Weekly On-line Rabbi's D'var-Torah
November 14, 2024
13 Cheshvan 5785
Vayera
Just today, I read a social media post about a woman entering a local business to purchase a drink when she noticed that she was the only woman in the room. Shortly thereafter, one of the men started saying some inappropriate things to her and about her. No one came to her defense. No one told the man to stop or to leave. She was on her own.
If you’re like me, when you hear a story like this, you try to imagine what you would have done in such a situation. We’d all like to think that we would do the right thing, but the truth is that we don’t know until we find ourselves in such a situation.
In this week’s Torah portion, we see a character experiencing something similar. Avraham found out that God intended to destroy the cities of Sodom and Gomorra. We don’t know exactly how many people lived in those two cities, but all of them were at risk. All of them would die as a result of God’s decision.
Avraham had good reason to be concerned about the situation—his nephew Lot lived in Sodom with his wife and two daughters. But other than those four people, Avraham had no connection to the residents of Sodom and Gomorra. It did not really concern him whether they lived or died —other than the fact that they were fellow human beings.
So, what did Avraham do? He spoke up.
And he didn’t just call out some guy in a coffee shop. Avraham called out the Most Powerful Being who created the world and had already wiped out the earth once in a flood.
As you may know, Avraham negotiated with God until God promised to save the save the cities of Sodom and Gomorra if there were ten righteous people among the residents. Unfortunately, there were not ten good people in those two cities. There were only the four people that Avraham already knew about.
So, God ended up destroying the two cities, but only after the four good people were given the opportunity to evacuate.
Avraham did not say to himself that the people of Sodom don’t deserve my effort. Avraham did not say that someone else can try to save them. Avraham did not think about the possibility of God's getting mad at him. Avraham simply intervened. He stuck his neck out for others. He cared. Although he was not able to save the people of Sodom and Gomorra, we admire Avraham for trying.
In today’s world, it’s easy to think that our efforts won’t make a difference. However, that would be a mistake. We may not be able to solve all of the world’s problems, but we CAN make a difference. For example, we can make it possible for a person to feel safe when buying a cup a coffee—and that can mean the world to that particular person.
It’s one more example of how the sage Hillel’s words from 2,000 years ago ring true today: “It is not up to you to complete the work, but neither are you free to desist from it altogether.”
Shalom,
RAF.
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