Rabbi Bernard Fox
“It would be a sacrilege for you to do this thing – to kill the righteous with the wicked. Then the righteous would be like the wicked. It would be a sacrilege for you. Should the judge of all the land not do justice?” (Beresheit 18:25)
Terrible things happen to people every day! We wonder why. Hashem is omniscient and omnipotent. How can He allow these catastrophes to occur? The question of why apparently good people
suffer in this world is one of the most basic theological problems. At some point, almost every person is
confronted with this question.
Unfortunately, some who do not find an adequate answer abandon the
Torah.
Avraham confronted Hashem with this very
question. Hashem tells Avraham that He is
prepared to destroy Sedom. Avraham
challenges Hashem. He asks Hashem how He
can destroy the entire city. Certainly,
within the city there are some righteous individuals. Is it fitting that the righteous should perish with the
evildoers? Rashi expands on Avraham’s
argument. He explains that Avraham was
concerned with the lesson that humanity would derive from such indiscriminate
destruction. They would assume that the
Almighty does not distinguish between the innocent and the guilty. They would recall other incidents of
widespread destruction visited upon humanity – for example, the Deluge – and
conclude that these incidents also represent examples of indiscriminate
destruction. They would conclude that
the fate of the righteous and the wicked are the same.[1]
Hashem responds to Avraham and agrees that if there
is a righteous community in Sedom – even a few individuals – He will spare the
city from destruction on their behalf.
Ultimately, this righteous community is not found in Sedom and the city
is destroyed. But not before the one
righteous individual – Lote – and his family are rescued. The apparent lesson of this narrative is
that Hashem is not indiscriminate in His punishments and the innocent are not
destroyed along with the wicked.
Instead, the righteous will be rescued from the fate of the wicked.
But this lesson does not seem to correspond with out
everyday experiences. We observe
innocents suffer and we cannot help but wonder why Hashem does not respond to
the cries of these people as He responded to Avraham.
It is difficult to answer this question. The following comments are not an attempt to
provide a comprehensive response. But
our parasha does provide some important insights into this issue. These insights are not a complete
answer. They do provide a basic
foundation and should not be overlooked.
But before we can consider these insights, we must evaluate the question
more thoroughly.
Although this question is very troubling, it is also
somewhat simplistic. From where does
the question arise? People turn to and
embrace religion for a variety of reasons.
Some are seeking meaning and direction in life; some find that religion
provides a needed sense of community and belonging. For others, religion provides a sense of security in a very
frightening world and many find consolation in the love bestowed upon us by
Hashem. But each of these motivations
impacts and shades our relationship with Hashem. The motivation inevitably prejudices the way in which we perceive
Hashem and relate to Him. For example,
a person turning to religion for security will tend to envision Hashem as an
omnipotent deity that cares for and provides for those who loyally follow
Him. One who seeks love, will interpret
Hashem as a compassionate, loving heavenly father. The issue is not whether these characterizations are
correct. The important issue is their
origin. These perceptions of Hashem are
subjective and the product of a personal need.
They are not the product of objective analysis.
When we ask where is Hashem when the innocent are
suffering, we must be careful to fully consider the origin of the
question. If the question arises from a
sense of abandonment and disappointment, we must be wary. We have no right to assume that the Almighty
is what we want Him to be or what we need Him to be. He is not the product of our needs. We are the product of His will.
We cannot establish expectations for His behavior. If we ask the question from the perspective
of expectations we have of Hashem, the question is simplistic. Instead, we can only try to learn and except
the lessons that the Torah teaches us.
In other words, if our question arises from our own personal needs, it
may not have a suitable answer. We cannot require Hashem to be what we want Him
to be. We can only approach the issue
of suffering if we are willing to give up our subjective perspective and learn
from the Torah.
Let us now return to Avraham’s petition. Avraham argued that Hashem should not
destroy the righteous of Sedom with the wicked. The innocent and wicked should not experience the same fate. Hashem seemed to accept this argument and
agreed to spare Sedom for the sake of the righteous. Of course, this is a wonderful response. It is the response that provides contentment
and gratification to every reader of the Torah. It corresponds with the way we want to perceive Hashem. But is it this response consistent with what
we know about Hashem? It would not seem
so! We are so pleased with Hashem’s
response that we neglect to consider it with a critical eye. The Torah does tell us that sometimes the
innocent do suffer with the wicked!
