In our Torah portion “Noah,” there is a brief, very strange episode about this week’s hero. Noah’s family had just stepped off the ark when the first drama of the new world begins:
“Noah, a man of the soil, proceeded to plant a vineyard. When he drank some of its wine, he became drunk and lay uncovered inside his tent.” (Genesis 9:20-21)
Noah’s sons see him in this state, behave rather improperly, Noah wakes up again, sees “what his youngest son had done to him” (it is not entirely clear what he did to him) and subsequently curses Ham.
Anyone who has children knows that you often attribute their mistakes to yourself, and probably for good reason. The rabbis too recognize the fault in Noah, who should not have gotten drunk. The savior of mankind went from being a saint to a drunken man of the soil.
Noah had earned it
On the other hand, Noah was already several hundred years old when he stepped off the ark and had just...
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