Rabbeinu Bachya (Bereishis 06:09) Noach’s third
virtue is described by the words “Noach walked with G-d.” This virtue of
“walking with G-d” is something so exceptional that we find it mentioned only
very rarely. Nonetheless, it is one of the imperatives G-d (Moses) commanded
the Jewish people (Deut. 13,5) when He said:, “You shall follow the Lord your
G-d, etc.” Interestingly , in our verse the Torah does not describe Noach as
having walked behind G-d, The Torah says “he made himself walk.” This was not a
construction that can be applied to an entire nation and this is why Moses did
not phrase his imperative as,”make yourselves follow (in the footsteps of) the
Lord your G-d.” Only select individuals ever attain such a lofty spiritual
level and only after having become outstandingly righteous people The very
attainment of that level of comprehension of the forces at work in our universe
reveals that the person who commands it has an appreciation of G-d and His
Majesty. This is what David meant when he said (Psalms 19,2) “the heavens
declare the glory of G-d , the sky proclaims His handiwork.” ….This is also why
our sages (Shabbat 75) have said: “anyone who knows how to calculate the
various seasons and horoscopes correctly and fails to use his ability is the
subject of the verse (Isaiah 5,12) “and he fails to take note of what He is
designing.” We have another scriptural verse (Psalms 82,5) “they neither knew
nor understood, they make themselves walk in darkness;” this verse too
describes people who, though able to comprehend the mysteries of nature, fail
to pay attention to this and to draw the appropriate conclusions regarding
their conduct on earth. The reason that Noach’s name is mentioned three times in
this verse is because of the three levels of perfection he had attained, i.e.
he was righteous, perfect, and he walked with G-d.
