The Sin of Sodom
Adapted from Rabbi Braun’s sermon in 5767
What would cause God to destroy an entire city? What sin is so grave that God would rain down sulfur and salt and literally burn two cities to the ground?
That is a very good question and it is the one posed to us as we read of the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah.
We know that they were evil because God could not find 10 decent people in the bunch and God destroys them. That is certainly convincing evidence that they were bad. Less clear is the nature of their evil. If we take a quick look at the information presented to us in the Torah it seems at first glance to be very general and not helpful at all.
In the story that we read last week of Abraham and lot’s separation and Lot’s moving to Sodom we are simply told:
יג וְאַנְשֵׁי סְדֹם רָעִים וְחַטָּאִים לַֽיהוָֹה מְאֹֽד
The people of Sodom are evil and they are grave sinners to God.
In this week’s Torah reading we are told:
כ וַיֹּאמֶר יְהֹוָה זַֽעֲקַת סְדֹם וַֽעֲמֹרָה כִּי־רָבָּה וְחַטָּאתָם כִּי כָֽבְדָה מְאֹֽד:
Sodom and Gomorrah are heavy in sin etc.
The only other piece of information that we have is that they descend upon the tent of Lot when his visitors arrive and demand that they be allowed access to these visitors. That is all that we have! We do not seem to have a good indication as to the nature of this heinous sin. We just know that it is bad.
And so the floodgates are open to the commentators to define that sin and many point to the three obvious choices, the three cardinal sins- murder, idolatry and illicit relationships.
Those are the worst three that we have and so that is what the Sodomites must have been engaged in. Many others argue that in this particular instance it was not any one these sins that doomed Sodom; rather it was their total and utter disrespect and disregard for their fellow human beings. This approach stems from a sophisticated and discerning read of these and other biblical texts.
Let us return for a moment to the text and context of the verses that I just quoted. When Lot departs from Abraham we are told: יג וְאַנְשֵׁי סְדֹם רָעִים וְחַטָּאִים לַֽיהוָֹה מְאֹֽד
It does not simply say that they sinned to God. They are Evil and sinners to God- two different phrases and one could well argue that they are contrasting phrases, sinners to God and evil towards man. The first to read the verse that way is Yonatan Ben Uziel in his Aramaic translation and many others followed suit.
Now at least we have demonstrated that there is a human element to the sin in addition to the divine one.
On to our next clue. In our parsha we are told:
כ וַיֹּאמֶר יְהֹוָה זַֽעֲקַת סְדֹם וַֽעֲמֹרָה כִּי־רָבָּה וְחַטָּאתָם כִּי כָֽבְדָה מְאֹֽד:
Here both text and context are telling. We are told that the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great. Whose cries does God hear? Who is it that cries out?
It is the oppressed and downtrodden; they are the ones who usually cry out. Here the sin seems to relate to the way that the inhabitants of the city treated human beings.
The clincher here is the preceding verse; the one to which this verse should be contrasted.
God promises a great and glorious future to Avraham because:
יט כִּי יְדַעְתִּיו לְמַעַן אֲשֶׁר יְצַוֶּה אֶת־בָּנָיו וְאֶת־בֵּיתוֹ אַֽחֲרָיו וְשָֽׁמְרוּ דֶּרֶךְ יְהֹוָה לַֽעֲשׂוֹת צְדָקָה וּמִשְׁפָּט לְמַעַן הָבִיא יְהוָֹה עַל־אַבְרָהָם אֵת אֲשֶׁר־דִּבֶּר עָלָֽיו:
God knows that he will instruct his children with regards to righteousness and justice. Those are terms that govern human interaction! The very next verse is the one describing the screams of Sodom.
Avraham values and practices righteousness and law or justice.
The people of Sodom do not!
And now to the last piece of the puzzle. We turn again to the Biblical text for a hint, although this time not in the book of Bereishit but in the book of Ezekiel.
Yechezkel is rebuking the people and says:
יחזקאל פרק טז פסוק מט
הִנֵּה זֶה הָיָה עֲוֹן סְדֹם אֲחוֹתֵךְ גָּאוֹן שִׂבְעַת לֶחֶם וְשַׁלְוַת הַשְׁקֵט הָיָה לָהּ וְלִבְנוֹתֶיהָ וְיַד עָנִי וְאֶבְיוֹן לֹא הֶחֱזִיקָה:
49. Behold, this was the iniquity of your sister Sodom: pride, surfeit of bread, and abundance of idleness was in her and in her daughters; and she did not strengthen the hand of the poor and needy.
The prophet Yechezkel also believes that the sin of Sodom was a human one; they would not support the poor and the needy and for that they perished.
We can now return to the people’s convergence on Lot’s tent and try and understand that as well. They surround the tent and demand that Lot send the people out so that we can know them. What is so bad about that? They could have done worse things! Here too many of the commentators assume the worst and explain that to know refers to carnal knowledge. They wished to engage in homosexual behavior with them.
The Ramban says something fantastic. He says no, that wasn’t it and he proceeds to read the text very literally. He says they simply wanted to know Lot’s guests and find out why they came. Sodom was a lush and wealthy place and they were protective of that wealth and wanted to know if the visitors had come for some of that wealth. The people of Sodom were very happy and content. They were not interested in anyone passing through and certainly not if that person or persons wanted some of that wealth. They simply wanted to be left alone to enjoy their wealth. Furthermore argues the Ramban, they were “haters of tzedakah” and had no intention of sharing their wealth with anyone.
Our sages capture this sentiment well with the possible description of Sodom as one who says: What is mine is mine and what is yours is yours.
Of course at this point you might be asking yourself, is that really so bad? Does it really warrant the destruction of an entire society?
Apparently the Torah’s answer is yes.
A person that is heartless and compassionless, does not provide for those in need, and does not care for anyone but him or herself is fatally flawed. And a society of such people indeed deserves destruction.
That is not the tradition of Avraham. This is not our legacy.
Our legacy is one of giving and compassion. We hold dear that belief that we are not only responsible for ourselves but for other Jews and human beings as well.
And we hold dear the belief and knowledge that there is great spiritual benefit achieved through that act of giving!
