The city of Sedom is infamous for its great evil and subsequent destruction by HaShem. Sedom features in the Torah portions of Lech Lecha and Vayeira. It was where Lot chose to live when he separated from Avraham. It was one of the cities conquered by the four kings until Avraham Avinu defeated them. It was well known for its cruel ban on all forms of kindness, and ultimately even Avraham could not save it after HaShem decreed its destruction. It is now the site of the Dead Sea.
Among the most infamous groups of people in the Torah are the residents of the city of Sedom. Sedom is unrivaled in its evil. Yet it sounds simplistic to say that its inhabitants were simply sadists. Rather, it seems that their behavior stemmed from an ideology. To promote their cruel way of life, they instituted a whole body of law. What was the nature of their ideology?
My rebbe, Rav Yitzchak Berkovits, shlita, explains that the people of Sedom equated kindness with cruelty. By providing someone else with what he needed without his having to earn it, they reasoned, one was encouraging him to depend on others. As such, he would never become a productive member of society. Accordingly, they instituted a whole set of laws and punishments that prevented chesed from destroying society. Furthermore, it seems that their punishments were not arbitrary ways of harming anyone who dared help others. Rather, they represented a warped sense of “measure for measure” for the “damage” the giver had inflicted on the “victim” of his chesed.
For example, the Gemara tells us that when a girl tried to give food to a poor person, the people of Sedom covered her with honey, so bees would come and sting her to death.[1] The message, it seems, was that by doing chesed she was not helping the poor person, she was actually destroying him by causing him to be weak and dependent on others. Measure for measure, they made her do “chesed” with the bees, and as a result she was destroyed. Since she had “killed” through kindness, her punishment was to be killed herself by kindness.
The Gemara continues with another punishment that one received for performing chesed. Anyone who invited a stranger to a wedding would be punished by having all his clothes removed. What connected the “crime” and the punishment in this instance? The people of Sedom felt that reaching out to someone constituted stripping him of his dignity by making him into a taker. Measure for measure, they would strip the perpetrator of his dignity by removing his clothes.
It seems that HaShem punished Sedom measure for measure for its cruel attitude toward chesed. Rashi tells us that at first gentle rain fell on the city, and only later fire and brimstone.[2] The simple explanation is that HaShem was giving the locals one last chance to repent. However, perhaps on a deeper level, they were punished by an act of kindness that turned into an act of destruction. Just as they considered chesed destructive, they were destroyed by something that began as chesed.
The nation of Sedom was so cruel that it would seem difficult to derive any lessons from this story that could apply to our daily lives. However, one aspect of Sedom’s belief system has found support in recent decades: the conviction that helping people is damaging, preventing them from becoming independent. This attitude has arisen in response to the idea of “welfare,” whereby people without employment receive significant financial support. Many such people have lost the incentive to look for work, preferring to remain dependent upon others. How does the Torah view this aspect of Sedom’s outlook?
Jewish law and thought also seem to emphasize the benefits of independence. The most well-known example is found in Mishlei: “…he who hates gifts will live.”[3] This means that the ideal way to live is to not rely on charity. In this vein, the Gemara says that a poor person should treat his Shabbos like a lowly weekday rather than ask others for handouts in order to make it special.[4] Given the great importance of kavod Shabbos (honoring Shabbos) and oneg Shabbos (enjoying Shabbos) in Jewish law, this statement is astounding. Based on these concepts, how does the Torah view the aforementioned attitude that chesed weakens people?
These Torah sources focus on how each individual should face his own situation. He should do his utmost to be self-sufficient and not rely on others for his livelihood.[5] However, how he should view others is very different. When it comes to their needs, rather than judging them for being in need, he should try to help. Despite this emphasis on helping people who cannot help themselves, it is very important to note that since independence is a value in Judaism, the optimum way of assisting a person is by enabling him to become independent, so that in the long term he will not be reliant on others. Indeed, the Rambam writes that providing someone with work is the highest form of charity.[6] Nonetheless, many unfortunate people cannot provide for themselves, and we are commanded to do our utmost to help them. The mistake made by the people of Sedom was that they thought everyone should be able to succeed if they would only make the effort. This is plainly not the case, since many people are willing to try to become independent but external circumstances make it impossible.
The people of Sedom teach us the wrong attitude toward chesed. May we all learn these lessons and help our fellow in the ideal way.
Notes and Sources
[1] Sanhedrin 109b.
[2] Rashi, Bereishis 19:24.
[3] Mishlei 15:27.
[4] Pesachim 112b, 113a; Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chaim 242:1.
[5] The question of learning Torah full-time and requiring financial aid as a result is a different matter, unrelated to this discussion. See Bei’ur Halachah 231, s.v. bechol derachav.
[6] Rambam, Hilchos Matnos Aniyim 10:7.
From the book “Beacons of Light”