Noach - Relying on Heavenly Support

These are the generations of Noah, Noah was a righteous man he was perfect in his generations
אֵלֶּה תּוֹלְדֹת נֹחַ נֹחַ אִישׁ צַדִּיק תָּמִים הָיָה בְּדֹרֹתָיו
Breisheit 6:9

Reb Elimelech in Noam Elimelech asserts that the Tzaddick, the righteous man, both inspires unity and has influence on the masses.

How does he see this? He says that we can look into the first letter of the word 'righteous man' (צדיק), the letter Tzaddick (צ).

The letter Tzaddick is composed of two letters, the letter Nun (נ) and the letter Yud (י). The letter Nun sits at an angle with it's top point narrower, signifying the power of the Righteous Man to inspire unity, bringing people to rally around a point.

The bottom of the letter Nun is wider, signifying how the Righteous Man has influence over the masses.

And perched there to the right, seemingly on the shoulder of the Nun, is the Yud. This is the Yud of the divine name of Hashem, and the source of heavenly influence on the Righteous Man.

The Nun and Yud come together to influence who the Tzaddick is and show how the Tzaddick's influence effects the world.

We see this further in the verse from Tehillim.
 All Your works will thank You, Hashem, and Your pious ones will bless You.
יוֹדוּךָ ה' כָּל מַעֲשֶׂיךָ וַחֲסִידֶיךָ יְבָרֲכוּכָה
Tehillim 145:10
The Yudim (Yud [י] and Yudecha [יודך]) come to show how we rely on Hashem. We should all come to feel that we have the 'Yud' sitting on our shoulder and enjoy the resonance of heaven in our lives, and the influence of the Tzaddick on the world.

Noach - Peace of Mind


When I became religious in Seattle, one of the first questions the rabbi asked me was, 'how are you called to the Torah.' I hesitated. I wasn't sure what to say. Searching my feelings, I went with my intuition, and said 'Levi.' It stuck. From then on, I got called up for the Levi aliya. Nevertheless, a little voice said, 'Are you sure?'