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Why did Noach walk "with God" while Avrohom walked "before Him"? The Targum's divergent translations—"fear" for Noach vs. "service" for Avrohom—reveal that Noach remained a respectful guest in God's world, while Avrohom sought total unity, wanting to think as God thinks. This distinction explains why only Avrohom merited the covenant and why his descendants became eternal.
The shiur addresses a fundamental question: Why was Avrohom Avinu chosen to be the father of the eternal Jewish nation, while Noach, called a "tzaddik tamim," has no connection to the eternity of Klal Yisrael despite his tremendous righteousness? Noach was moser nefesh for 120 years building the ark and worked tirelessly during the flood year, yet he remains merely a biological ancestor without his middos being incorporated into Knesses Yisrael. Rabbi Zweig develops his approach through a careful analysis of the Targum's translation of the phrase "es Elokim hishalech" (walked with God). By Noach, the Targum Onkelos translates this as "b'dechaltas Hashem (ה׳) halech" (walked in fear of God), while by Avrohom, who is described as "hishalech lefanai" (walk before Me), the Targum renders it as "palach" (serve). Even more striking, by Chanoch it also says "hishalech es haElokim" and Targum Onkelos again translates it as fear, while Targum Yonasan ben Uziel translates Chanoch's walking as "palach," equating him with Avrohom.
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How could Avrohom keep the entire Torah before it was given, including rabbinical laws? The key insight is that mitzvos represent eternal spiritual realities, not just historical commemorations, so Avrohom could access these truths through his genuine search. His entire 172-year journey—even his early idolatry—retroactively became service of God once he reached ultimate truth.
