Compared to previous generations, it's not that hard to be considered a tzadik today. You have a good filter on your internet? Tzadik! You daven three times a day with a minyan? Tzadik! You learn the daf every day? Tzadik! Really, we do live in very challenging times and we must give credit where credit is due. But compare the tzadik mentioned above to a tzadik from the previous generation. Would he be considered a tzadik at all?
"Noach ish tzadik tamim haya b’dorosav" – Noach was a tzadik, complete in his generation. Rashi tells us that the word "in his generation" can either be explained as praise or the opposite. As praise, the words would indicate that if in such a lowly generation Noach managed to keep himself so righteous, then all the more so had he lived in a generation of righteous people, he would have been that much greater. But some learn the opposite - according to his generation Noach was considered righteous, but if he had been in the generation of Avraham Avinu, he would not have been considered anything.
Says the Midrash 30:9: As the saying goes, in a street full of totally blind people, if one has weak eyesight, he's considered the one with good eyesight. The midrash brings a mashal to someone who has a wine cellar. He opened the barrel and finds that it’s spoiled and turned into vinegar. He opens a second one and the same thing. Then, he opens a third barrel and finds out that it’s only somewhat sour. The owner asks, is there any other wine that is better than this? The people around him tell him no, this is the best wine around here. So too, compared to his generation Noach was considered a tzadik, but had he been in a more righteous generation, he would not have been considered anything special.
Rav Yeruchem Levovitz in his sefer Daas Torah says that chazal only argue in what is the peshat in the word "b’dorosav’- "in his generation", if it’s to praise Noach or not. However, if Noach would have indeed lived in the generation of Avraham Avinu and wouldn't have been considered anything special, that would be a big criticism against him.
Why is it fair to compare Noach to Avraham Avinu?
Says Rav Simcha Schustal in his sefer Chemed Simcha, there's a lesson here that people have to learn. People tend to think that it's enough to be considered good based on their surroundings. They think it’s enough to aspire and achieve important degrees according to the value of their generation. And it’s a mistake. A person has to try to achieve an even greater degree of accomplishment based on his strengths. Let's say if you learn a few hours you'll be called a masmid in this generation, but really Hashem blessed you with the capability of learning so much more? Or perhaps you'll be called a yirei shamayim in this generation by simply refraining from outright sinning, but you possess the purity of heart to attain a much higher level? It's not enough to say, "I'm good enough for this generation". No, you have to try to be even better. As chazal tell us, a person should always ask himself: when will my actions reach the level of my forefathers? It's not good enough to be good enough for our generation. We have to aspire to even be good enough for previous generations. It shouldn't be that compared to a higher generation you are considered a "nothing". And this was the claim against Noach - that even though he wasn’t able to reach such a high madreiga, he should at least have reached a level where he would be considered a small tzadik in Avraham's generation. But to be considered a nothing? That was a claim against him.
Rav Baruch Ber said on himself that when he was young, he had an aspiration to be like Rav Akiva Eiger. L’maaseh, he said, I didn’t merit to be like him. But if my aspiration was just to be Rav Baruch Ber, I would not have reached my potential - I wouldn’t have even been Rav Baruch Ber. Only because I wanted something higher was I able to reach my full potential.
This is the same lesson as we learn from Noach – that it's not enough to strive to be good in our generation. We have to strive to be even greater.
The Chofetz Chaim explained that yeridas hadoros, the fact that each generation keeps on deteriorating spiritually, can be compared to a pot. There are many levels in the heat of a pot. When the pot is on the fire, it’s able to cook anything. If you remove the pot from the fire, then the pot becomes a kli rishon with reduced heat since it’s not on the fire. Now if you pour from this pot into another pot, then the new pot becomes a kli sheini and it’s able to cook even less. The same is with yeridas hadoros - the further you are from the previous generation, the more the "heat" of ruchniyus gets reduced. However, a kli sheni is similar to a kli rishon in that it still has the capability of cooking certain foods. So too, even though every generation will naturally drop in madreiga from the previous generation, still we must compare ourselves to those that came before us. We might be a kli sheini – a secondary vessel, but at least we'll still be a vessel.
The lesson we must derive from this is that we shouldn't be so complacent with our spiritual status. If we are feeling righteous based on the level of our generation, we must know that it isn't good enough. Hashem gives different capabilities to different people and often our potential is far above what we think it is. We must strive ever higher and never be satisfied with our current level. As the saying goes, if you don't strive to be a general, you won't even be a good soldier.
