(ה) אמר רבי סימון: בשעה שבא הקב"ה לבראת את אדם הראשון, נעשו מלאכי השרת כיתים כיתים, וחבורות חבורות, מהם אומרים: אל יברא, ומהם אומרים: יברא, הדא הוא דכתיב (תהלים פה): חסד ואמת נפגשו צדק ושלום נשקו. חסד אומר: יברא, שהוא גומל חסדים. ואמת אומר: אל יברא, שכולו שקרים. צדק אומר: יברא, שהוא עושה צדקות. שלום אומר: אל יברא, דכוליה קטטה. מה עשה הקדוש ברוך הוא? נטל אמת והשליכו לארץ, הדא הוא דכתיב (דניאל ח): ותשלך אמת ארצה. אמרו מלאכי השרת לפני הקב"ה: רבון העולמים! מה אתה מבזה תכסיס אלטיכסייה שלך? תעלה אמת מן הארץ, הדא הוא דכתיב (תהלים פה): אמת מארץ תצמח. רבנן אמרי לה בשם ר' חנינא בר אידי ורבי פנחס ורבי חלקיה בשם רבי סימון אמר: מאד הוא אדם, הדא הוא דכתיב: וירא אלקים את כל אשר עשה והנה טוב מאד, והנה טוב אדם. ר' הונא רבה של צפורין אמר: עד שמלאכי השרת מדיינין אלו עם אלו, ומתעסקין אלו עם אלו, בראו הקדוש ברוך הוא. אמר להן: מה אתם מדיינין, כבר נעשה אדם:
(5) R. Simon said: When the Holy One was about to create the first human, the ministering angels formed themselves into factions and groups. Some of them said: “Let him be created.” Some of them said: Let him not be created.” This is why it is written, “Loving kindness and truth meet; justice and peace kiss” (Psalm 85:11). Loving kindness said, “Let him be created because he will perform acts of loving kindness.” Truth said, “Let him not be created because he will be all falsehood.” Justice said, “Let him be created because he will do deeds of justice.” Peace said, “Let him not be created because he will be all conflict.” What did the Holy One do? He took Truth and cast him to the ground, as is written said: “You cast truth to the ground” (Daniel 8:12). The ministering angels said to the Holy One: “Master of the Universe: Why do You humiliate Your seal, lift Truth up from the earth.” Hence it is written: “Truth springs up from the earth” (Psalm 85:12). The Rabbis said in the name of R. Hanina, while R. Phinehas and R. Hilkiah said in the name of R. Simon: “very” is “Adam” (the human) as it is written,“ And God saw everything that He had made, and, behold, it was very good” (Genesis 1: 31). Behold the human is very good. R. Huna, the elder, of Tzippori said: “While the ministering angels were debating each other, and conferring with each, the Holy One created the human and said to them: “What are you debating, the human is already made.”
(9) This is the line of Noah.—Noah was a righteous man; he was blameless in his age; Noah walked with God.—
Midrash Tanchuma on Parashat Noah
Make me an ark of acacia-wood (Gen. 6:14). R. Huna said in the name of R. Yose: The Holy One, blessed be God, forewarned the generations of the flood to repent for its misdeeds for one hundred and twenty years. When they refused to repent, God commanded Noah to build an ark of acacia wood. Then Noah arose, repented his sins and planted cedar trees. They asked him: “What are these cedars for?” “The Holy One Blessed be God, intends to bring a flood upon the earth, and God has ordered me to build an ark so that I and my family might escape,” he replied. They laughed at him and ridiculed his words. Nevertheless, he tended the trees until they grew large. 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 told them once again as to what would happen, but they still refused to repent. Thereupon the Holy One, blessed be God, brought the flood upon them, as it is said: And they were blotted out from the earth.
Kedushat Levi
There are two types of Tzaddikim (righteous) in the world.
The first serves God just for themselves but doesn't get involved with the people to guide them back to the service of God. The example is Noach.
The second serves God and tries to guide others along to do Teshuva and to serve God. The example is Avraham Avinu.
