Difference between revisions of "Avraham's Prayer for Sedom/2/en"
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<h2>Overview</h2> | <h2>Overview</h2> | ||
| − | In trying to understand Avraham's prayer, commentators | + | <p>In trying to understand Avraham's prayer, commentators struggle with both the textual difficulties in the verses and the theological problems raised by Hashem's modes of justice.<br/>Some commentators are troubled most by the specter of collective punishment.  Thus, according to R"Y Bekhor Shor and others, Avraham is making a two pronged argument, and Hashem acquiesces to both pleas.  Avraham's stronger claim (invoking Divine justice) denounces collective punishment, while his secondary appeal (to God's attribute of mercy) is for collective salvation.  R. D"Z Hoffmann, links Avraham's two objections, explaining that there were only two options - either all would be saved or all would perish.  R. Hirsch goes further and claims that, from the outset, Avraham knew that Hashem never intended to punish the righteous.  Accordingly, all of Avraham's overtures were to request only that Hashem save even the wicked for the benefit of the righteous.<br/>Others find the entire concept that sinners go unpunished to be at least as disturbing. Thus a commentary from Qumran suggests that Avraham throughout was pleading only for the innocent.  Alternatively, the Ma'asei Hashem contends that Avraham was praying, not for the sinners, but for the land itself.</p></div> |
<approaches> | <approaches> | ||
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<li><b>Collective salvation</b> – Also according to R. D"Z Hoffmann, Avraham is really making only one request.  Avraham thought that Hashem was judging the city as one entity, and that there were only two possible outcomes, it would either be wholly saved or completely destroyed.<fn>Avraham did not think that it was possible that only righteous individuals would be saved, and thus he does not pray for this scenario.</fn>  He thus points out the injustice to the innocent of totally destroying it, proceeds to ask that instead all be saved, and concludes by repeating the reasoning behind this request.</li> | <li><b>Collective salvation</b> – Also according to R. D"Z Hoffmann, Avraham is really making only one request.  Avraham thought that Hashem was judging the city as one entity, and that there were only two possible outcomes, it would either be wholly saved or completely destroyed.<fn>Avraham did not think that it was possible that only righteous individuals would be saved, and thus he does not pray for this scenario.</fn>  He thus points out the injustice to the innocent of totally destroying it, proceeds to ask that instead all be saved, and concludes by repeating the reasoning behind this request.</li> | ||
</ul></point> | </ul></point> | ||
| − | <point><b>Collective punishment</b> – Most of these commentators would likely explain that Hashem had never intended to collectively punish, and Avraham was simply unaware. R. D"Z Hoffmann, though, asserts that even in the end, Hashem agreed only to | + | <point><b>Collective punishment</b> – Most of these commentators would likely explain that Hashem had never intended to collectively punish, and Avraham was simply unaware of this. R. D"Z Hoffmann, though, asserts that, even in the end, Hashem agreed only to an all or nothing.  If there would be ten righteous, the city would merit collective salvation, but less than ten would die together with the wicked.<fn>See below, that R. D"Z Hoffmann maintains that Lot was saved only for the sake of Avraham.  Theoretically, though, there could have been other (less than ten) righteous people in Sedom who perished in the destruction.</fn></point> |
<point><b>Collective salvation</b> – The commentators differ in how they justify the saving of the wicked: | <point><b>Collective salvation</b> – The commentators differ in how they justify the saving of the wicked: | ||
<ul> | <ul> | ||
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<li><b>Repentance</b> – According to Shadal, Hashem is willing to save the wicked if righteous are present due to the hope that the latter will succeed in reforming them.</li> | <li><b>Repentance</b> – According to Shadal, Hashem is willing to save the wicked if righteous are present due to the hope that the latter will succeed in reforming them.</li> | ||
</ul></point> | </ul></point> | ||
| − | <point><b>Why does Avraham stop at | + | <point><b>Why does Avraham stop at ten?</b> The commentators offer a variety of explanations: |
<ul> | <ul> | ||
