These are the descendants of Noach. Noach was a righteous man, faultless in his generation; Noach walked with Hashem.
The word אלה – these are, is usually used to inform us that others are not included in this list. As Chazal tell us ‘אלה is intended to exclude’. One may think that the possuk is telling us that only Shem, Cham, and Yafes were the descendants of Noach, excluding the rest of the generation. However, this would be superfluous, because the Parsha taught us already that the rest of the generation was wiped out in the flood.
The Ohr Hachaim explains that the possuk is alluding to something else entirely. The Medrash, quoted in Rashi, writes that the primary ‘children’, meaning product, of a Tzadik are his Mitzvos and good deeds. Not only are a Tzadik’s Mitzvos considered his children, they are more important than his flesh and blood children.
The word אלה indeed excludes others. It excludes Shem, Cham, and Yafes, who were not the primary children of Noach. His primary children are his righteousness and completion in Hashem’s eyes. These are his Mitzvos and good deeds, which are primary in a Tzadik’s life.
The Ohr Hachaim has another explanation for this possuk. The Medrash writes that Moshe met Noach, and they had a disagreement. Noach told Moshe Rabbeinu, “I am greater than you because I was saved in the flood”. Moshe told Noach, “You saved yourself, you didn’t have the ability to save the generation along with you.”
The possuk is now telling us אלה תולדות נח נח – These are the children of Noach - Noach alone. Nobody else benefited from the madrega of Noach, because he did not save anyone from the flood, besides himself and his family. The children of Noach are Noach, meaning the product of Noach’s life’s work was Noach and nothing else.
This is why the Torah writes in this possuk לדרתיו – in his generation. Noach, out of his entire generation, saved Noach alone. None of the rest of them did Teshuva and deserved to be saved, and none of the rest of them could ride the coattails of Noach.
The Ohr Hachaim offers yet another explanation. In this explanation, the Torah means to praise Noach. Noach was the only one of all of the Tzadikim that had it so difficult. None of the others were alone in the world, they all had friends with whom to strengthen himself in his service of Hashem. They could learn from each other. Noach was alone in the world, and he was still a Tzadik.
אלה תולדות נח – the only one to reach this level was Noach, and the word אלה tells us that the rest of them were not on his level. He alone carried the message of Hashem.
The Ohr Hachaim continues the possuk in this vein. אלה תולדות נח נח – Noach was the children of Noach. The product of this Madrega of being alone in the world was that Noach created himself. He worked on his own Middos until he was fully in control of his world. The Medrash writes that Adam was created to rule over the world, and when he told an ox to plow, it would listen to his instructions. When Adam did an aveira, the world stopped listening to him. Everything slipped and lowered its level when he did that aveira. When Noach was born, things returned to their previous situation and the world listened to him.
איש – a man. Noach was the master of the earth. The Medrash writes that until Noach arrived, people used to plow by hand. No tools were available for plowing. Noach invented plowing tools. He was the master of the earth because he civilized the job of controlling the ground.
צדיק – a righteous man. The Possuk says that a Tzadik is the foundation of the world. If not for Noach, the world would not survive, because the Mabul would have destroyed everyone. Noach was the foundation of the new world, and he is rightfully called a Tzadik.
תמים – complete. The Gemara says that he was a צדיק במעשיו תמים בדרכיו – righteous in his actions, and complete in his ways. Rashi writes – complete in his ways, humble, and meek of spirit. Noach was at an awesome level. Not only was he the only Tzadik of the generation, he was humble and meek of spirit to boot. Even when he saw how much greater he was than everyone else, he did not become arrogant or complacent. If he had possessed any arrogance, he would have been easily forgiven. Yet he went beyond the expectations and stayed humble. His generation did not appreciate his righteousness, but they did notice his humility and simple ways. That is why the possuk calls him תמים בדרתיו – complete in his generations.
The plural form is used for the word ‘generations’ for a specific reason. Each person is familiar with three generations – his father’s, his own, and his child’s. Noach was outstanding in all three of them, not just his own.
את האלוקים התהלך נח – Noach walked with Hashem. When Noach dealt with Hashem, he brought peace and calm to the world. This was at the time of offering Korbanos. The Medrash writes that Noach is called Noach, because of the Korban that he offered. Hashem smelled the scent of the Korban, called a ריח ניחוח, and Noach is named for that. This is why his name is repeated in this possuk. One of the madreigos of Noach was that he brought Korbanos. Not only did he bring the Korbanos, but he walked in that way, meaning this was his constant path. He consistently acted in the way of a person bringing Korbanos, with subservience to Hashem.
