Tzedek, the Tzaddik and the Anti-Tzedek of Sedom
Bein Adam
Le-chavero:
Ethics of Interpersonal Conduct
By Rav Binyamin Zimmerman
Shiur #13: Tzedek, the Tzaddik and the
Anti-Tzedek of Sedom
The legacy of Avraham is expressed succinctly with
the attributes of tzedaka and mishpat, which lead Avraham’s
descendants to walk in the way of God. We
have seen that these two terms reappear in numerous contexts, sometimes with the
additional attribute of chesed. After
focusing our discussion in previous lesson on the meaning of mishpat and
its implications for understanding mishpatim, we will now draw our
attention to the next element, tzedaka, to be followed by a lesson on
chesed. What is the true
definition of tzedaka, and how does it interact with mishpat and
chesed?
The common conception is that tzedaka means
charity. In truth, in the verses in the Torah (Devarim 15:7-11) that
discuss the mitzva of charity, the word tzedaka does not appear (though
it does appear in Nevi’im and Ketuvim). How, then, should we define
tzedaka? Why do we use it as a
term for charity?
The Rambam’s Definitions
In lesson #11, we noted that in the second-to-last chapter of the Rambam’s Moreh Ha-nvukhim, he defines the terms tzedaka, mishpat and chesed. Chesed is complete beneficence, while mishpat is strict justice. Tzedaka, on the other hand, is in between.
The term tבºedaka is derived from tבºedek,
righteousness; it denotes the practice of giving everyone his due and of showing
kindness to every being as it deserves. In Scripture, however, the expression
tבºedaka is not used in the first sense, and it does not apply to the payment
of what we owe to others. When we therefore give the hired laborer his wages or
pay a debt, we do not perform an act of tבºedaka. But we do perform an act
of tבºedaka when we fulfill those duties towards our fellow-men which our
moral conscience imposes upon us; e.g., when we heal the wound of the sufferer.
Thus Scripture says, in reference to returning the pledge [to the poor debtor]:
"And it shall be tבºedaka for you"
(Devarim 24:13). When we walk in the way of virtue, we act righteously
towards our intellectual faculties, paying it its due; and because every virtue
is thus tבºedaka, Scripture applies the term to the virtue of faith in
God. See the verses "And he believed in God, and he accounted it to him as
righteousness" (Bereishit 15:6); "And
it shall be our righteousness" (Devarim 6:25).
Thus, the Rambam explains
that chesed is going beyond,
doing more than is required of one – e.g., in assisting another.
Tzedaka, on the other hand, means giving everyone his due and
giving to every being what it deserves.
Mishpat is applying justice as
is proper in each case, whether it is to one’s benefit or detriment.
The Requirement of Tzedaka
This approach stands in opposition to the common
assumption that tzedaka is charity, an act of pure kindness not required
by law. The Talmud states (Bava
Batra 8b and Ketubot 49b) that an individual can be forced to give
tzedaka. The commentators note
that this seems to run contrary to the principle that “Any positive commandment
for which the reward is written explicitly in the Torah, the court cannot force
someone to perform it.” The mitzva
of tzedaka has an explicit reward stated (Devarim 15:10), and
therefore one might wonder: how can the courts enforce payment?
There are a number of responses given by the
commentators, but the Ketzot Ha-choshen (290:3) presents an approach that is
pertinent to our discussion. The
Ketzot explains that regarding the mitzva of tzedaka, for which the Torah
states a reward, there can be no compulsion, but tzedaka is not only a
mitzva; it is also a monetary obligation.
Every individual has obligations to the needy, and one must realize that,
to a certain degree, his money does not belong to him. This debt of tzedaka
translates into a lien on one’s property.
The Ketzot explains a number of anomalies based on the idea that, beyond
the mitzva of tzedaka, there is a debt which the courts can compel one to
pay. (See Rav Yair Kahn’s essay,
Alei Etzion vol. 2, pp. 145-151.)
