Parshat Vayeira
October 25th-26th, 2002
20 Cheshvan, 5763

I often remember the wonderful days when I was studying in yeshiva in Israel.

Although the Torah learning itself was amazing, as was the atmosphere of sanctity (and fellowship) within the walls of the Beis Medrash [hall of study], I’d be deceiving you if I pretended that there were no "extracurricular" activities and journeys during that time that weren’t almost as memorable. Just to walk several feet in the Land of Israel is a mitzvah, our Sages tell us, and to be able to travel to beautiful and holy spots (in those somewhat safer days) was a remarkable privilege.

Maybe some other time, I’ll even tell you about the trip several friends and I made, one Sukkos break, down through the Sinai to Egypt, to do some snorkeling near Sharm-el-Sheik. Speeding down the desert highway in a taxi with the Egyptian driver cranking up Madonna (naturally!) on the radio…arriving at the seedy seaside resort and lugging our gear past all the vendors selling trinkets (and all the camels with their droppings), to reach our "accommodations," a concrete hovel erected on the sand itself, where we suffered through stiflingly hot, flea-infested and sleepless nights…swimming in the lovely warm waters by a coral reef and observing the breathtakingly beautiful fish made by our Creator…desperately hurrying to shore when one of our group screamed that he saw a large flat-shaped sea-creature propelling itself rapidly towards us. Boy, were we ever overjoyed to return to the cozy confines (and comfy beds) of our tame Talmudic academy!

In any case, there is a point here. (Besides Bermuda being a better choice for your next snorkeling expedition…or, at least, Eilat!) When traveling in the vicinity of the Dead Sea, I remember witnessing a memorable--and rather humorous--tableau on the highway, somewhere around Ein Gedi. Two signs pointed in opposite directions at a crossroads: one sign said, "Jerusalem" (and pointed a certain way), and the other said, "Sodom" (and pointed the opposite way).

A-ha, I said to myself. Doesn’t that appropriately sum up our existential choice in this world?! Are we heading in the direction of Jerusalem…or are we slouching towards Sodom?!!

This week’s parsha gives us a good insight on the nature of each of those alternative destinations.

What was Sodom all about, and why did it merit the horrific destruction visited on it by the Almighty (as recounted in this portion)--sulfur and fire from the sky, and so forth? (See 19, 23-25) Although the Chumash itself (the written Torah) notes that the people of Sodom were exceedingly wicked and sinful, it doesn’t give too many specifics--aside from the scene in this week’s portion when the city’s inhabitants threateningly surround the house of Lot (Avraham’s nephew) and clamor for him to surrender his (angelic) guests, so they can have their way with (i.e., sodomize) them. (See 19, 4-11)

The Talmud and Midrash, however (the oral Torah), give us a clearer picture of just how pernicious Sodom’s inhabitants--and its statutes--were. Extremely jealous of their great wealth, based largely on the incredible fertility of the land in that region, the citizens of Sodom enacted laws to prohibit the giving of charity to beggars or, indeed, the bestowing of any hospitality to strangers. The Mishna in Avos (Ethics of the Fathers) characterizes their basic philosophy as: "What is mine is mine, what is yours is yours!" In other words, no one from the outside was allowed to derive any benefit from its riches. (Could we say that it was the ultimate gated community?!) It was against the law to help anyone less fortunate.

Besides the other sizeable sins the Sodomites committed (sexual immorality, idolatry), it was this cruel selfishness--the very antithesis of chesed (lovingkindness)--that most characterized its inhabitants. The Talmud recounts the incident of a young girl (some sources say it was a daughter of Lot) who gave some bread to a poor man who had entered the city. When the townspeople discovered her act of chesed, they smeared her body with honey and hung her from a wall until she was stung to death by bees. It is this gruesome event (and her scream, in particular), the Talmud concludes, that are alluded to in the verse that heralds the city’s destruction: "So Hashem said, ‘Because the outcry of Sodom and Gomorrah has become great, and because their sin has been very grave, I will descend and see…" (18, 20-21)

So, there we have Sodom. Beautiful lawns and backyards, opulent homes and gardens…and exceedingly wicked people. Aesthetically, top of the line…but ethically, bottom of the barrel! What was the root of their evil? "What’s mine is mine…" A total aversion to the trait of giving. Hashem brought destruction on the city, and all its physical beauty and luxury were laid waste, and made desolate, down to this very day.

