[02] זהר ח''א סח א Why R Yitzchak Objected Noach Actions

(4) In his generation. Do these words imply that Noah would not have been considered righteous if he had lived in another generation?

R. Judah and R. Nehemiah differed concerning this question. One said: He was righteous in comparison to the men who lived during the Generation of the Flood and the Generation of the Separation, but if he had lived in Abraham’s generation he would have been lost among them. For example, if a barrel of balsam oil is placed in a filthy area, its scent permeates that area, but if it is placed in another locality (a clean area), its scent might not permeate that area.

The other argued: If he was righteous in such a generation, how much more righteous would he have been had he lived in any other generation! For example, if a vial of spikenard oil is set in a filthy place, it will give forth a pleasant fragrance, but how much more pleasant would its fragrance be were it placed in an attractive area.