There is a Yiddish expression that says, a tzaddik in peltz, a righteous person wrapped in a fur coat. There are two choices when we are cold. We can build a fire and make everyone warm, or we can wrap ourselves in a warm coat, and leave everyone remaining to shiver.
This is taught by Rabbi Dov Linzer in relation to the story of Noah and the ark. We learn that Noah was “righteous in his generation.” Unlike Abraham, who bargains with God to save others long with his family when God once again threatens worldly destruction, Noah is content knowing that his family alone will be comfortable during dark days.
In the new book It Takes Two To Torah, Rabbi Linzer and co-author Abigail Pogrebin, an Orthodox Rabbi and a Reform journalist, take a walk through each parsha with emotion, revelation, scholarship, and candor.
When speaking about the puzzling character of Noah, Pogrebin asks, “Was Noah picked only because of his absence of corruption? Is this not selfish?”
Linzer answers, “When babies are born, they’re very selfish. That’s natural; they have to worry about only themselves; they need to be fed, warm, loved. Our concern for others, our empathy, and our desire for a common good in society have to be taught and learned.” Linzer continues that he believes the traditional Rabbinic teaching that we have strong impulses in both directions.
While we have only started the Torah a week ago, we already enter the depths of ethical morality in our lives.
We only need to fast forward to today’s world fraught with the same physical and emotional destruction to recognize that tzaddik in peltz is not simply a metaphor. We must remove our coats and build a fire.
We can start this week, as I will be joined in conversation with Abigail Pogrebin and Rabbi Dov Linzer this Wednesday evening, November 6: a Reform journalist, an Orthodox Rabbi, and a Conservative Rabbi—let’s build this fire together.
