
One commentary explains that the
difference between Noah and Moses was in the way they approached their life’s
work.[3] There are people who approach their life as a
lonely mission towards personal actualization.
The people around them are a distraction in their achieving personal excellence. In contrast, there are people that decide to
dedicate themselves’ to the well – being of the community. This comes at a tremendous self-sacrifice as
their personal time is cut by all the responsibilities. This sacrifice is real and can result in
diminished wisdom. However, the purpose
of life is the latter according to the midrash.
Moses ended his life at a higher
level of completion than Noah. Why? When
the nation of Israel faced destruction in the episode of the golden calf, Moses
went to bat for them and even told G-d to erase him from the book if Israel is
not to be saved. In contrast, Noah didn’t inspire his generation to improve or
inspire G-d to save his generation. He went into his own ark and saved himself and
his immediate family. That root of
self-centeredness, even though it came with good intentions was his downfall
later on in life. Moses, in contrast, had a root of otherness that blossomed
throughout his life and led to his greatness. While it may come at a personal
cost at times, we have to ask our-self, what are we here for in the end? If the answer is for the well-being of the community
we may find our self paradoxically more elevated.
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