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From the Rabbi:
Parashat Vayeira deals with the issues of religious violence and collective punishment in a way that is so direct and relevant today that it can't be ignored. I generally don't want to descend into politics, but I'm not an ostrich, so here goes…
We read this week of how Avraham Avinu is informed that Hashem has found the entire cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to be wicked beyond worth saving and will therefore destroy them entirely. Avraham Avinu refuses to simply accept God’s judgment as true and righteous. He challenged God, (Gen 18:23) “הַאַף תִּסְפֶּה צַדִּיק עִם־רָשָׁע” “Will You sweep away the innocent along with the guilty?”
Was Abraham defending the People of Sodom? Not as a whole, but he was suggesting that there may also be good people worth saving. People who could change the wicked culture if given the opportunity.
Avraham Avinu believed in the ability of the few, or even the one, to influence the many. That’s why God chose him. Because Avraham (Gen 18:19) “will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the Lord, to practice charity and justice."
In many ways, that’s what sets Avraham apart from Noach. When Noach saw the great wickedness of the world around him, he gave up on them. Noach isolated himself and his family and let God destroy all the rest of Humanity.
Not so Avraham. From Ur to Canaan to Egypt, everywhere he went he declared his faith in the unity of God, the brotherhood of all humanity, and allegiance to divine law rather than the rule of power-hungry men. He knew that one man can make all the difference, and in pleading with Hashem to spare all of Sodom and Gomorrah on behalf of a few dissident rebels he was insisting that the wicked aren’t irredeemable.
Avraham knew that Lot was in Sodom. Lot had been with Avraham for decades, so Avraham figured that Lot had set up a Chabad house and was hard at work changing the culture of Sodom. Lot certainly was different from his neighbors and showed it by his welcoming of the angelic guests. But his efforts, if he made any, hadn't spread past his household. Lot, his wife, his two daughters and sons in law were already six. Surely, thought Avraham, Lot has done something - hasn’t he managed to influence even four more people.
But there weren’t ten. So, Avraham accepts that the body politic is un-saveable. God also accepts that dissidents should be ferreted out while He destroys the whole. So, Lot is saved along with his daughters and the rest are destroyed.
So, what about our present conflict in Gaza?
We are commanded to emulate God, to (Deut 10:12) “walk in all His ways." So then if God uses collective punishment including children when the overall culture is so terribly corrupt, should we perhaps be more aggressive? I’ve heard dozens of people, both in Israel and throughout the diaspora, (including here in Buffalo) opine that “we should just level Gaza" or “make Gaza Egypt again."
Or, perhaps should we emulate God in agreeing to spare the whole if even ten righteous dissidents can be found. Then what, just wait for more violence?
The attempt to discern who is a terrorist and who is a civilian has us embroiled in war for over a year with no end in sight and facing ever increasing antisemitism around the globe.
Are there ten people in Gaza resisting Hamas and advocating for peace with Israel? We certainly don’t hear about them. Yet, how could it be that in a population of 2 million there aren’t even ten people worth saving?! Should Israel offer asylum to those seeking to escape Hamas’ oppression? How could we discern who is genuine and who is an undercover terrorist?
What about funding, training or in other ways supporting a peaceful movement to overthrow Hamas and make a better life for the Palestinian people? Or effecting a democratic revolution in Iran? Is there anyone on the inside with the courage to stand up to the soul-destroying summons to violence?
I don't have the answers. Only I can't ignore the questions staring us in the face in this parasha.
How can we emulate God here?
What would Avraham Avinu do?
He believed that with courageous leadership, somehow, even the most depraved culture can change. So must we all.
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Shlomo
Classes This Week
NOTE: The Thursday evening class is paused until further notice.
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