הָאָ֛רֶץ חָמָ֖ס מִפְּנֵיהֶ֑ם וְהִנְנִ֥י מַשְׁחִיתָ֖ם אֶת־הָאָֽרֶץ׃ (יד) עֲשֵׂ֤ה לְךָ֙ תֵּבַ֣ת עֲצֵי־גֹ֔פֶר קִנִּ֖ים תַּֽעֲשֶׂ֣ה אֶת־הַתֵּבָ֑ה וְכָֽפַרְתָּ֥ אֹתָ֛הּ מִבַּ֥יִת וּמִח֖וּץ בַּכֹּֽפֶר׃
(9) This is the line of Noah.—Noah was a righteous man; he was blameless in his age; Noah walked with God.— (10) Noah begot three sons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth. (11) The earth became corrupt before God; the earth was filled with lawlessness. (12) When God saw how corrupt the earth was, for all flesh had corrupted its ways on earth, (13) God said to Noah, “I have decided to put an end to all flesh, for the earth is filled with lawlessness because of them: I am about to destroy them with the earth. (14) Make yourself an ark of gopher wood; make it an ark with compartments, and cover it inside and out with pitch.
What is a tzaddik? What is tzedek?
As it is taught in a baraita: When the verse states: “Justice, justice, shall you follow,” one mention of “justice” is stated with regard to judgment and one is stated with regard to compromise. How so? Where there are two boats traveling on the river and they encounter each other, if both of them attempt to pass, both of them sink, as the river is not wide enough for both to pass. If they pass one after the other, both of them pass. And similarly, where there are two camels who were ascending the ascent of Beit Ḥoron, where there is a narrow steep path, and they encounter each other, if both of them attempt to ascend, both of them fall. If they ascend one after the other, both of them ascend.
Not only does tzedek mean to discern the law, but it is also about being able to distinguish the nuanced and compassionate way of applying that law. Further, tzedek requires follow-through. Not only must one do the work to discover the truest application of law, one must then do the work to carry it out, while compromising along the way. Tzedek means working toward clarity of what is most right in any situation and having the chutzpah to stand up for that clear rectitude without fear of the outcome.
-Rabbi Andy Kahn
(כה) ...צַדִּ֗יק יְס֣וֹד עוֹלָֽם׃
(25) ...the tzaddik is the foundation of the universe
(ו) עֲשֵׂה לְךָ תֵּבַת עֲצֵי גֹפֶר, אָמַר רַב הוּנָא בְּשֵׁם רַבִּי יוֹסִי, מֵאָה וְעֶשְׂרִים שָׁנָה הָיָה מַתְרֶה הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא בְּדוֹר הַמַּבּוּל, שֶׁמָּא יַעֲשׂוּ תְשׁוּבָה. כֵּיוָן שֶׁלֹּא עָשׂוּ תְשׁוּבָה, אָמַר לוֹ: עֲשֵׂה לְךָ תֵּבַת עֲצֵי גֹפֶר. עָמַד נֹחַ וְעָשָׂה תְשׁוּבָה וְנָטַע אֲרָזִים. וְהָיוּ אוֹמְרִין לוֹ, אֲרָזִים אֵלּוּ לָמָּה? אָמַר לָהֶן, הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא מְבַקֵּשׁ לְהָבִיא מַבּוּל לָעוֹלָם, וְאָמַר לִי לַעֲשׂוֹת תֵּבָה, כְּדֵי שֶׁאִמָּלֵט בָּהּ אֲנִי וּבֵיתִי. וְהָיוּ מְשַׂחֲקִין מִמֶּנּוּ וּמַלְעִיגִין בִּדְבָרָיו. וְהָיָה מַשְׁקֶה אוֹתָן אֲרָזִים וְהֵן גְּדֵלִין. וְהָיוּ אוֹמְרִים לוֹ: מָה אַתָּה עוֹשֶׂה? וּמֵשִׁיב לָהֶן כָּעִנְיָן הַזֶּה, וְהָיוּ מַלְעִיגִין עָלָיו. לְסוֹף יָמִים קִצְּצָן וְהָיָה מְנַסְּרָן, וְהָיוּ אוֹמְרִים לוֹ: מָה אַתָּה עוֹשֶׂה. וְאוֹמֵר לָהֶן כָּךְ, וְהָיָה מַתְרֶה בָהֶן. כֵּיוָן שֶׁלֹּא עָשׂוּ תְשׁוּבָה, מִיָּד הֵבִיא עֲלֵיהֶן מַבּוּל, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: וַיִּמַּח אֶת כָּל הַיְקוּם.
(6) Make yourself an ark of acacia-wood (Gen. 6:14). Rav Huna said in the name of Rabbi Yosei: For one hundred and twenty years, the Holy One kept warning the generation of the flood in the hope that they would resolve to repent. When they did not repent, God said to Noah, "Make thee an ark of cedarwood." Noah proceeded to plant cedars. When asked, "Why these cedars?" he would reply, "The Holy One is about to bring a flood upon the world, and God told me to make an ark, that I and my family might escape." They mocked and ridiculed him. In the meantime, he watered the cedars, which kept growing. Once again they asked him: “What are you doing?” He repeated what he had told them previously, but they continued to mock him. After some time, he cut down the trees and sawed them into lumber. Again they inquired: “What are you doing?” He warned them once again as to what would happen, but they still refused to repent. Thereupon the Holy One, brought the flood upon them, as it is said: And they were blotted out from the earth (Gen. 7:23).
In the face of ridicule, Noah stuck to his mission and continued to do the work he knew was necessary. He used his tools to sharpen and refine his task, while those around him continued to try to undermine his confidence and his work—and, finally, once his task had been accomplished and they realized they had been mistaken, his mockers attempted to destroy him.
In short, Noah exemplifies the often misattributed words of the great Jewish labor and union activist Nicholas Klein: "First they ignore you. Then they ridicule you. Then they attack you and want to burn you. And then they build monuments to you."
Unbending confidence like Noah's can be quite dangerous when taken in the wrong direction. A key element of tzedek is discernment, based on a foundational sense of justice, as well as a willingness to compromise toward the ultimate goal, as described in the Talmud sugya above.
-Rabbi Andy Kahn
Further, as Rabbi Kaufmann Kohler wrote, "The Jewish principle of justice [by which Kohler clearly meant tzedek], moreover, includes love and mercy... It claims the surplus of the rich for the poor, the help of the strong for the feeble, of the fortunate for the unfortunate, not as a mere gift of condescending charity or befriending sympathy, but as a command and a condition of a divine readjustment."
The middah of tzedek, then, requires discernment from a place of compassion. We see this kind of discernment displayed in Noah's continual willingness to ask his fellow human beings to repent and to prepare for the flood. Embodying justice, then, is not meant to be harsh or to lack empathy, but instead to move with confidence in the direction of our highest moral truths, while maintaining compassion for others.
-Rabbi Andy Kahn
Questions to Ask
When have you backed down from something you had determined to be right?
What led you to back down? How can you prepare yourself to be more steadfast in the future?
When have you pushed too hard without compromise?
How can you prepare yourself to be open to compromise without fully giving up on your belief?
In what small way can you begin to implement something you know is necessary and right today? What single steps can you take over the next days, weeks, or months to begin the process?