The first pasuk in Parashat Noach describes him as an איש צדיק – “righteous man,” and also as תמים, which means “pure,” or “innocent.” Later, however, we read that when Hashem brought the flood, He told Noach to enter the ark כי אותך ראיתי צדיק לפני בדור הזה – “for I have seen that you are righteous in this generation.”
The commentaries raise the question of why Noach is first described as both an איש צדיק and as a תמים, but is then described only as a צדיק. If he was both a צדיק and a תמים, then why is he called only a צדיק the second time?
One answer given is that it’s wonderful to be both a צדיק and a תמים in our own lives, with regard to ourselves, but בדור הזה (“in this generation”), in our dealings with other people, we must not be תמים; we should be only צדיק.
The word תמים, as mentioned, denotes purity and innocence. These are, of course, important qualities to strive for. We should act righteously and trust Hashem with simple, pure, innocent faith. However, when we engage with people, we cannot be perfectly pure and innocent. People are complex, and fragile, and things we say and do – however well-intentioned – can cause them pain. If we are too תמים, too pure and innocent, we will be unable to properly understand people, and we will thus be unable to deal with them in a kind, sensitive manner. Simplicity is not a virtue. We cannot be so simplistic as to say that we didn’t realize that such-and-such remark hurt somebody’s feelings. We cannot be so innocent that we cannot understand the complexities of people’s emotions, how easily they are hurt. We need to be smart enough to understand the impact of our words and actions on the people around us.
The Rambam describes the way that one was to treat his servant, back in ancient times, when people would have servants who were, in a sense, their property. He writes, לא יבזהו ביד ולא בדברים – a master is not permitted to cause the servant humiliation, “neither with his hand, nor with words.” The Rambam adds that one may not speak angrily or shout at the servant, and must instead speak to him pleasantly. It is noteworthy that the Rambam forbids humiliating a servant not only by insulting him, but also ביד, with his hand. This might mean that even simply making a gesture with one’s hand, expressing disdain for the servant, is not allowed.
Our facial expressions and body language are important methods of communication. Not only do our words impact upon other people’s feelings, but so do the way we look at them, our hand motions, and other gestures. When interacting with people, we must not be תמים, simpleminded, failing to consider how we emotional affect the people around us.
This is especially relevant to employers. People who pay others to work for them often feel entitled to embarrass their workers, or to shout at them, to speak to them in a manner that makes them feel inferior. As the Rambam taught us, we are commanded to respect the feelings of even those under our charge. Even in ancient times, when people owned servants, it was not permissible to embarrass them or to get angry them. Certainly, then, we must be careful how we speak to our workers nowadays. We must recognize that, ultimately, we are all the servants of Hashem, and nobody has the right to make anybody else feel inferior.
We can’t be תמים. Whenever we speak to others, whether at home, at work, at community events, or anywhere else, we must think carefully about how we are affecting their feelings, and speak to them with the kind of respect that we would want them to show us.