<li><b>Lot's family</b> – Bereshit Rabbah and Abarbanel explain that Lot's family amounted to ten, and it was these Avraham was thinking of when praying.<fn>According to Abarbanel, Avraham was not even praying for all the cities, but for Sedom alone, since that was the abode of Lot.</fn></li> | <li><b>Lot's family</b> – Bereshit Rabbah and Abarbanel explain that Lot's family amounted to ten, and it was these Avraham was thinking of when praying.<fn>According to Abarbanel, Avraham was not even praying for all the cities, but for Sedom alone, since that was the abode of Lot.</fn></li> | ||
<li><b>Unfair</b> – According to R. Yosef Bekhor Shor, if there are so few righteous, it is no longer fair to request that their merits save the wicked. He assumes that in such a case Hashem would still save the deserving individuals, but punish the rest.</li> | <li><b>Unfair</b> – According to R. Yosef Bekhor Shor, if there are so few righteous, it is no longer fair to request that their merits save the wicked. He assumes that in such a case Hashem would still save the deserving individuals, but punish the rest.</li> | ||
<li><b>No chance of reform</b> – Shadal instead suggests that less than a quorum  would have no hopes of reforming the wicked, which is the whole reason they were being saved.</li> | <li><b>No chance of reform</b> – Shadal instead suggests that less than a quorum  would have no hopes of reforming the wicked, which is the whole reason they were being saved.</li> | ||
| − | <li><b>No need for the wicked</b> – Akeidat | + | <li><b>No need for the wicked</b> – Akeidat Yitzchak asserts that Avraham could not ask for either too many or too few to be saved.  If there were a significant portion of righteous in the city, they would no longer be dependent on the wicked, removing the motive for saving them.  If there were just a few, they could easily depart, and thus, too, have no need for the wicked.<fn>He points out that in the end, there were only four who were worthy and thus they simply departed the city, and there was no reason to save it.</fn></li> |
</ul></point> | </ul></point> | ||
<point><b>Final outcome</b> – Though Hashem granted Avraham's request regarding saving the city, there were not enough righteous to warrant it.  Regarding whether Hashem granted the request to save the individual righteous, see point below.</point> | <point><b>Final outcome</b> – Though Hashem granted Avraham's request regarding saving the city, there were not enough righteous to warrant it.  Regarding whether Hashem granted the request to save the individual righteous, see point below.</point> | ||
Version as of 12:17, 15 November 2014
Avraham's Prayer for Sedom
Exegetical Approaches
Overview
In trying to understand Avraham's prayer, commentators struggle with both the textual difficulties in the verses and the theological problems raised by Hashem's modes of justice.
Some commentators are troubled most by the specter of collective punishment. Thus, according to R"Y Bekhor Shor and others, Avraham is making a two pronged argument, and Hashem acquiesces to both pleas. Avraham's stronger claim (invoking Divine justice) denounces collective punishment, while his secondary appeal (to God's attribute of mercy) is for collective salvation. R. D"Z Hoffmann, links Avraham's two objections, explaining that there were only two options - either all would be saved or all would perish. R. Hirsch goes further and claims that, from the outset, Avraham knew that Hashem never intended to punish the righteous. Accordingly, all of Avraham's overtures were to request only that Hashem save even the wicked for the benefit of the righteous.
Others find the entire concept that sinners go unpunished to be at least as disturbing. Thus a commentary from Qumran suggests that Avraham throughout was pleading only for the innocent. Alternatively, the Ma'asei Hashem contends that Avraham was praying, not for the sinners, but for the land itself.
Even for Sinners
Avraham wanted all of the people in Sedom to be saved. This approach splits, though, regarding for whom Avraham was actively praying:
For Both Righteous and Wicked
Avraham was praying for everyone in Sedom to be saved, both the righteous and the wicked.
Sources:Philo, Bereshit Rabbah, Tanchuma, Rashi according to R. Eliyahu Mizrachi,1 R. Yosef Bekhor Shor, Ramban, Ran, Akeidat Yitzchak, Abarbanel, Shadal, Malbim, R. D"Z Hoffmann
"הַאַף תִּסְפֶּה צַדִּיק עִם רָשָׁע" – All of these sources agree that Avraham is questioning Hashem's collective punishment2 of the virtuous,3 but they differ in their interpretations of the word "הַאַף":
- Also – According to R. Yosef Bekhor Shor,4 "הַאַף" modifies the word "צַדִּיק" (not "תִּסְפֶּה"), and Avraham is asking Hashem, "[If the sinners are the ones responsible for the outcry] will also the righteous perish with them?"