Rav Simcha Wasserman, zt’l, a wise and holy teacher who passed away a few years ago, commented that it is no coincidence that the body of water known as the "Dead Sea" remains in that once fertile region of Sodom. It is "dead" because its waters do not flow out to bestow benefit anywhere else. It thereby exemplifies the eternal moral lesson of Sodom: taking (refusing to give to others) leads to death and desolation! (From Rav Simcha Speaks, published by Artscroll/Mesorah)

In contrast, what gives life (both spiritual and physical) is the trait of giving, of chesed. Avraham Avinu, more than any other figure in our long history, is the exemplar of the trait of chesed, and his achievement in that regard is on impressive display at the very beginning of our parsha. "Hashem appeared to him [Avraham] in the plains of Mamre, while he was sitting at the entrance of the tent in the heat of the day." Rashi explains just what he was doing outside in that awful heat (worse than Savannah?), a man of 99 who had undergone circumcision (at G-d’s command) just two days before: he was anxiously searching the horizon for guests to usher in to his tent. His greatest distress on that day, in other words, was not from the pain of his recent surgical wound, but rather from the anguish of not being able to dispense his habitual kindness on wayfarers!

Rabbi Eliyahu Dessler, zt’l, teaches us that the trait of chesed, which Avraham embodied, consists not merely of satisfying the needs of the poor and unfortunate when circumstances arise. That is "compassion" (rachmanus), and can be a response, in part, to one’s own need to satisfy a feeling of pity, a sense of obligation or a twinge of guilt. True chesed, on the other hand, flows only from the inner longing to give to another, to be of benefit to another, independent of any external cause or trigger. Because his benevolence was rooted deeply in his very character, Avraham would actively search out opportunities to give to others always…as we see here at the beginning of the parsha. True chesed, then, is a very high spiritual level. It is perhaps the ultimate example of "walking in G-d’s ways," for it involves emulating the constant and thoroughly selfless giving of the Creator.

And unlike the Dead Sea (or your average Sodomite), the one who gives, and thereby emulates Hashem, is connected to the everlasting source of Life. The word, "Baruch," which we rather lamely translate as, "blessed," really means the source of all blessing, our commentaries tell us; it is related etymologically to the word for an underground well or spring ("b’recha"). G-d is the inexhaustible source of blessing, the One Who constantly gives us life and sustenance. When we emulate that trait of G-d’s by giving to others, we too become a "blessing" to the world--the very mission that G-d gave to Avraham at the beginning of his prophetic experience. ("…you will be a blessing"; 12, 2)

If Sodom was the town of taking par excellence (and, therefore, doomed to be cursed and destroyed), well, then, Jerusalem was always the city of giving. We can infer this from its very name: "shalom" (peace) resulting from G-d’s presence becoming manifest, "yeira’eh" (Hirsch). As Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch writes (in his commentary to Psalm 48): "Because it fulfills G-d’s will, this city shall attain shalom (peace), the state of supreme, harmonious and blissful perfection." It is no coincidence that King David in Psalm 122, a paean of praise to Jerusalem, declares the nature of his prayer for the city’s peace as being, "For the sake of my brethren and my comrades…" (122, 8) For we know that there is no true peace without a spirit of giving, of chesed, of true brotherhood. King David yearned for the building of Jerusalem, "for the sake of my brethren," so that all Jews together could join to worship G-d there as brethren. Only the spirit of giving, of chesed, can create such "harmonious and blissful perfection."

Jerusalem has always symbolized the unity of the Jewish people (who made pilgrimages there three times a year), devoted in common to the mission of serving G-d.

It was a city of chesed. (The mishna in Avos comments that one of the miracles experienced in Temple times was that there was always room for travelers in Jerusalem who came for the holidays!) It was the city where the greatest love for G-d, and the greatest love between people, existed…at least for a time…for the two must go together.

There’s a sign pointing to Jerusalem for all of us…and one pointing to Sodom. I don’t mean to suggest that you can’t float in the Dead Sea for a pleasant hour or two (on your way for a jaunt down to Eilat). But just make sure that you quickly return to Yerushalayim, city of peace and brotherhood. Or for those of us far away from the Holy Land, at least in physical distance, let us at least keep very, very close to the Jerusalem that is in our hearts and prayers.

Avraham, our greatest giver, taught us that we must not just do chesed, we must love it--it must become a part of our very selves and our very being. (Later, the prophet Micah would famously tell us that G-d expects us to "love chesed.") May we constantly strive to emulate Avraham (and our other great forebears) by keeping our compasses pointed in the direction of Jerusalem and the ideal of chesed (and love of G-d) it represents, and in the opposite direction from Sodom with its shiny surface (and great nightlife)…and its cursed and rotten values!

GOOD SHABBOS!

My e-mail address is yosefe@comcast.net

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