Though this understanding of tzedaka seems
rather novel, this is exactly what the Rambam explains about the term tzedaka
referring to charity. The
Rambam explains, as we
saw, that when a person gives charity to a poor person, this is not
chesed but rather
tzedek – because through the giver’s action, he is giving his own soul
its due. A person's soul strives for perfection and for positive traits. When a
person behaves in this way, he is performing
tzedek towards his own soul. Chesed is the correct term only where
there is a complete favor, exceeding that which the soul requires.
The Rambam’s understanding of the required
charitable obligations recognizes that Jewish tzedek involves what others
may consider charity; nevertheless, tzedek is actually righteousness,
doing everything that one is supposed to do.
Rav S.R. Hirsch (Bereishit 15:6) expresses this idea in explaining
why G-d considers Avraham’s faith in him to be
tzedaka.
In some cases, one who performs tzedaka
merely acts in accordance with the strict requirements of the law… On the other hand, tzedaka is
not synonymous with mishpat: tzedaka is always mentioned beside
mishpat as something different. Only one who does both mishpat
and tzedaka fulfills his duty in life.
When God does tzedaka he bestows favor on his creatures out of His
grace, not on account of their merit.
Mishpat stems from
the root shafat… The basic
meaning of the root is to put something in its proper place; the primary meaning
of shafat then is to impose order.
Mishpat does not make one rich nor add to what exists; it merely
maintains what exists and restores things to their rightful owner.
Tzedaka from the root
tzedek is something else… in other words, to give the other person what
he needs, to be good to him, to seek his welfare and wellbeing. Tzedek rectifies the world and
promotes the happiness of the individual and the community. Through this attribute, every
creature will have the benefit of the conditions intended for it by Divine
design. It is the goal of God’s
direction of the world. From man’s
point of view, tzedek is the ideal.
Any divine or human act that brings the individual or the community
nearer to this goal is tzedaka…When man acts with tzedek towards
his fellow man, he acts benevolently toward him and fulfills an obligation to
God as well.
Tzedaka then is the
whole life of faithfulness to duty.
Mishpat is only the negative side, shunning evil, whereas
tzedaka is the positive realization of the good.
The Tzedek of Avraham
After spending a couple of lessons discussing the
necessity and power of mishpat, let us elevate our discussion one level. After appreciating justice, one can
try to strive for tzedek, becoming a tzaddik — one who
takes the concept of justice one step further, obligating him to be true to
himself as well, aiming to achieve the ideal.
To appreciate the concept of tzedek and the Jewish tradition of
tzedaka which the Rambam deems a defining characteristic of the Jew (Hilkhot
Mattenot Aniyim 10:1), we must view the tzedek of Avraham against
the backdrop of the moral degradation of Sedom.
The reason for this is rather simple: the Torah explicitly differentiates
between the moral tradition of Avraham and the moral degradation of the city of
Sedom.
In fact, the verse explaining Avraham’s legacy
appears in the context of informing Avraham about Sedom. In the preceding lines (Bereishit
18:1-5), we read of Avraham’s hospitality upon the arrival of three “men” to his
home. Although he is in a weakened post circumcision condition, he runs,
fetches, and tarries on behalf of these wayfarers. At this point, before the destruction
of Sedom, we are given a glimpse into the Godly considerations, as it were, of
the Divine mind, as to whether to inform Avraham of the impending destruction:
And God said, “Shall I hide from Avraham what I am doing, seeing
that Avraham shall surely become a great nation and all
the nations of the earth shall
be blessed in him? For I have known him to
the end that
he may command his children and his household after him to
keep the way of God, to do
righteousness and justice, to the
end that God may bring upon
Avraham that which He has spoken to
him. (Bereishit 18:17-19)
God decides to inform Avraham of his plans to
destroy Sedom not only because of his uniqueness, but also because he will
educate his children to live by derekh Hashem, the way of God, which
involves tzedaka and mishpat, righteousness and justice. Avraham’s tradition is the tradition
of tzedek. As Rav Hirsch
notes, this verse describes the reason why Avraham was chosen — not to be
empowered or enriched, but:
To be the founder and educator of a nation charged
with a noble mission…. I shall
support and assist him in his mission as the educator of a people… He is to bring about the great and
unique educational miracle of instilling in his beloved son, child of his old
age, the guiding principles, spiritual and practical, of this future nation.