- Anger – Most of the other commentators5 assert instead that the word "הַאַף" refers to Hashem's anger,6 and that Avraham is asking that Hashem not allow His anger to cause the worthy to perish with the wicked.7
"הַאַף תִּסְפֶּה וְלֹא תִשָּׂא לַמָּקוֹם לְמַעַן חֲמִשִּׁים הַצַּדִּיקִם" – According to most of these commentators, these words constitute an additional request, that Hashem save even the wicked.8
Meaning of "לַמָּקוֹם" – This an example of metonymy, and the word refers to all of the people of the city, rather than to merely the physical locale itself.
Relationship between verses 23-25
- Justice and mercy – According to most of these commentators, the various verses contain two distinct requests, that Hashem not destroy the righteous (vss. 23 and 25) and that he also save the wicked (v. 24). It is not clear why Avraham goes back and forth between these pleas for justice and mercy.
- Justice for the upright – According to the Ran and Akeidat Yitzchak, the arguments are interconnected and all stem from one desire, that justice be on behalf of the righteous. After pleading for the virtuous (v. 23), Avraham asks that also the wicked be saved (v. 24), but only for the sake of ("לְמַעַן")9 the righteous. If the evildoers were all to be wiped out, the righteous whose livelihood depended on them would perish as well, and this, Avraham contends, would be an unjust equation of the worthy and unworthy (v. 25).
- Collective salvation – Also according to R. D"Z Hoffmann, Avraham is really making only one request. Avraham thought that Hashem was judging the city as one entity, and that there were only two possible outcomes, it would either be wholly saved or completely destroyed.10 He thus points out the injustice to the innocent of totally destroying it, proceeds to ask that instead all be saved, and concludes by repeating the reasoning behind this request.
Collective punishment – Most of these commentators would likely explain that Hashem had never intended to collectively punish, and Avraham was simply unaware of this. R. D"Z Hoffmann, though, asserts that, even in the end, Hashem agreed only to an all or nothing. If there would be ten righteous, the city would merit collective salvation, but less than ten would die together with the wicked.11
Collective salvation – The commentators differ in how they justify the saving of the wicked:
- Mercy – R. Yosef Bekhor Shor, Ramban, and R. D"Z Hoffmann all assert that this salvation is an expression of Hashem's mercy.
- Justice – Akeidat Yitzchak and Abarbanel, in contrast, maintain that in saving the wicked Hashem is being just to the righteous who would perish without the resources provided by their neighbors.
- Repentance – According to Shadal, Hashem is willing to save the wicked if righteous are present due to the hope that the latter will succeed in reforming them.
Why does Avraham stop at ten? The commentators offer a variety of explanations:
- Lot's family – Bereshit Rabbah and Abarbanel explain that Lot's family amounted to ten, and it was these Avraham was thinking of when praying.12
- Unfair – According to R. Yosef Bekhor Shor, if there are so few righteous, it is no longer fair to request that their merits save the wicked. He assumes that in such a case Hashem would still save the deserving individuals, but punish the rest.
- No chance of reform – Shadal instead suggests that less than a quorum would have no hopes of reforming the wicked, which is the whole reason they were being saved.
- No need for the wicked – Akeidat Yitzchak asserts that Avraham could not ask for either too many or too few to be saved. If there were a significant portion of righteous in the city, they would no longer be dependent on the wicked, removing the motive for saving them. If there were just a few, they could easily depart, and thus, too, have no need for the wicked.13
Final outcome – Though Hashem granted Avraham's request regarding saving the city, there were not enough righteous to warrant it. Regarding whether Hashem granted the request to save the individual righteous, see point below.
Why was Lot saved?
- According to R. Yosef Bekhor Shor, Akeidat Yitzchak and Abarbanel,14 though Hashem was not willing to save the city if there were fewer than ten righteous people, he was nonetheless willing to save the individuals who were worthy, and thus Lot was saved.
- R. D"Z Hoffmann, in contrast, asserts that even the righteous were only to be saved if there were ten or more. Though Lot was not corrupt, to escape collective punishment he would need a special miracle. This he merited only for Avraham's sake.
Why does Hashem tell Avraham about Sedom? According to Tanchuma, Hashem was actively inviting Avraham to defend the city.15 R. Yosef Bekhor Shor instead posits that Hashem needed to inform Avraham of the destruction because the land had been previously promised to him, and he needed to understand why it was to be destroyed.16
Specifically for the Wicked
Avraham was only praying for the sinners, being certain that Hashem would save the righteous even without any special supplication.
Sources:R. S"R Hirsch
"הַאַף תִּסְפֶּה צַדִּיק עִם רָשָׁע" – R. S"R Hirsch17 explains the word "תִּסְפֶּה" as to punish and suggests that Avraham is pointing out that by killing the sinners, the righteous are also unjustly getting punished. After working hard to reform the wicked,18 it is distressful for them to see the people nonetheless perish.
