Noam Elimelech · Parshas Noach · Maamar ג From the Torah ofRebbe Elimelech of Lizhenskרבי אלימלך מליז'נסקProfile ›

With God: The Tzaddik's Wholeness Reaches Every World

“Noach was a righteous man, whole in his generations; Noach walked with God.” Why does the verse tie his wholeness to his generations, and what is it to walk “with” Elokim? What does one person’s righteousness do for those around him, and beyond?

Bereishis 6:9

אֵלֶּה תּוֹלְדֹת נֹחַ נֹחַ אִישׁ צַדִּיק תָּמִים הָיָה בְּדֹרֹתָיו אֶת־הָאֱלֹהִים הִתְהַלֶּךְ־נֹחַ

These are the offspring of Noach: Noach was a righteous man, whole in his generations; Noach walked with God.

6Or we may say that “a righteous man, whole in his generations” tells what his wholeness did for others. When the tzaddik does something holy, his holy deeds draw the Creator, blessed be He, down into this world. So he does good to his generations and brings them merit, for through the tzaddik Hashem's Shechinah is with them. And when the tzaddik rises to a higher level, he causes Hashem's exalted Name to be bound and drawn down in all the worlds. This is “a righteous man, whole in his generations”: the wholeness of his righteousness benefited his generations. His righteousness accomplished this too: “Noach walked es haElokim,” with God: he bestowed blessing on the upper worlds as well. For es here means “with,” and Elokim stands for the upper worlds: to walk “with Elokim” is to walk there too. Understand this.

אוֹ יֹאמַר "צַדִּיק תָּמִים הָיָה בְּדוֹרוֹתָיו", דְּהַצַּדִּיק ע"י מַעֲשָׂיו הַקְּדוֹשִׁים שֶׁעוֹשֶׂה אֵיזֶה דְּבַר קְדוּשָּׁה, הוּא מַמְשִׁיךְ אֶת הַבּוֹרֵא ב"ה יִתְעַלֶּה לעוה"ז, נִמְצָא עוֹשֶׂה טוֹבָה לְדוֹרוֹתָיו שֶׁמְּזַכֶּה לָהֶם, שֶׁשְּׁכִינָתוֹ יִתְבָּרֵךְ עִמָּהֶם ע"י הַצַּדִּיק, וּכְשֶׁהַצַּדִּיק עוֹלֶה בְּמַדְרֵיגָה יְתֵירָה, אֲזַי הוּא גּוֹרֵם לְקַשֵּׁר וּלְהַמְשִׁיךְ אֶת שְׁמוֹ יִתְעַלֶּה בְּכָל הָעוֹלָמוֹת, וְזֶהוּ "אִישׁ צַדִּיק תָּמִים הָיָה בְּדוֹרוֹתָיו", ר"ל שֶׁתְּמִימוּת צִדְקָתוֹ הָיָה מוֹעִיל לְדוֹרוֹתָיו, וְגַם זֹאת הוֹעִילָה צִדְקָתוֹ "אֶת הָאֱלֹקִים הִתְהַלֶּךְ נֹחַ", פֵּירוּשׁ גַּם לָעוֹלָמוֹת הָעֶלְיוֹנִים הָיָה מַשְׁפִּיעַ לָהֶם, וְזֶהוּ 'אֶת' אֱלֹקִים, פֵּירוּשׁ עִם אֱלֹקִים, דְּהַיְינוּ עוֹלָמוֹת עֶלְיוֹנִים, גַּם שָׁם הָיָה מִתְהַלֵּךְ נֹחַ. וְהָבֵן.

In shortThe tzaddik's holy deeds bring the Shechinah to his generation, and as he rises, his wholeness reaches the upper worlds as well: he walks “with Elokim.”

The maamar as a whole

In a short reading R’ Elimelech asks what Noach’s wholeness had to do with “his generations” and with walking “with God.” When the tzaddik does a holy deed he draws the Creator down into this world, so that through him the Shechinah dwells with the people of his time; his righteousness becomes their merit. And when he rises to a higher level, he binds and draws Hashem’s Name through all the worlds. So the verse says both: the wholeness of Noach’s righteousness benefited his generations, and he walked es haElokim, “with” Elokim, which stands for the upper worlds, bestowing blessing there as well.

Takeaway

A holy act is never only our own: it draws Hashem's presence into the world for everyone around us. And as we rise in our avodah, its good reaches beyond this world, to the upper worlds as well.

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