Little Faith Vs Big Faith

 Rabbi Theodore Lewis was born in Dublin, Ireland in 1915. He grew up under the guidance and influence of Rabbi Yitzchak Halevi Herzog, Chief Rabbi of Ireland and later Chief Rabbi of Israel. As a teenager he learned in London under Rav Eliyahu Lopian. In 1935, at the advice of Rav Yechezkel Abramsky, young Theodore went to learn in the Mir Yeshiva in Poland. Later in life Rabbi Lewis recorded his experiences in Mir that gives a flavor for what it was like to be a student at that famed Yeshiva. Rabbi Lewis left Poland in August 1939, just days before Germany invaded Poland. Rabbi Lewis served as Rabbi at the Touro Synagogue for 36 years, housed in the oldest synagogue building in the United States. In 1959, during his tenure in Newport Rhode Island, Rabbi Lewis appeared on the TV show “To Tell the Truth”. The episode aired on June 30, 1959 on CBS and the contestants tried to figure out who was the real Rabbi Theodore Lewis, billed as “the only Irish-born rabbi in the United States.” Rabbi Lewis died in 2010 at age 96. He collected some of his sermons in a book titled Sermons at Touro Synagogue.

In his sermon on Parshat Noach Rabbi Lewis explores Rashi’s comment on the pasuk that describes Noach’s entry into the ark (7:7): וַיָּבֹ֣א נֹ֔חַ וּ֠בָנָ֠יו וְאִשְׁתּ֧וֹ וּנְשֵֽׁי־בָנָ֛יו אִתּ֖וֹ אֶל־הַתֵּבָ֑ה מִפְּנֵ֖י מֵ֥י הַמַּבּֽוּל: “And Noah went in and his sons and his wife and his sons' wives with him into the ark because of the flood waters.”

On the final phrase of the verse, Rashi quotes the Midrash Rabba: “Noah, too, was of those who had little faith, believing and not believing that the Flood would come, and he did not enter the ark until the waters forced him to do so.” Rabbi Lewis points out that Noach was described by the Torah earlier as a Tzaddik, a righteous man. How, then, can Chazal also describe Noach as Mikatnei Emunah, of little faith? Here is Rabbi Lewis’ answer, in his own words:

“The answer to this question lies in the effect Emunah, belief, has on the individual. To be a true believer in God, it is not enoughsimply to possess faith in the existence of God. The faith must inspire its possessor to action. The faith with which the individual is imbued must be translated into positive and dynamic action.”

Just as the Midrash does, Rabbi Lewis contrasts Noach with Avraham.

“Abraham was a man of faith. His faith in God inspired him to deeds. He went among his people preaching belief in the true God. His faith was of such intensity that he coyuld not rest until he imparted something of the religious zeal which consumed him, to others. Noach’s faith, however, did not inspire him to action. He was content to believe – but his beliefs did not spur him to deeds on behalf of his fellow men. He did not concern himself about the immorality and the idolatry that was in evidence about him everywhere.”

It's not enough to believe in God. That belief must find expression in the ways in which we seek to emulate God’s ways. It’s not enough to praise the virtues of morality, justice and charity. We must live by those values. Our Rabbis point out this shortcoming in Noah’s faith to encourage us to act according to our Emunah and to practice according to our principles.