Hebrew Bible Study
Hebrew Bible Study

Chasidut for Genesis 48:15

וַיְבָ֥רֶךְ אֶת־יוֹסֵ֖ף וַיֹּאמַ֑ר הָֽאֱלֹהִ֡ים אֲשֶׁר֩ הִתְהַלְּכ֨וּ אֲבֹתַ֤י לְפָנָיו֙ אַבְרָהָ֣ם וְיִצְחָ֔ק הָֽאֱלֹהִים֙ הָרֹעֶ֣ה אֹתִ֔י מֵעוֹדִ֖י עַד־הַיּ֥וֹם הַזֶּֽה׃

And he blessed Joseph, and said: ‘The God before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac did walk, the God who hath been my shepherd all my life long unto this day,

Kedushat Levi

Going back to the line: ‎את האלוקים התהלך נח‎, “Noach ‎walked with G’d;” the emphasis in this line is on the ‎attribute for G’d used, i.e. ‎אלוקים‎, the attribute of Justice. It was ‎beyond Noach’s kind of tzidkut, righteousness, to turn the ‎attribute of Justice into an attribute of Mercy through his ‎lifestyle. In this respect he was different from Avraham and ‎Yitzchok, concerning both of whom the Torah writes that they ‎‎“walked before G’d,” not merely “with G’d.” (Compare Genesis ‎‎17,1 and 48,15) In those verses the Torah wished to alert us to ‎the patriarchs’ ability to persuade G’d to substitute the attribute ‎of Mercy for the attribute of Justice, on occasion.
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