Where does the Torah teach us this disturbing lesson? Actually, the source is very
well-known.
Hashem is poised to redeem Bnai Yisrael from
Egypt. The moment has come for the
final plague – the Plague of the Firstborn.
All of the firstborn of Egypt will be killed. But those of Bnai Yisrael will be spared. However, there is one condition. The blood of the Pascal lamb must be spread
on the doorposts and lintels of the homes of Bnai Yisrael. Hashem will pass over these homes and they
will be untouched by the plague. But
Hashem warns Bnai Yisrael; they must not leave their homes that night. Why can they not stir from their homes? Rashi quotes the well-known comments of our
Sages. He explains that once the
Almighty give permission to the forces of destruction to visit death upon
humanity, these forces do not distinguish between the righteous and wicked! On this last night in Egypt the forces of
destruction will rule the darkness.
They cannot invade the homes of Bnai Yisrael that are protected by the mitzvah
of the Pascal Lamb. But outside these
homes these forces have complete reign.
They will spare no one – not even the righteous.[2]
For most of us this is a difficult idea to acknowledge. Rashi’s comments and their implications are
hard to accept and easy to forget. But
they are clear and undeniable.
Sometimes, Hashem releases forces of natural disaster and disease upon
humanity. These forces are blind and
indifferent. If we expose ourselves to
these forces, we cannot expect to be spared through our righteousness or
innocence.
But how can we reconcile these comments with
Avraham’s dialogue with Hashem.
Does Hashem not acknowledge that
the wicked and innocent deserve different ends? How can Hashem allow these forces of destruction to destroy the
innocent with the evildoer?
“And it was when he took them outside he said,
“Escape with you life. Do not look
behind you and do not tarry anywhere on the plain. Escape to the mountain so that you are not destroyed.” (Beresheit 19:17)
Let us consider another incident in the parasha. Two angels visit Lote in Sedom. One has been assigned the mission of
destroying Sedom. The other has been
charged with the responsibility of saving Lote and his family. The rescuing angel admonishes Lote to leave
the city swiftly. He and his company
should not tarry or even pause to glance behind themselves at the destruction
of the city. Radak explains that Lote
and his family fled the city a few moments before its destruction. They could not be saved from the midst of
the devastation. They could only flee
ahead of the fire and destruction that would fall upon the city. Any delay, even the pause needed for a quick
backwards glance, would have placed them in the midst of a destruction from
which they would not be spared.[3] In other words, the angel could only save
Lote and his family by removing them from the city before the destruction
began. The angel did not have the power
to rescue them from the midst of the destruction.
Lote understands this distinction. He fears that he will not be able to outrun
the destruction of Sedom. He asks the
angel if he and his family might not seek refuge in a nearby city. In this request the same concept is
evident. Lote could only be saved by
remaining ahead of the path of devastation.
But if he would be overtaken by the devastation, he would not be
spared.
The angel also acknowledges this limitation. He tells Lote that his request has been
granted. He urges Lote to quickly flee
to the city. The angel explains that he
cannot destroy Sedom until Lote is safe.
Again, the same principle is apparent.
Lote cannot be saved from the midst of destruction. He can only escape by remaining outside of
its path.
The fundamental message that emerges from these
interchanges between Lote and the angel is that Hashem would only save Lote by
removing him from Sedom before its destruction. But He would not protect Lote if he remained in Sedom or allowed
himself to be caught in the midst of the destruction.
Torah Temimah uses this concept to resolve the
apparent contradiction between Rashi’s comments in regard to the Plague of the
Firstborn and Avraham’s successful appeal to Hashem. Hashem agreed with Avraham that the righteous should not be
destroyed with the wicked. However, He
did not agree that the righteous should be rescued from the midst of
destruction. The rescue of the
righteous requires that they remain outside of the path of destruction. Even Hashem’s angels can only save us by
removing us from this path. But the
forces of destruction – once released by Hashem – do not exercise discretion. They act indiscriminately and destroy the
wicked and innocent who are caught in their path.[4]