Therefore, explains Rav Hirsch, all future
achievements are ascribed to Avraham for instilling this educational message,
which stands in stark opposition to that of Sedom.
The task for which Avraham’s descendants are to be
trained is to do tzedaka and mishpat… which means doing what is
good and upright in human relationships, as just now exemplified by the
hospitality of Avraham. The two
elements are the antithesis of the way of the people of Sedom, who are socially
bad and morally sinful.
Rav J.B. Soloveitchik takes this idea one step
further, explaining how Avraham’s universal message of tzedaka and mishpat
is not just faith, but action:
Avraham’s faith in God was not only abstract faith. It resulted in a commitment to
tzedaka and mishpat.
There was hospitality, sympathy, compassion, the readiness to fight for justice
and defend it… One who
believes in God must be merciful and understanding, tolerant and charitable,
ready to defend the weak and the helpless.
Avraham did not have the system of mitzvot bein adam la-Makom,
commandments regulating relations between man and God, but he had an ethical
system that had to be carried out and implemented. (Abraham’s Journey, p. 58)
Rav Soloveitchik continues by noting that Avraham’s
message to the world stands in stark contrast to that of Sedom. Sedom’s success might even be viewed
as a sign that Avraham’s persistence in educating the world had not succeeded
and would not succeed so long as Sedom flourished. Rashi (Bereishit 18:2) quotes
from the Midrash (Bereishit Rabba 50:2) that every angel is only given
one assignment at a time. Avraham
was approached, the Talmud explains (Bava Metzia 86b), by three angels in
the guise of men: one to announce the birth of Yitzchak, one to destroy Sedom
and the third to heal Avraham (from his circumcision).
One might wonder why these angels have to come
together. Why must the angel
heralding the birth of Yitzchak, Avraham’s successor, be accompanied by the
angel sent to destroy Sedom? Rav
Soloveitchik explains that Sedom’s prosperity seemed to be a testament to the
world that Avraham’s message was not absolute.
“As long as Sedom prospered, Avraham’s doctrines, sermonizing and
preaching meant nothing. One cannot
preach goodness and kindness if malkhut ha-rish’a, the kingdom of evil,
is rich and powerful.” The angel
which comes to announce the birth of Yitzchak is, in other words, announcing
that Avraham would have a successor.
This is also a pronouncement that Avraham’s message of kindness, charity and
hospitality, the teaching which Sedom scoffed at, has a future. Simultaneously, another angel comes
to declare that Sedom, Avraham’s powerful opponent, is about to be destroyed. The angels come together because the
two themes go hand in hand; Avraham’s success in disseminating his message
requires the destruction of Sedom.
Rav Soloveitchik notes that despite the fact that
Sedom is a barrier to Avraham’s message, Avraham does the unthinkable: he pleads
for their salvation.
If we had been in his place, we would simply have
prostrated ourselves and thanked God for destroying the kingdom of evil so that
our task would be simplified. But
Avraham pleaded for Sodom, knowing that its survival meant his own defeat. He was ready to accept defeat in
order to give Sodom an opportunity to reform and restore itself. Avraham dropped his hatred for Sodom
and his love for his mission. He was
ready to sacrifice his life and have his new Torah appear to be a total failure. He was prepared to forgo his hopes
and his vision for the future just so that Sodom would not be destroyed. (ibid., p. 170)
God Teaches Avraham the True Definition of Tzedek and Mishpat
Yet Avraham does not just plead for their salvation;
he speaks to God with uncharacteristic harshness, questioning the righteousness
of God’s plans. Avraham evidently
feels that moral education can turn the tide.
If there are at least ten righteous individuals in the city, then Sedom
still has a chance to reform itself.
He may even feel personally responsible for the welfare of Sedom, a nation he
saved from the clutches of the four powerful kings, allowing them to rebuild
their cruel society (Bereishit 14:21).
However, God’s response, is that no, there is no future for Sedom; they
cannot be corrected; they must be destroyed.
The first issue that arises is the following: why does God inform Avraham
in this way, leading Avraham to question his decision? Secondly, at first glance, witnessing
the difficult language which Avraham uses to question of God, one wonders: how
could the righteous Avraham speak with such harshness? After all, God informs Avraham
because of his commitment to educating his children to follow the way of God,
yet Avraham now questions divine justice.