Rabbi Ronit Tsadok, IKAR High Holy Days 5782
The thing about the window on the ark is that it also brings the outside world in.
Before the flood, Noah was not concerned with the brokenness around him. The Torah tells us Noah walked with God, and the commentary Rav Yitzchak Abravanel explains that this means Noah didn’t engage the people of his time at all. There was corruption and a devaluing of human life, and widespread theft and so much more that he wasn’t paying attention to. And I don’t imagine Noah looked out the window of his ark much at the beginning either. It might have been too difficult to attend to his own distress and also witness the loss of life outside.
But when it got quiet, after the rains stopped, Noah could look outside again. When we are scared and overwhelmed, it can be hard to look beyond ourselves. But when we can catch our breath, even just a little? We must widen our gaze. Look out the window.
Adapted from Rabbi Elimelech of Lizensk
There are two kinds of “righteous” people: one who is truly righteous and one who just dresses like a righteous person in a fur coat. Each of them faces the winter in a different way. One will go out and collect wood for the fire; the other will wrap himself in his fur coat. The one who collects wood lights a fire and invites others to join her. She not only warms herself, but others as well. The one who makes himself cozy in his own heavy coat is secure, but those around him will freeze. The genuinely righteous person is the one who shares their warmth with others.
רֵישׁ לָקִישׁ בְּשֵׁם בַּר קַפָּרָא אָמַר, פַּרְעֹה בְּרָאתָן לָקָה. אָמַר רַבָּן שִׁמְעוֹן בֶּן גַּמְלִיאֵל מְצָאַנִי זָקֵן אֶחָד מֻכֶּה שְׁחִין בְּצִפּוֹרִין, וְאָמַר לִי עֶשְׂרִים וְאַרְבָּעָה מִינֵי שְׁחִין הֵם, וְאֵין לְךָ קָשֶׁה מִכֻּלָּם שֶׁהָאִשָּׁה רָעָה לוֹ אֶלָּא רָאתָן בִּלְבָד, וּבוֹ לָקָה פַּרְעֹה. אָמַר רַבִּי אַחָא אֲפִלּוּ קוֹרוֹת בֵּיתוֹ לָקוּ, וְהַכֹּל הָיוּ אוֹמְרִים עַל דְּבַר שָׂרַי אֵשֶׁת אַבְרָם. אָמַר רַבִּי בֶּרֶכְיָה עָלוּ דְּטוּלְמוּסִין לְמִקְרַב לִמְסָאנָא דְּמַטְרוֹנָא. וְכָל אוֹתוֹ הַלַּיְלָה הָיְתָה שָׂרָה שְׁטוּחָה עַל פָּנֶיהָ וְאוֹמֶרֶת, רִבּוֹן הָעוֹלָמִים אַבְרָהָם יָצָא בְּהַבְטָחָה, וַאֲנִי יָצָאתִי בֶּאֱמוּנָה. אַבְרָהָם יָצָא חוּץ לַסִּירָה, וַאֲנִי בְּתוֹךְ הַסִּירָה. אָמַר לָהּ הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא כָּל מַה שֶּׁאֲנִי עוֹשֶׂה בִּשְׁבִילֵךְ אֲנִי עוֹשֶׂה, וְהַכֹּל אוֹמְרִים עַל דְּבַר שָׂרַי אֵשֶׁת אַבְרָם...
Resh Lakish in the name of bar Kappara said: Pharaoh was struck with ra'atan [some sort of skin condition]. Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel said, I found an elder struck with boils in Tzipori, and he told me there are 24 kinds of boils, and ra'atan is the only one which a woman would exacerbate - and thus was Pharaoh struck. Rabbi Aha said: Even the walls of his house were struck, and everyone was saying, "It is because of Avram's wife!" Rabbi Berekhya said: because he dared to approach the feet of that matron. And that whole night, Sarah was prostrate on her face and saying, "Master of the worlds, Avraham went out by a promise, and I went out with [only] faith. Avraham is outside the prison, and I am inside the prison!" The Holy One, Blessed Be, said to her, "All that I do, I do for your sake, and all will say, 'It is because of Sarai, the wife of Avram!"...