Rabbi Yehudah Henken wrote a book called New Interpretations on the Parsha a few years ago, and its aptly named because some of the interpretations are quite novel.
This week's parsha is particularly interesting. He asks how Noah can be described as a "tzaddik" - a righteous man, and yet toward the end of his story, he gets black out drunk and (according to some interpretations) allows himself to be molested by one of his sons. That doesn't sound like the actions of a tzaddik!
But, he writes, if we compare it to another story where another man gets drunk and gets molested, we can see a vast difference, and where true righteousness lies.
Lot and his daughters escape the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, and take refuge together. His daughters, thinking they must repopulate the world, get their father drunk, twice, and get pregnant from him. Each time when he wakes up, the verses (19:33 and 19:35) emphasize that he was not aware of what occurred the night before.
Compare this to Noah when he woke up, (9:24) "When Noah awoke from his wine, he knew what his youngest son had done to him."
The righteous person is one who recognizes when he makes mistakes. It is the pseudo-righteous who act as if they are righteous individuals, but can't see their own faults.
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