What is to be gained by this encounter?
One might explain that a careful reading of the
verses seems to indicate that God was informing Avraham for the simple reason
that the verses indicate; Avraham is to educate his progeny in tzedaka and
mishpat. This is Avraham’s goal
and desire. Nevertheless, God has to
ensure that Avraham is fully cognizant of the true meanings of these terms. Tzedaka is Avraham’s motto,
mishpat is his dear treasure, and he understands that Sedom is different. What Avraham fails to realize is that
sometimes those exact middot call for destruction. Sometimes, a people may have strayed
so far from the proper path that their whole outlook has become corrupted. It is specifically mishpat and
tzedaka which called for their obliteration.
This seems to emerge from the verses, which indicate
that Avraham is calling into question God’s tzedek and mishpat,
the two elements of Avraham’s legacy which motivate God to inform him of His
plan to destroy Sedom.
Avraham came forward and said, “Will you also stamp
out the tzaddik along with the wicked?
What if there should be fifty tzaddikim in the midst of the city?
Would you stamp it out rather than spare the place for the sake of the fifty
tzaddikim within it? It would be
sacrilege to You to do such a thing, to bring death upon the tzaddik
along with the wicked, so that the tzaddik will be like the wicked. It would be sacrilege to You! Shall the judge of all the earth not
do mishpat? (vv. 23-26)
A careful reading indicates that Avraham refers to
tzedek repeatedly, and he demands that God, “judge of all the earth,”
perform mishpat. In the
ensuing discussion, Avraham continually mentions the number of tzaddikim
in the city, lowering the number to ten, with a promise from God that even if
ten tzaddikim live in the city, it will not be destroyed. Avraham returns to his place, only to
witness the next day the smoke rising from the destruction of Sedom.
Avraham had evidently been convinced that tzedek
and mishpat would require that Sedom be spared. God allows Avraham to realize that
tzedek and mishpat must not be blind to corruption, even the
corruption of a loving heart.
Tzedek calls for righteous accounting; it is its very basis. Avraham learns that tzedek and
mishpat do not mean righteousness and justice in isolation. Sometimes mishpat and
tzedek require one to realize that corrupt and unjust societies like Sedom
cannot be helped.
In order to appreciate this lesson about the
limitations of tzedek and mishpat fully, we must delve into the
evil character of Sedom, to see where it went wrong and what we should be fixing
in our own lives.
Misplaced Justice
Avraham’s desire to save a region from destruction
despite his knowledge of its evil ways seems quite understandable. Any city-state with a monarch must
have a strict code of legal conduct.
It must be a law-abiding society.
Though the laws may be cruel, there is what to work with. After all, the citizens respect
authority and communal responsibility.
Educating the inhabitants to institute a more just legal system could do
the job.
However, it seems that God is impressing upon
Avraham that perverted tzedek and mishpat create the worst and
most destructive society of all. A
lawless populace can be educated, but a misplaced system of tzedek and
mishpat can erase even ten tzaddikim from a metropolis, while
simultaneously making the less-than-pure inhabitants utterly incorrigible. In order to understand this fully, we
have to delve into the character of the citizens of Sedom. What could allow a society to get to
a point where not even ten righteous people can be found, where education cannot
succeed in uprooting the evil outlook that persists?
This is essential for understanding
tzedek.
The sin of Sedom is rather mysterious based on a
simple reading of the Torah. What
exactly did they do to become a society lacking even ten righteous individuals
to prevent its destruction? On this
issue, the Torah is very reticent:
And God said: “Because the scream of Sedom and Amora
is great, and because their sin is very grievous, I will go down now, and see
whether they have done altogether according to its cry, which has come to me.” (vv. 20-21)
The Torah has already told us (13:13) that “The
people of Sedom were evil and sinners before God exceedingly.” However, it is unclear what made them
more evil than others. Nonetheless,
where the Torah is concise, the Prophet Yechezkel (16:49-50) is more explicit:
Behold this was the iniquity of your sister Sedom:
Pride, fullness of bread, and abundance of idleness was in her and her
daughters; she also did not strengthen the hand of the poor and needy. And they were haughty and committed
an abomination before Me; therefore, I removed them when I saw it.
