Sodom's Evil, Society's Evil
PARASHAT
VAYERA
By Rabbi Yaakov
Beasley
In last years
lecture, we analyzed the negotiations between Avraham and Hashem before
the destruction of the city of
This week, we
will discuss the behavior of the people of
1 And the two
angels came to Sodom at evening; and Lot sat in the gate of Sodom; and Lot saw
them, and rose up to meet them; and he fell down on his face to the earth.
2 And he said:
Behold now, my lords, turn aside, I pray you, into your servant's house, and
tarry all night, and wash your feet, and you shall rise up early, and go on your
way. And they said: Nay; but we will abide in the broad place all night.
3 And he urged
them greatly; and they turned in unto him, and entered into his house; and he
made them a feast, and did bake unleavened bread, and they did eat.
4 But before
they lay down, the men of the city, even the men of
5 And they
called unto
6 And
7 And he said:
I pray you, my brethren, do not so wickedly.
8 Behold now, I
have two daughters that have not known man; let me, I pray you, bring them out
unto you, and do to them as is good in your eyes; only unto these men do
nothing; forasmuch as they are come under the shadow of my roof.
9 And they
said: Stand back. And they said: This one fellow came in to sojourn, and he
will play the judge; now will we deal worse with you than with them. And they
pressed sore upon the man, even
10 But the men
put forth their hand, and brought
11 And they
smote the men that were at the door of the house with blindness, both small and
great; so that they wearied themselves to find the door.
Despite
12 And the men
said unto
13 For we will
destroy this place, because the cry of them is waxed great before Hashem;
and Hashem has sent us to destroy it.
14 And
15 And when the
morning arose, then the angels hastened
16 But he
lingered; and the men laid hold upon his hand and upon the hand of his wife and
upon the hand of his two daughters, Hashem being merciful unto him. And
they brought him forth and set him without the city.
What, then, was
the sin of
The Sodomites
intended to prevent the entry of all strangers. They imagined that many people would
come to their land on account of its fertility, and they refused to share its
bounty with the less fortunate.
They accepted
However, the
midrash adds an additional dimension to the nature of
They issued a
proclamation in
Not only are
they wicked, states the midrash, but their wickedness was conducted
openly, through the rule of law. By
clothing their immoral behavior in the cloak of legality, they led to their
citys destruction.
However, we
cannot ignore the heavy sexual undertone that accompanies the Sodomites
attempted lynching of the guests both hidden in their request bring them out
unto us, that we may know them," and made explicit by
The sin of
24 Then
Hashem caused to rain upon
25 And He
overthrow those cities, and all the Plain, and all the inhabitants of the
cities, and that that grew upon the ground.
26 But his
[
What was once
as fertile as