Noam Elimelekh

These are the generations of Noach: Noach was a righteous man, perfect, in his generations. It seems to me that the explanation is as follows: a person who occupies himself with the service of the Creator, blessed and exalted be He, in all his actions — that is, even in material matters such as eating and drinking, when he eats and drinks in holiness, at the very least with the intention of rejecting the waste and raising up the spirituality contained within it — then each time he ascends and comes into another, higher level, this is called by the name "dor" (generation).

For the first level in which he was conducting himself, all the days he conducted himself in it, is like a "dor"; and after he departs from this level and falls into another level, it is as though he has come into another "dor" (generation).

This is the meaning of "a generation goes and a generation comes" — its meaning is as above: that this person falls away from the first level in which he had been conducting himself until now; this level goes away from him — this is "a generation goes" — "and a generation comes," likewise as above, meaning he comes into another level.

And the verse states that it must be in a manner such that "and the earth stands forever" — meaning that the earthliness, that is, the physicality, must be set upright, so that he conducts himself within it in holiness as above; and this is "stands forever," meaning, for the upper world (olam).

And the person who conducts himself as above comes each time into another level; but one who does not conduct himself in holiness — none of this applies to him, for he does not ascend at all to another level.

This is the meaning of "one generation to another" (dor l'dor): the explanation is that a person who wishes to go out and come in from one generation to another — that is, from one level (behinah) to another level, as mentioned above — "shall praise Your works" (yeshabach ma'asecha): the explanation is that he must sanctify himself so thoroughly, even in his physicality, that even his physical deeds will give praise to Hashem Yisborach (may He be blessed).

This is the meaning of "Noach was a righteous man, perfect, in his generations" — meaning, in all the aspects that were in him, at every time he was righteous and perfect in them, and all this was his because "Noach walked with God," that is to say, that all his deeds were only for His great Name, blessed be He; therefore he went each time from aspect to aspect.