While Yechezkel presents the picture of a very cruel
society, how does failing to “strengthen the hand of the poor and the needy”
call for the obliteration of a city?
An analysis of the Midrashic sources yields a still
darker picture of Sedom: a society based on social norms of iniquity beneath a
cloak of legality. The inhabitants
of Sedom relapsed, returning to antediluvian crimes. The Midrash Rabba (31) teaches
that they would steal items worth less than a peruta, the minimum amount
for criminal liability. Sin was
sanctioned; violating the cruel laws was not.
Pirkei De-Rabbi Eliezer (25) states that public ordinances were issued,
making it the law of the land that pity was a capital offense:
They issued a proclamation in Sedom saying:
“Everyone who strengthens the hand of the poor and needy with a loaf of bread
shall be burnt in the flames.”
Lack of hospitality was not merely the norm; it was
mandated and required. A violation
of city edicts, e.g., providing for the indigent, was punishable by death. There was just one family in Sedom
which had lived in the presence of Avraham been able to learn from him: the
house of his nephew Lot. After
moving to Sedom, Lot’s family had to adjust to their new life, where the
hospitality of Avraham — indeed, any act of charity — was outlawed. Some of Lot’s children apparently
married the local folk and completely accepted the new societal norms. One of his daughters, Pelotit,
presumably influenced by her great uncle and her father, could not embrace a
life without doing kindness. The
Yalkut Shimoni (Vayera 83) reports that “the scream of Sedom” is not
metaphorical; it is a reference to the actual scream of little Pelotit,
condemned to the flames because she violated the city ordinance by helping the
poor.
One could imagine that the people of Sedom had
arrived at their legal system based on some deep-seated beliefs — for instance,
that each man gets what he deserves from God.
However, the verse in Yechezkel seems to speak of haughtiness and
the failure to perform kindness. The
Tosefta (Sota 3, quoted in Sanhedrin 109a) describes their mindset
as based on an understanding of the beautiful land they had (13:10-11) and a
fear that outsiders would flood their region and take it over. The Ramban expresses this clearly:
The people of Sedom intended to prevent the entry of
all strangers. They believed (as our
Rabbis maintain) that many people would come to their land on account of its
fertility. They refused to share
their bounty with the less fortunate… Yechezkel similarly testifies that this
was their offense… They rebelled in
their prosperity and persecuted the poor… According
to our Sages, they were notorious for every kind of evil, but their fate was
sealed due to their persistence in failing to support the poor and the needy. They were continually guilty of this
sin, and no other nation could be compared to Sedom for its cruelty.
When God relays to Avraham the impending destruction
of Sedom, He mentions that he is going to see whether this “scream” of
inhospitality is true. Yet, there
seems to be no explicit mention of a test by the angels to see whether Sedom
deserves destruction. The Akeidat
Yitzchak says that the investigation of Sedom (referred to earlier, v. 21) is
accomplished through seeing the way the angels are treated as guests in the
city. Lot is tested to see if he
will let them in, his family to see how they will react, and the rest of the
city to see how they will respond to Lot letting strangers into his home. The results of the examination are
telling; the entire city comes to punish the visitors and teach them a lesson.
Thus, the whole citizenry fails the test. On the one hand, the inhabitants come
in the name of law and order, after hearing that a citizen was providing for
wayfarers. No request of Lot’s, not
even to allow him and his family to provide for their guests within his own
home, could save them. A law is a
law, whether moral or corrupt. The
morals of the city had been corrupted. Education
may fix anything other than corrupted justice.
And through that, the fate of the city is sealed.
Misplaced morality leads to destruction,
because the very message of hope, tzedek, cannot survive amidst such
perversion.
Lot had ingested the hospitality of Avraham, and he
welcomes the wayfarers, even offering his daughters in their place. His desire is to do something noble,
but he expresses it with his warped values — either due to his failure to learn
properly from Avraham or due to the effect that this society has had on him. Whether laws are formed by mistaken
beliefs, misplaced logic, or pure greed, the bottom line is always the same: a
corrupt society corrupts its people.
