(2000/5761)
This week’s Parsha opens by stating, נח איש צדיק תמים היה בדורותיו את האלוקים התהלך נח, “Noach was a righteous man in his generation; Noach followed the ways of Hashem” (6:9). On the word בדורותיו, “in his generation,” Rashi points to a Machloket as to whether Noach would have been called a Tzaddik had he lived at the same time as Avraham Avinu. One side says that he would have been a Tzaddik and would have been greater than all the other Tzaddikim of that time. The other side argues that had he lived at the same time of Avraham he would not have been a Tzaddik at all; he would have just been an average person.
We can learn from this that everyone has potential to be either a Tzaddik or an average person. One should try to make an impact upon his generation and rise to his challenges to become a Tzaddik. If one tries to be this type of person, he will hopefully be a source of Nachat and pride to his family and to all of Klal Yisrael.