Part I. The Darkness of Busyness
Noach’s Tziddkus
In the Torah we are given examples of people who made errors and suffered consequences because of that. And these examples of the Torah are not intended as mere stories; they are related to us so that we should learn from them.
The Medrash Tanchuma (Noach 13) cites an example of this principle from our parshah, and that's the case of Noach. Noach, you know, was a big tzaddik; even when he was born, they already expected great things of him.
זֶה יְנַחֲמֵנו – This one is going to console us (Bereishis 5:29). That’s what they said about him. It was hoped that he's going to be the redeemer of the world. The world had gone down since the beginning of creation – things weren't the same – and people were hoping that Noach would introduce a great change.
מֵעִצְּבוֹן יָדֵינוּ מִמַּעֲשֵׂנוּ זֶה יְנַחֲמֵנוּ – This little boy will comfort us from our work and the pain of our hands (ibid.) And he didn't disappoint. He was great. נֹחַ אִישׁ צַדִּיק ... בְּדוֹרוֹתָיו – He was the righteous man of his generation (ibid. 6:9).
Now all of you learned Rashi and you know that he brings two opinions. One opinion is that he was extremely great; even when matched up to Avraham he was considered a great tzaddik. And some say it was only b’dorosav, ‘in his generation’ that he was a righteous man; he was only ‘relatively’ great. But ‘relatively’ also means he was extremely great; if somebody is less than Avraham Avinu it doesn't mean he's not a very great man. Let's hope we will be less than Avraham Avinu like Noach was. And so Noach was chosen by Hakadosh Baruch Hu from his generation; he was an especially great man.
The Tzaddik Stumbles
And yet we find that he made a misstep. Noach made a big error, and his error caused a tragedy. And it’s a story that we’re told because it’s intended for us.
Do you remember what happened to Noach after the Mabul? A very embarrassing event. He grew grape vines and then he wanted to sample the results of his labors so he tasted some of the juice of the grapes. And it was very good; so good, so satisfying, that he thought “I'll taste a little more” and then a little more and finally he fell asleep. And in his sleep he thrashed around and he uncovered himself.
You remember what happened after that? One of his sons saw him uncovered and because he wasn't respectful to his father this son later incurred the father's curse. Ach! It was a tragedy, the whole story. A shameful event and a misfortune for everyone involved.
Actually, if it was us we wouldn’t have put it in the Torah – we would have respect for the great man that Noach was and leave the whole story out. But Hakadosh Baruch Hu has other ideas; He wants us to learn – that’s what Torah means, teaching – and so every year we all go to the shul and read in public that וַיֵּשְׁתְ מִן הַיַּיִן וַיִּשְׁכָּר וַיִּתְגַּל בְּתוֹךְ אָהֳלוֹ – Noach drank of the wine and he became drunk and he became uncovered in his tent (ibid. 9:21).
The Source of the Error
Now the question is how could such a thing happen? The world likes to say that ‘mistakes happen’ but it’s not so simple. Accidents only happen by careless people, or careless behavior.
It should have been impossible for a person of such virtue to make such an error unless there was something there, some carelessness that preceded it. And therefore, as Torah learners, as a nation that studies the teachings of our Creator, we have to look back and try to appraise Noach's way of life – what was there in Noach's conduct that could have admitted the possibility of such a mistake?
And the Medrash Tanchuma (Noach 13) says that the answer is in the words of the Torah immediately preceding the incident. וַיָּחֶל נֹחַ אִישׁ הָאֲדָמָה וַיִּטַּע כָּרֶם – And Noach began to be a man of the earth, and he planted a vineyard (ibid. 9:20).
What’s the Error?
Now actually that means that he did what was expected of him. Because Noach had been a long time in the teivah during the Flood, and during this time he was thinking about his responsibility for the ‘day after’. He knew that the face of the earth was desolate and he was thinking of ways and means of restarting gardens, agriculture, planting, under mankind's direction. Because even though wild plants and trees would start regenerating on their own everywhere from floating seeds and airborne spores, those plants that need the care of man wouldn’t.
And so Noach emerged from the teivah now with a plan. He would start planting once more all those things that needed the care of humans. There are a lot of plants that don't perform at their best when they're wild. Only under the supervision of a human being can the plants give forth their produce in the best possible manner. At least in one corner of the earth from where it could spread everywhere.