The Shem Mi-Shemuel explains that the blindness
which the angels brings upon the city’s inhabitants as they riot at Lot’s door
(v. 11) is an expression of the blindness of their outlook.
They simply do not understand.
“And they were unable to find the door” —
the door of repentance was not opened to them, so they continued in their evil
ways until they were destroyed.
Rav Hirsch (v. 19) puts it nicely as he answers some
pressing questions: What was the
message of the despicable system of justice employ in Sedom? Where did it go wrong that it had to
be destroyed?
Sedom was a pleasure-seeking world, addicted to
sensual enjoyments, a world that ultimately valued a person only to the extent
that he was useful or provided pleasure. Precisely
such a world is likely to twist the idea of strict justice into a double-edged
sword of shameless sophism, arguing, “What I have is mine, and what you have is
yours” (Avot 5:10). According to
this worldview, egoism is a sacred principle of life, helplessness is considered
a crime, and offering assistance is considered a folly and an offense against
the public welfare. Under the rule
of the principles of Sedom, entitlements were dictated only by achievements, not
by needs; the poor and the needy were despised.
Only a wealthy man, like Lot, who was bound to provide jobs and profit,
could perhaps be granted rights; but begging was forbidden, and those who could
not support themselves, were punished, imprisoned and exiled.
Mishpat without
tzedaka is deprived of the human spark, and it turns into cruelty. By contrast, Avraham’s testament to
his descendants places tzedaka before mishpat. What is more, in certain cases the
legal code of the children of Avraham regards tzedaka too as mishpat,
a legal obligation… Avraham is to
direct his children to give Jewish tzedaka, not the pittance to the poor
that makes the giver proud and humiliates the recipient, nor the public aid
designed to protect the rich against the bitter anger of the destitute and
despairing. He is to direct his
children to practice the mitzva of tzedaka, which entitles everyone who
is in need to exercise rights vested in him by God. This mitzva helps the poor stand tall
before the rich and makes the rich man realize that he is merely the custodian
of funds that rightfully belong to the poor.
Tzedaka before Mishpat
Rav Hirsch notes the seeming anomalous terminology
used by God in defining Avraham’s means of propagating the way of God, by
educating his children to tzedaka and mishpat. As noted earlier, “Mishpat, as
the word literally means, is plain justice, whereas tzedaka is the
benevolence that is incumbent upon one as a duty.”
Rav Hirsch explains why, although the Torah normally
mentions mishpat before tzedaka, here the opposite order is used:
The rule is that first one must do mishpat
and only then tzedaka.
Tzedaka can never atone for a breach of mishpat. To steal or deal dishonestly with one
hand while dispensing charity with the other hand from wealth acquired by theft
or in some other dishonest fashion is nothing but an abomination to God. Of one who brings an offering from
stolen property Scripture says: “I, God love justice; I hate robbery in an
offering” (Yeshayahu 61:8). Only
he who has clean hands may ascend the mountain of God and stand in His holy
place (Tehillim 24:3-4).
Hence, mishpat comes first, and tzedaka only thereafter.
In our verse, however, tzedaka is placed
first, because here it is necessary to raise the forceful protest of the Torah
of Israel against the view of life and the state policy of Sedom. The world will be redeemed not
through mishpat, but through tzedaka. Avraham’s descendants are destined to
bring this message to the world and teach it to all its people.
Avraham’s love of mankind, reflected in his desire
to save Sedom, knows almost no bounds.
However, God’s directive is simple: realize that your love of mishpat
and your definition of tzedek are not mine. Following the law is commendable, but
if the law is not built on the principles of tzedek and mishpat as
Rav Hirsch explains, then tzedek can be destructive.
It would be nice to think of Sedom as an echo of an
eradicated past, never to arise again amongst humanity in any way, shape or
form. There are, however, numerous
unjust societies that have arisen throughout time, and many have their roots in
Sedom-like behavior. However, what
is particularly disturbing is that, at certain times, the Jewish people seem to
behave similarly. In next week’s
lesson we will discuss the implications Sedom-like behavior, middat
Sedom, which sometimes enters into our own societies. A true nation of tzedek must
obliterate any element of this behavior.
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