29 Oct NOACH: WHAT WAS NOACH’S GREATEST LEGACY?

The sequence of
expression in the
opening pasukim
of our parsha
[Bereishis 6:9-10]
is noteworthy. The
Torah begins “And these are the
offspring of Noach” (Eleh toldos
Noach), which would lead us to
expect that we will be immediately
told the names of Noach’s children.
However, the Torah first says, “Noach
was a righteous man, perfect in his
generations”. Only after that does the
Torah continue, “Noach had begotten
three sons: Shem, Cham, and Yafes.”
It seems that the description of
Noach’s righteousness is out of place
in the narrative. Rashi comments on
this unusual sequence and says this
teaches that the main offspring (i.e.
creations) of righteous people are
their good deeds. The true descendants

of a Tzadik are not the physical
children he leaves behind, but his acts
of kindness.
This is truly an amazing statement.
Each of us is here because of Noach.
What is the greatest legacy that Noach
left the world? I would say that the
answer is simple: humanity! The fact
that there are people in this world is
the greatest legacy that Noach could
leave. Yet Chazal explain that the
pasuk is teaching us that this is not
true. Noach’s greatest legacy (as is the
case with all Tzadikim) is his good
deeds! We are commanded to have
children but children are also human
beings. They are not eternal. They
will die and ultimately leave this
world. However, there is something
we can do in this world that is eternal
and never ceases to exist, namely our
good deeds! This is an amazing
statement.

The Medrash says that the wife of
Noach was Naamah, a descendant of
Kayin. We are told about some of
Cain’s other descendants [Bereishis
4:20-22]. One was Yaval, who
founded the cattle and shepherd
industry, which has been around for
thousands of years. Another was
Yuval. He was the first musician. A
third descendant, Tuval Kayin, was
the first metalworker. He fashioned
metal into swords. All of these
individuals died. The flood wiped out
their descendants and their legacies.
Naamah, on the other hand, is the
only descendant of Kayin to survive.
Why did she survive? Chazal say that
she was called Na’amah because her
actions were “Naim u’neimim” —
they were pleasant and brought
pleasure to others.
The point is that accomplishments,
even creating major industries, music,

and so forth are all fine and good but
they are not eternal. They do not last
forever. The only thing in this world
that is truly eternal is spirituality and
good deeds. This is the point of the
aforementioned teaching of our
Sages: The major offspring of the
righteous is their good deeds.