"הַאַף תִּסְפֶּה וְלֹא תִשָּׂא לַמָּקוֹם לְמַעַן חֲמִשִּׁים הַצַּדִּיקִם" – R. Hirsch distinguishes between the terms "לְמַעַן" and "בגלל", asserting that the former means "for the sake of" rather than "because of". Thus, Avraham was praying that all of the people in the city be saved as a reward for the righteous,19 but not due to their righteousness.20
Meaning of "לַמָּקוֹם" – This approach maintains that "לַמָּקוֹם" is a general term for all of the people of the city.
"חָלִלָה לְּךָ מֵעֲשֹׂת כַּדָּבָר הַזֶּה לְהָמִית צַדִּיק עִם רָשָׁע" – This sentence is problematic for R. Hirsch, since it implies that Avraham is bothered by the possibility that the righteous will actually be killed (and not just distressed by the deaths of others).21
Relationship between verses 23-25 – The three verses all constitute one request and refer only to the injustice that would be done to the righteous through the destruction of the wicked.
Collective punishment – According to R. S"R Hirsch, Avraham is not arguing about the injustice of collective punishment; it was obvious to him all along that Hashem would not kill the righteous.22
Collective salvation – According to R. Hirsch there is also no collective salvation. Hashem agrees to save the wicked if there are a portion of righteous in the city, not because they are part of the collective,23 but because the very presence of righteous people proves that the wicked tolerated them and thus were not totally corrupt.24
Why does Avraham stop at 10? R. Hirsch asserts that Avraham understood why Hashem was willing to save the wicked,25 and realized that if there were less than ten righteous, the fact that they were tolerated is no longer such a merit for the wicked, since it is likely that they simply dismissed them as insignificant.26
Final outcome – Though Hashem accepts Avraham's prayer, apparently there were not enough righteous people to be found to enable a saving of the wicked.
Why was Lot saved? R. Hirsch writes that Lot was "only with difficulty worthy of salvation". It was Hashem's attribute of mercy rather than justice which saved him.
For the Physical Location
Avraham was praying both for the righteous of Sedom and for the land itself to not be destroyed.
"הַאַף תִּסְפֶּה צַדִּיק עִם רָשָׁע" – Radak understands "הַאַף" to mean "הגם" and that Avraham is questioning if killing the righteous with the wicked is also part of the sentence of the wicked.27
"הַאַף תִּסְפֶּה וְלֹא תִשָּׂא לַמָּקוֹם לְמַעַן חֲמִשִּׁים הַצַּדִּיקִם" – According to all these sources, these words represent a second request, that Hashem should not destroy the city itself,28 but the commentators differ in their understanding of Avraham's reasoning. Radak asserts that Avraham was requesting that the city be saved due to the merit of the righteous people while Ma'asei Hashem maintains that Avraham did not think it just that the righteous should lose their land.29
Meaning of "לַמָּקוֹם" – This approach holds that "לַמָּקוֹם" means literally the land itself.30
Relationship between verses 23-25 – According to these commentators the verses contain two different requests, that the righteous be saved (vss. 23 and 25) and that the land not be destroyed (v. 24). According to Ma'asei Hashem the common denominator is the demand that justice be done to the worthy people of the city. However, it is unclear why Avraham goes back and forth between his different requests.
Collective punishment – This approach might maintain that Hashem had never planned to collectively punish Sedom; there were simply no righteous people to save.31 Avraham, however, was unaware of this reality and mistakenly thought that Hashem was going to unjustly destroy them and their land.
Collective salvation – According to this approach there is no discussion of collective salvation by either Avraham or Hashem; both believe that the sinners need to be punished and that it would be unjust for them to be saved.32
Why does Avraham stop at ten? R. Yehuda HeChasid and Radak assert if there were less than 10 righteous people, there is no longer any justification to save the land.33 Regarding the salvation of the righteous, though, it should not matter how many or few there were; each should be saved for his own deeds regardless of the presence of others. Ma'asei Hashem, in fact, asserts that Avraham had planned on asking Hashem to save even one, but Hashem ended the conversation before he could.
Final outcome – Though Hashem agreed to Avraham's request, the land and people were destroyed since there were no righteous people.
