Noach's Two Modes: Dust and Ashes, and the World Created for Me

1a“These are the generations of Noach. Noach was a righteous man, perfect in his generations” [Bereishis 6:9]. Rashi explains: some expound this to his praise, that had he lived in the generation of Avraham, he would surely have been a tzaddik all the more¹. Others expound it to his discredit: in his own generations he was a tzaddik, but had he lived in the generation of Avraham Avinu, he would not have been considered anything at all. The difficulties are well known. Why would the Torah speak disparagingly of such a tzaddik? My father and teacher, R' Yechiel of Alexander, zt"l, spoke on this in his holiness, building on the holy words of the great Rebbe, R' Simcha Bunim of Peshischa. Every Jew, Rebbe Bunim taught, needs two modes. The first is “I am but dust and ashes” [Bereishis 18:27]. When a person feels lofty and the yetzer hara wants to bring him to arrogance, Heaven save us, let him remember what he is, where he came from and where he is going [cf. Avos 3:1]. That will subdue his yetzer hara and force it down. The second mode is “For my sake the world was created.” When the yetzer hara wants to bring him to sadness, Heaven forbid, it shows him how low he is: what are his Torah and his avodah worth? It seems to him that his hope is lost, Heaven forbid. Then let him strengthen himself with the words of our holy Chazal: “A person is obligated to say, ‘For my sake the world was created’” (Sanhedrin 37a). The Tanya explains these matters at length.

1bThis is what is meant by those who expound the verse “to his discredit.” They are describing the path Noach took in serving Hashem. Since he lived among such a wicked generation, he always walked in the mode of “his heart was lifted up in the ways of Hashem” [Divrei HaYamim II 17:6], of “for my sake the world was created.” That is “a righteous man, perfect in his generations”: in his own eyes he counted himself a perfect tzaddik. But that was only the right conduct for his generations, which were wicked. Had he lived in the generation of Avraham Avinu, among tzaddikim, he would surely have walked in the mode of “I am but dust and ashes,” and in his own eyes he would not have counted as anything at all. The words of the wise are gracious.

2aTo explain this further: it is written, “You shall be wholehearted [tamim] with Hashem your God” (Devarim 18:13). Being tamim means weighing and leveling one's paths so as to walk the middle way, without leaning to either side, as the Rambam explains in his commentary on Avos. This is the mode of “Yaakov was a wholesome [tam] man” [Bereishis 25:27], the attribute of Tiferes, the harmony that balances kindness and strength. It is the attribute of truth: having no leaning at all toward either extreme. The Chovos HaLevavos calls it hishtavus, equanimity, as in the saying of the sage that the Rambam quotes in his Commentary on the Mishnah: “Have they become equal to you?” To reach this, to be as Hashem created him, “upright” [cf. Koheles 7:29], a person needs great toil and avodah. It is all the harder when he has no one greater than himself to nullify himself before, utterly crushed. Then it is exceedingly hard to reach real self-nullification: not to feel himself at all, and to have no personal stake in anything, whether in this world or in the World to Come.

2bNoach lived in a generation of the wicked, so this avodah was extremely hard for him. Every moment of every hour he remembered that he must be tamim. And he merited it, so that the Torah testified about him, “a righteous man, perfect in his generations.” But he was forced to switch, each time, to one or the other of the two modes I have mentioned, so that he could reach the middle line without leaning to either side. Had he lived in the generation of Avraham, he would have needed nothing more than to nullify himself, to be as nothing in his own eyes, and to set himself aside entirely before Avraham Avinu. Through his own attribute of “I am but dust and ashes,” Avraham would constantly have imparted to him more submission and lowliness. He would also have imparted to him “I am a wall” [Shir HaShirim 8:10], so that Noach would be strong as a wall, which was Avraham's own mode, as Bereishis Rabbah explains (39:3). So Noach would automatically have been tamim, on the middle line. He would have needed no other avodah except to be nullified beneath “the greatest man among the giants” [Yehoshua 14:15], who is Avraham.

2cThis is what Chazal hint at: “Had he been in the generation of Avraham,” he would not have needed the avodah with which he now served Hashem in his own generations. He would have needed a different avodah: to be lowly and nullified in his own eyes, to count himself as nothing, and only to be attached to “the pure one,” who is Avraham. As it says, “Who can bring a pure thing [out of the impure]?” [Iyov 14:4; Midrash Tanchuma, Chukas]. Then he would automatically have been pure with every kind of purity.

3aSo the verses are to be read like this. Noach the tzaddik always conducted himself with these two attributes. Sometimes he was in the attribute of “a righteous man, perfect in his generations,” of “his heart was lifted up in the ways of Hashem” and “for my sake the world was created.” And sometimes he was in the second mode, “I am but dust and ashes”: “had I been in the generation of Avraham, I would not be considered anything.” This is “the generations of Noach,” meaning Noach's conduct, for “the main offspring of the righteous are their good deeds” (Midrash Tanchuma; Bereishis Rabbah 30:6). “A righteous man, perfect in his generations” is the first mode. The second mode is “with God”: the attribute of awe, to stand always in awe of Hashem's exaltedness and to nullify oneself as truly nothing.

3bThis is “Noach walked”: Noach always walked in both of these modes. The first is “a righteous man, perfect.” The second is “with God [Elokim],” the attribute of gevurah, as Onkelos renders it: “In the fear of Hashem Noach walked.” This means knowing that there is One Who watches over him and counts all his steps [cf. Iyov 31:4], fearing Him with awe of His exaltedness, and being nullified before Him in utter self-nullification and nothingness. Noach conducted himself in these two modes so as to be tamim, on the middle line, without leaning to the extremes. Therefore, after the Flood came down and wiped out everything, and there were no longer any wicked people in the world, the verse says, “And only Noach remained” [Bereishis 7:23]. Chazal teach that the words ach and rak, “only,” limit (Pesachim 5a). From then on he walked in the mode of “dust and ashes” alone. He nullified himself completely, with this attribute only. (From the author's handwritten manuscript.)