That’s included in being a tzaddik; to help mankind. A tzaddik picks up a banana peel where a person might slip and fall. He picks up toys from the steps because he cares about people. And so Noach was the צַדִּיק יְסוֹד עוֹלָם, the righteous man who took it upon himself to begin rebuilding the foundation of the world (Mishlei 10:25), to restore for mankind what the sinners had caused to be destroyed. And so he’s praised by the Torah for that: וַיָּחֶל נֹחַ – And Noach began to dedicate himself to replanting the earth ... וַיִּטַּע כָּרֶם – and he planted vines (ibid.).
Man of the Soil
Now, all that is true. Absolutely Noach is lauded for that. But the Medrash Tanchuma tells us something else, something hidden in plain sight. Because it should have said וַיָּחֶל נֹחַ – that Noach got started on a project of replanting the world, וַיִּטַּע כָּרֶם – and he planted vines. But it says there extra words, אִישׁ הָאֲדָמָה – he became a man of the earth; and the Tanchuma (ibid.) tells us that a hint of reproach is intended in these words. ‘Man of the soil’ means that he became excessively involved in his work.
Now, you citified people, perhaps you’ve never had the opportunity, but when people begin to garden they actually develop a love for agriculture, for planting. It's entrancing when you put a seed into the earth and then you see what happens, miracles upon miracles follow and it comes out and it unfolds and then finally you see blossoms and then finally you see a flower or fruit. Many people put their lives not only into their gardens but they also have greenhouses, indoor plants. And they’ll experiment too. It draws a person in.
The Sin of Overwork
And Noach surely was busy with this work. He put his heart into it because it was an ideal to him. He was doing a mitzvah for mankind. He didn't work the earth merely for parnassah; to him it was a great ideal that the earth should once again begin to produce useful things.
And so what happened? The Tanchuma says that he overdid it. נִזְקַק לָאֲדָמָה – He became attached to the soil. He was so busy that he had no time to think! To be busy is a good thing, absolutely. And to be busy with good things, even more so. But to be too busy to think, that’s a tragedy. That's what the Tanchuma is telling us.
And that’s what happened to Noach; all of his talents and all of his heart he put into the project and to a certain extent he overdid it. And that, the Medrash says, is the explanation for his downfall. Noach, this great tzaddik tamim, got too involved and נַעֲשֶׂה חֻלִין – he became degraded, debased, because of that. Of course, he had to be planting. It was a very good thing! But he threw himself into his career with enthusiasm, and now he didn't have any time. Because this was his career in life now, to save the world.
And because he was so busy he had no time to think. To think, “Am I overdoing it? Am I maybe too busy? Am I thinking ahead, thinking about the results of my work? Could it lead to a problem? What tests might come up against me? Am I prepared for them?”
There’s so much for a person to consider while he’s in this world but Noach was simply too busy. And he therefore had no time to consider the possibilities that might arise in life.
Inevitable Consequences
And finally, the Medrash says, the inevitable happened. I say ‘inevitable’ because when a person is too busy to think about himself, it’s just impossible otherwise – something will happen, some unwanted consequence. And we find now this noble man in a very ignoble situation; he’s lying drunk and uncovered and his son is peeking in through the open door and giggling at the sight. And now history is forever changed; it caused his son to be cursed and one third of mankind was rejected.
Now we have to listen to this example that our Sages tells us and we have to pay prayerful attention and use this experience of antiquity as a model, a teaching, for our lives. We’re learning that one of the biggest dangers we face is the danger of getting too involved, over-involved, in this world. Busyness! That’s one of the biggest obstacles that hinders a person’s climb to shleimus, perfection.
Striving for Perfection
Now, that word ‘shleimus’ or ‘perfection’ in English is a word that has to be part of our vocabulary. It’s a term that was used most effectively by the Mesillas Yesharim. He speaks about it right away in the beginning of his sefer and he equates perfection of one’s mind and character with the highest service of Hakadosh Baruch Hu. And he sets down the principle that one who is more shaleim, more perfect, is more acceptable to Hashem and he’s more successful therefore in his career in this world.
But it’s not so simple. He describes there a ladder, a ladder of perfection with various rungs, that leads up from this earth to Shomayim: סֻלָּם מֻצָּב אַרְצָה וְרֹאשׁוֹ מַגִּיעַ הַשָּׁמָיְמָה, that’s the ladder of shleimus. There’s a ladder to climb, one rung at a time. And we’re going to see tonight that the first rung, the rung of zehirus, is the lesson of this story.
