{"id":34857,"date":"2018-07-22T17:24:34","date_gmt":"2018-07-22T14:24:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/?p=34857"},"modified":"2022-02-13T13:28:05","modified_gmt":"2022-02-13T11:28:05","slug":"milimilim-genesis-chapter-7","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/milimilim-genesis-chapter-7\/","title":{"rendered":"MiliMiliM – The Hebrew Corner Gen 7"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[281],"tags":[361,391],"acf":{"old_id":"34857","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":34011,"related_cahpter":"7","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_url":"","post_main_content":{"description":"","content":"

In chapter 6, Noah is called \u05d0\u05d9\u05e9 \u05e6\u05d3\u05d9\u05e7, “a righteous man” (v.9). Here in chapter 7 this evaluation is repeated: \u05db\u05d9 \u05d0\u05d5\u05ea\u05da \u05e8\u05d0\u05d9\u05ea\u05d9 \u05e6\u05d3\u05d9\u05e7, “for you have I found righteous” (v. 1). In fact, Noah is the only character in the Tanakh to be called a “tzadik<\/em>.”<\/span><\/p>\n

But what does this mean? Indeed, the context is famously vague on the nature of Noah’s “righteousness” (see e.g. the pieces by Meesh Hammer-Kossoy, Alex Israel, Jonathan Sacks and Sid Schwartz in chapter 6, or Jackie Levi today). Let’s go back to basics, to the Hebrew root of the word, and the family of terms it gives us.<\/span><\/p>\n

That root is \u05e6-\u05d3-\u05e7 <\/span>tz-d-k<\/span><\/em> meaning “just” or “justice.” One word from this root is <\/span>\u05e6\u05d3\u05e7 TZeDeK<\/span><\/em>, “justice” (or “righteousness”). When the Torah emphasizes the importance of fulfilling the core value of justice (Deut. 16:20), it repeats it twice: “<\/span>tzedek, tzedek tirdof<\/span><\/em>!<\/span><\/i> Justice, justice shall you pursue!” This is usually interpreted to mean justice and only justice, achieving just ends through just means.<\/span><\/p>\n

Probably the best known word from the root \u05e6-\u05d3-\u05e7 <\/span>tz-d-k<\/span><\/em> though is <\/span>\u05e6\u05d3\u05e7<\/b>\u05d4 <\/span>TZeDaKah<\/span><\/em>, usually translated as “charity<\/span>.<\/span><\/i>” Merciful acts of charity seem worlds away from meting out justice, but the linguistic root reveals a deeper truth.<\/span><\/p>\n

Since <\/span>tzedakah<\/span><\/em> is a commandment, it is indeed seen as an obligatory act of justice, of <\/span>tzedek<\/span><\/em>, not a voluntary act of <\/span>caritas<\/span><\/em>, \u201clove,\u201d as the Latin root of \u201ccharity\u201d suggests. Giving to the poor isn’t an optional offering out of the goodness of one’s heart, but a claim that the poor have on general resources to live a life of dignity. It is the legal duty for all to share the wealth and abundance with which they have been blessed.<\/span><\/p>\n

(The family name of the popular singer Neil Sedaka really is <\/span>tzedakah<\/span><\/em>. His family is Lebanese, with Sephardi roots, and the word is the same in Arabic as well).<\/span><\/p>\n

Now we come to <\/span>\u05e6\u05d3<\/b>\u05d9<\/span>\u05e7<\/b> TZaDiK<\/span><\/em>, <\/span><\/i>a righteous person, anybody upright and pious, someone who embodies <\/span>tzedek<\/span><\/em>. The term <\/span>tzadik<\/span><\/em>, <\/span><\/i>however,<\/span> has come to refer to the titular head of a Hasidic dynasty, who, in many cases, is seen to be closer to the divine, a miracle-worker. The concept has morphed into the Jewish version of a saint or holy man, even though that is far from the original idea.<\/span><\/p>\n

The original context was simply anyone who is a really good person. For instance, the phrase <\/span>tzadik vera’ lo<\/span><\/em>, refers to “a good person who has bad things happen to him,” i.e., “theodicy,” i.e., the meaning of “the suffering of the righteous.”<\/span><\/p>\n

While few of us can claim to be an absolute <\/span>tzadik<\/span><\/em>, each should strive to implement <\/span>tzedek, <\/span><\/i>justice. A Jewish take on the popular slogan “just do it!” would be “do it justly!”<\/span><\/p>\n","image":{"ID":101952,"id":101952,"title":"-6208eb1190e4a--6208eb1190e4bgen7-milim tzedek.jpg","filename":"6208eb1190e4a-6208eb1190e4bgen7-milim-tzedek.jpg.jpg","filesize":0,"url":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2018\/07\/6208eb1190e4a-6208eb1190e4bgen7-milim-tzedek.jpg.jpg","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/milimilim-genesis-chapter-7\/6208eb1190e4a-6208eb1190e4bgen7-milim-tzedek-jpg\/","alt":"","author":"7","description":"","caption":"","name":"6208eb1190e4a-6208eb1190e4bgen7-milim-tzedek-jpg","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":34857,"date":"2022-02-13 11:27:13","modified":"2023-07-02 05:03:32","menu_order":0,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","type":"image","subtype":"jpeg","icon":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/default.png","width":648,"height":720,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2018\/07\/6208eb1190e4a-6208eb1190e4bgen7-milim-tzedek.jpg-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2018\/07\/6208eb1190e4a-6208eb1190e4bgen7-milim-tzedek.jpg-270x300.jpg","medium-width":270,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2018\/07\/6208eb1190e4a-6208eb1190e4bgen7-milim-tzedek.jpg.jpg","medium_large-width":648,"medium_large-height":720,"large":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2018\/07\/6208eb1190e4a-6208eb1190e4bgen7-milim-tzedek.jpg.jpg","large-width":648,"large-height":720,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2018\/07\/6208eb1190e4a-6208eb1190e4bgen7-milim-tzedek.jpg.jpg","1536x1536-width":648,"1536x1536-height":720,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2018\/07\/6208eb1190e4a-6208eb1190e4bgen7-milim-tzedek.jpg.jpg","2048x2048-width":648,"2048x2048-height":720,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2018\/07\/6208eb1190e4a-6208eb1190e4bgen7-milim-tzedek.jpg.jpg","post_full_size-width":648,"post_full_size-height":720,"home_baner":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2018\/07\/6208eb1190e4a-6208eb1190e4bgen7-milim-tzedek.jpg-378x420.jpg","home_baner-width":378,"home_baner-height":420}},"embedded_video":"","video_duration":"","show_fb_comments":true,"credit_media":""},"tile":{"top_caption":"MiliMiliM - 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