naomi w. randall wrote i am a friend of god.
naomi w. randall wrote i am a friend of god.
who wrote i am a friend of god?
naomi w. randall
Na
Na
rabbi judah contrasted god's words to abraham, "walk before me," in with the words, "noah walked with god," in rabbi judah compared it to a king who had two sons, one grown up and the other a child. the king asked the child to walk "with" him. but the king asked the adult to walk "before" him. similarly, to abraham, whose moral strength was great, god said, "walk before me." but of noah, who was feeble, says, "noah walked with god." rabbi nehemiah compared noah to a king's friend who was plunging about in dark alleys, and when the king saw him sinking in the mud, the king urged his friend to walk with him instead of plunging about. abraham's case, however, was compared to that of a king who was sinking in dark alleys, and when his friend saw him, the friend shined a light for him through the window. the king then asked his friend to come and shine a light before the king on his way. thus, god told abraham that instead of showing a light for god from mesopotamia, he should come and show one before god in the land of israel. similarly, says, "and he blessed joseph, and said: the god before whom my fathers abraham and isaac did walk . ... " rabbi berekiah in rabbi johanan's name and resh lakish gave two illustrations of this. rabbi johanan said: it was as if a shepherd stood and watched his flocks. (similarly, abraham and isaac walked before god and under god's protection.) resh lakish said: it was as if a prince walked along while the elders preceded him (as an escort, to make known his coming). (similarly, abraham and isaac walked before god, spreading word of god.) the midrash taught that in rabbi johanan's view: we need god's proximity, while in resh lakish's view, god needs us to glorify god (by propagating the knowledge of god's greatness). similarly, a midrash read the words "noah walked with god" in to mean that god supported noah, so that noah should not be overwhelmed by the evil behavior of the generation of the flood. the midrash compared this to a king whose son went on a mission for his father. the road ahead of him was sunken in mire, and the king supported him so that he would not sink in the mire. however, in the case of abraham, god said in "walk before me," and regarding the patriarchs, jacob said in "the god before whom my fathers abraham and isaac walked." for the patriarchs would try to anticipate the divine presence, and would go ahead to do god's will.
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