Noach 2013/5774 How Can We Walk with God?

Bereishit Rabba 30:10 And walked with God….(Genesis 6:9) How do people walk with God? Rav Berekiah in Rav Yohanan’s name and Resh Lakish gave two examples based on the passage from Genesis, And [Jacob] blessed Joseph saying, The God before whom my fathers and Issac walked…bless these children…(Genesis 48:15-16) Rav Yohanan said: It was as if a Shepherd stood and watched his flocks. Resh Lakish said: It was as if a Prince walked along while the elders preceded him. On Rav Yohanan’s view: We need to be in God’s place (proximity). On the view of Resh Lakish: God needs us to glorify (make known) God’s Holiness.

Itturey on Genesis 6:9 (adapted) Noah was a righteous man; in his generation, he was above reproach; Noah walked with God… Why does our lineage (as the Jewish people) begin with Abraham and not with Noah, while the nations of the world are called “the children of Noah”? The explanation is that although Noah was a righteous individual and blameless, he did not exemplify the image of a righteous Jew. “Noah walked with God” but not with people, with other human beings. He concerned himself with humanity and his world, but his righteousness was only directed toward himself and his own family. He was commanded by God to build an ark, and he did, nail by nail, board by board, working on it for 120 years—but he never once thought about how it would be possible to undo the decree and save the world from annihilation. Abraham was completely different. Abraham sought converts to his new belief, he taught ethics to humanity and shared his knowledge of God will all people. And, when God wanted to destroy Sodom, Abraham argued with God to save even the most wicked of people.

Rabbi Yehudah Leib Alter of Ger on Genesis 12:1 Go forth, walk, from your land, your birthplace, your father’s house, to the land I will show you.…Be ready to always hear…And…also, “go forth, walk from your land…” means a person should always keep walking “to a land that I will show you…” always toward a new attainment. This is why a person is called a walker. Whoever stands still is not renewed, for nature hold him fast. The above are beyond nature; they can be said to “stand” ( 6:2). But the person has to keep walking. And Arthur Green comments, Thank you, Lord, for that nervous energy. Life as an might have been easier—standing still to do Your bidding. But it is our walking, our ever climbing (and sometimes falling) from rung to rung that makes us human. Despite all the struggle and pain that go along with growing, we wouldn’t have it any other way.

When was a moment you felt your steps were strengthened? Who are you walking with and where are you walking? How can you notice when you walk with God?