Why was Lot saved? Radak and Ma'asei Hashem both maintain that Lot was not righteous and was saved not due to his goodness, but out of kindness to Avraham.34
Only for the Righteous
Avraham was praying only for the righteous, that they should not be punished due to the rest of the people's sins.
"הַאַף תִּסְפֶּה צַדִּיק עִם רָשָׁע" – All these sources assume that Avraham is questioning the justice of killing the righteous together with the sinners,38 but disagree regarding the meaning of the word "הַאַף".
- Also – R. Y"S Reggio understands it to mean "הגם" and that Avraham is saying, "Will you also kill the righteous?"
- Anger – The Biur, instead, relates the word to anger,39 and has Avraham question why Hashem needs to act with His attribute of justice, which inevitably leads to collective rather than individual punishment.40
"הַאַף תִּסְפֶּה וְלֹא תִשָּׂא לַמָּקוֹם לְמַעַן חֲמִשִּׁים הַצַּדִּיקִם" – These commentators all agree that these words are a continuation of Avraham's original argument, but differ in their specific understanding of the verse:
- In contrast to most commentators, Seforno41 reads these words of Avraham as a statement and not a question.42 The word "אַף" is understood as "even though" rather than "also" or "anger", as above. Thus, Avraham is telling Hashem, "Even though you do not plan to save the wicked due to the righteous, it is still unfathomable that you should kill the righteous with the wicked...".43
- Biur and R. Y"S Reggio instead assert that Avraham realized that Hashem meant to destroy Sedom via a messenger44 who would not be able to differentiate between good and evil.45 He, thus, requests that Hashem save the entire immediate vicinity of the righteous so that they not perish with the wicked.46
Meaning of "לַמָּקוֹם" – Seforno explains "לַמָּקוֹם" to refer to all of the people in the city whereas the Biur and R. Y"S Reggio explain it to mean the people in the specific area inhabited by the righteous.47
Relationship between verses 23-25 – According to this approach all three verses form one argument, that justice demands that the righteous not be killed with the sinners.
- According to Seforno, verse 23 is Avraham's opening question and then verses 24-25 together act as a reinforcing statement in which Avraham points out that although he does not expect the sinners to be saved, nonetheless the righteous should not die.
- The Biur and R. Y"S Reggio instead read verse 24 as a suggestion of how to implement the justice requested in verse 23.48 In verse 25, Avraham concludes that if his suggestion is not taken, injustice will be done.49
Collective punishment – According to the Biur and R. Y"S Reggio,50 Avraham erroneously thought that Hashem meant to collectively punish the city. In reality, Hashem knew all along that there were no righteous to save, and thus had no qualms about sending a messenger who would destroy indiscriminately.
Collective salvation – These sources divide in their understanding of the role of collective salvation in the story:
- According to Seforno, the Biur, and R. Y"S Reggio, even though Avraham only spoke about saving the righteous, Hashem responded that He would be even willing to save the wicked if there were sufficient righteous people51 to merit it.52 Thus, Hashem was not only willing to avert collective punishment but also to collectively save.53
- According to the fragment from Qumran and HaRekhasim Levik'ah, in contrast, neither Avraham nor Hashem looked to save the sinners, as they did not deserve it. In fact, it is probably a discomfort with the concept of collective salvation that motivates their entire read of the story.54
Why does Avraham stop at 10? The fact that Avraham stops praying at ten is difficult for this position, since it would be unjust for even one virtuous person to be punished undeservedly.
Final outcome – Seforno asserts that the messengers go to verify if there are any righteous, and conclude that there are not, leading to the city's destruction.
Why was Lot saved? According to the Biur, Lot was not a sinner, but his choice to leave Avraham and join the corrupt of Sedom made him deserving of some level of punishment. Due to Avraham's merits, though, Hashem decided to save him totally.
Why does Hashem tell Avraham about Sedom?
- "לַעֲשׂוֹת צְדָקָה וּמִשְׁפָּט" – Seforno explains that Hashem wanted to teach Avraham about his attributes of both mercy and justice. Wherever there is a quorum of righteous who might be able to lead the wicked to repent, Hashem is willing to grant them a stay. If not, though, justice will be done.55
- "הָיוֹ יִהְיֶה לְגוֹי גָּדוֹל" – The Biur and R. Y"S Reggio assert that since Avraham was to become a well known nation, Hashem did not want future generations to complain that Avraham had not attempted to avert the disaster.56 Hashem, thus, gave him an opening to pray on Sedom's behalf.57
