Noah – Genesis Chapter 6:9 & 7:1 בְּרֵאשִׁית

ט  אֵלֶּה, תּוֹלְדֹת נֹחַ–נֹחַ אִישׁ צַדִּיק תָּמִים הָיָה, בְּדֹרֹתָיו:  אֶת-הָאֱלֹהִים, הִתְהַלֶּךְ-נֹחַ.

9 These are the generations of Noah. Noah was in his generation a righteous man and whole-hearted; Noah walked with God.

א  וַיֹּאמֶר יְהוָה לְנֹחַ, בֹּא-אַתָּה וְכָל-בֵּיתְךָ אֶל-הַתֵּבָה:  כִּי-אֹתְךָ רָאִיתִי צַדִּיק לְפָנַי, בַּדּוֹר הַזֶּה.

1 And the LORD said to Noah: ‘Come you and all your household into the ark; for I have seen that you are the only righteous before Me in this generation.

Rashi Askes A Question

in verse 6:9 it’s says about Noah: Noah was in his generations a Man, righteous, and whole-hearted

And In verse 7:1 it only says for I have seen that you are the only righteous

Rashi asks what happen to “Noah was whole hearted”? Why did he lose this praise?

Rashi says in Tractate Eruvin 18:b says:

וְאָמַר רַבִּי יִרְמְיָה בֶּן אֶלְעָזָר: מִקְצָת שִׁבְחוֹ שֶׁל אָדָם אוֹמְרִים בְּפָנָיו, וְכוּלּוֹ שֶׁלֹּא בְּפָנָיו. מִקְצָת שִׁבְחוֹ בְּפָנָיו, דִּכְתִיב: ״כִּי אוֹתְךָ רָאִיתִי צַדִּיק לְפָנַי בַּדּוֹר הַזֶּה״,

And Rabbi Yirmeya ben Elazar said: Only some of a person’s praise should be said in his presence, and all of it may be said not in his presence. as it is written: “And the Lord said to Noah (in his presence) , come, you and all your house into the ark, for you have I seen righteous before Me in this generation” (Genesis 7:1).

כּוּלּוֹ שֶׁלֹּא בְּפָנָיו, דִּכְתִיב: ״נֹחַ אִישׁ צַדִּיק תָּמִים הָיָה בְּדוֹרוֹתָיו״.

And all of it may be said not in his presence, as it is written: “These are the generations of Noah; Noah was a righteous, man, and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God” (Genesis 6:9). When not referring to him in his presence, God refers to Noah as a righteous and perfect man.

The reason our sages explain is that too much Flattery is a risky business.

When you praise a person that’s in front of you, don’t overdo it, it’s not a good thing because

it can make him conceded and haughty.  But when you are talking to another person about him, it’s okay.

And that is why when Hashem first talked about Noah He said a lot but when he spoke to him directly, he spoke less.

אומרים מקצת שבחו כו’ – כלומר דרך ארץ הוא שאע”פ שאדם משבח את חברו שלא בפניו הרבה אין מרבה בשבחו לפניו מפני שנראה כמחניף:

בפניו – כתיב צדיק:

שלא בפניו – כתיב צדיק תמים:

Our Rabbi aske’s, how many praises do we see from the verse when Hashem talks about Noah? The answer is Three not two. How is that?

Its: #1 Man, #2 Tzadik & #3 Tamim complete. So we know what is Tzadik and Tamim what kind of phrase is Man?

Our Rabbi explains that it means a Mantch – Ben Adam a good person all around.

אִישׁ as 3 letters, The first is אִ which represents אמצא  the second letter is י  whice represent ימין  right and the lest letter ש which represents

שמאל.  A man must walk in the middle not tpo much to the right or to the left. The middle road will get you to Holam Haba.

In the book of מלכים א ב ב

****King David bless His son and tells him:

אנכי הלך בדרך כל הארץ וחזקת והיית לאיש Be a man that concurs his evil inclination

By Rabbi Yona Matzger