2025

When Righteousness Isn’t Enough

There’s a paradox in this week’s Torah portion. Noah is called “a righteous man, blameless in his generation.” He obeys every command — but the Torah never records his voice. When God warns that the world will be destroyed, Noah doesn’t protest or plead. He just builds.

Our tradition praises his obedience yet seems to hold him at arm’s length. Noah “walked with God,” while Abraham is told to “walk before God.” To walk with is to follow; to walk before is to lead. Abraham argues for Sodom, Moses pleads for Israel — each generation growing bolder, more willing to question. The Torah suggests that true faith requires not only obedience, but conscience.

Perhaps Noah thought, “Who am I to question God?” Or maybe, like many of us, he simply wanted to keep his family safe. But faith without moral courage can be dangerous. Pastor Martin Niemöller, reflecting on his silence in Nazi Germany, wrote:
“First they came for the Socialists… Then they came for the Jews… Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.”

Niemöller’s words could have been Noah’s. He did not speak out—because he was not among the wicked. He saved his own—and ended up alone. Hillel’s teaching echoes: “If I am not for myself, who will be for me? But if I am only for myself, what am I?”

Judaism calls us to righteousness through responsibility. God sets the moral compass, but we must use it. Micah says: “Do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with your God.” To walk humbly is to listen; to do justice is to speak.

The covenant after the flood is with all life — God’s way of saying, “Never again will I save only the obedient; I seek partners.” Each generation must choose: Will we be Noah, quietly righteous within our ark, or Abraham, standing before God for others? Silence is not a Jewish virtue. Questioning is an act of faith — because it means we still believe the world can be better.

May we seek wisdom when uncertain, courage when conscience calls, and may our questions, asked with compassion, become prayers that shape a better world.