Noach is criticized for his failure to pray on his generation’s behalf, despite his probable concern to maintain his opposition to the corrupt lifestyle of his contemporaries. We are expected to show care, concern and empathy for people even if we reject their beliefs and conduct. As we learn from Avraham, there should be no conflict between firm ideological opposition and sincere love and concern.
Many sources have noted the different reactions of Noach and Avraham upon learning of God’s plans to destroy their sinful contemporaries. Whereas Avraham offers a passionate plea on behalf of Sedom and its surrounding cities which God had condemned, Noach does not respond when God informed him of the decree of annihilation issued against humanity. Noach obeys God’s command to construct an ark and to bring the animals, but, unlike Avraham ten generations later, he utters no plea on behalf of the people of his time.
Rav Yehuda Amital zt”l (as cited by a student) discussed Noach’s failure to pray on behalf of his contemporaries, and, citing the Zohar, he notes that Noach may have feared that he would forfeit his special status if he had uttered such a prayer. If his prayers were ineffective, he thought, he might then be included with the rest of mankind in God’s decree of annihilation. To explain why Noach entertained such thoughts, Rav Amital posited that praying on somebody else’s behalf requires a genuine sense of identification with that individual and his or her plight. Pleading before God for another person means truly understanding what that person is going through and feeling his or her pain and fears as if they are our own. Therefore, Rav Amital explained, “Noach was afraid his prayer would draw him closer to his generation. Perhaps he would then be influenced by his generation.” Noach’s concern was that by sincerely praying on behalf of the sinful people among whom he lived, the barriers between him and them would be eroded, and he might slowly begin to become like them.
Avraham, of course, did not entertain these thoughts. He felt perfectly at ease praying passionately and determinedly on behalf of Sedom despite the fact that their conduct represented the antithesis of everything he believed and preached. To him, there was no conflict. One may genuinely care and feel concern for others even as he emphatically rejects their beliefs and way of life. Noach is criticized for his failure to pray on his generation’s behalf, despite the fact that this decision was likely made out of a genuine concern to maintain his opposition to the corrupt lifestyle of his contemporaries. We are expected to show care, concern and empathy for people even if we strongly and emphatically reject their beliefs and conduct. As we learn from Avraham, there is no conflict – or there should be no conflict – between firm ideological opposition and sincere love and concern. We can maintain our ideological distance even as we cultivate emotional closeness, caring deeply about others regardless of how strongly we disagree with them.