In this week’s parasha, Hashem tells Avraham Avinu of His plan to destroy Sedom and its four sister cities. The Torah describes these cities as places of decrepit morals populated by denizens with corrupt values.
The Torah recounts that Avraham asked Hashem to preserve the cities on account of the tzaddikim – the righteous people – who lived in the cities. Avra-ham asked Hashem whether or not He would de-stroy the cities if there were 50 righteous people. Hashem responds that He would not. Avraham then inquires whether Hashem would destroy the cities if there were 45 righteous people. Hashem responds that He would not. Avraham then inquires about 40, 30, 20 or even 10 righteous people. Hashem re-sponds that in any of these cases, He would not cause destruction.
Our chachamim address a number of issues related to this interaction between Avraham and Hashem. One question that they address is why Avraham chose to inquire about 50, 45, 40, 30, 20 then 10 righteous people. What was Avraham’s logic?
Rashi comments on our passage that 50 righteous people were comprised of 10 righteous people in each of the five cities. Ramban interprets Rashi to mean that Avraham’s first request was to preserve each of the five cities only if there were 10 right-eous people per city. Avraham’s next inquiry con-cerned 45 righteous people – this request was to preserve each of the cities if there were 9 righteous people per city with the Almighty, Himself, being counted as the tenth. Avraham then inquired about 40, 30, 20 and 10. In these requests, Avraham inquired whether individual cities would be saved if they each contained 10 righteous people. He inquired as to whether Hashem would preserve 4, 3, 2 or even 1 of the cities on account of its 10 tzaddikim. Ramban’s interpretation suggests that 10 righteous individuals create a merit for a society. However, he does not explain what merit is created by 10 tzaddikim.
The Torah calls ten people an eyda – a congregation. A minyan is comprised of 10 men. Halacha regards a public act as one done before 10 people. Ten people comprise a substantive group – a whole more than the sum of its parts. Apparently, the preservation of these wicked cities required the influence of a righteous group. The presence of a handful of righteous people does not suffice to help a city change its nature. For this reason, Hashem agreed to preserve each individual city on the condition that a righteous group was present to help the city turn away from evil.
The power of a Jewish Day School education is an excellent example of the strong influence that a righteous group has on the attitudes and values of its members. Studies consistently show that the one thing that will ensure Jewish continuity for our communities and for our children is intensive Jewish Day School Education.
Why does Jewish Day School Education work so well? A Jewish Day School Education is so powerful because students are immersed in the culture of Torah-study and love of mitzvot, Israel and the Jewish People through Jewish learning and through their continual exposure to their rebbeim, morot, teachers and fellow students. Because we are hard-wired to be affected by the culture in which we live, humans cannot escape the impact on our morals of peer pressure, group-think and other subtle group influences. Therefore, the To-rah teaches us to not only seek out righteous friends and neighbors. Through Avraham’s inquiry we learn about the critical importance of associating not only with righteous individuals but with righteous groups of people. When we associate with righteous groups, we are influenced on a different level and with a qualitatively different power.
The Torah recounts that Avraham asked Hashem to preserve the cities on account of the tzaddikim – the righteous people – who lived in the cities. Avra-ham asked Hashem whether or not He would de-stroy the cities if there were 50 righteous people. Hashem responds that He would not. Avraham then inquires whether Hashem would destroy the cities if there were 45 righteous people. Hashem responds that He would not. Avraham then inquires about 40, 30, 20 or even 10 righteous people. Hashem re-sponds that in any of these cases, He would not cause destruction.
Our chachamim address a number of issues related to this interaction between Avraham and Hashem. One question that they address is why Avraham chose to inquire about 50, 45, 40, 30, 20 then 10 righteous people. What was Avraham’s logic?
Rashi comments on our passage that 50 righteous people were comprised of 10 righteous people in each of the five cities. Ramban interprets Rashi to mean that Avraham’s first request was to preserve each of the five cities only if there were 10 right-eous people per city. Avraham’s next inquiry con-cerned 45 righteous people – this request was to preserve each of the cities if there were 9 righteous people per city with the Almighty, Himself, being counted as the tenth. Avraham then inquired about 40, 30, 20 and 10. In these requests, Avraham inquired whether individual cities would be saved if they each contained 10 righteous people. He inquired as to whether Hashem would preserve 4, 3, 2 or even 1 of the cities on account of its 10 tzaddikim. Ramban’s interpretation suggests that 10 righteous individuals create a merit for a society. However, he does not explain what merit is created by 10 tzaddikim.
The Torah calls ten people an eyda – a congregation. A minyan is comprised of 10 men. Halacha regards a public act as one done before 10 people. Ten people comprise a substantive group – a whole more than the sum of its parts. Apparently, the preservation of these wicked cities required the influence of a righteous group. The presence of a handful of righteous people does not suffice to help a city change its nature. For this reason, Hashem agreed to preserve each individual city on the condition that a righteous group was present to help the city turn away from evil.
The power of a Jewish Day School education is an excellent example of the strong influence that a righteous group has on the attitudes and values of its members. Studies consistently show that the one thing that will ensure Jewish continuity for our communities and for our children is intensive Jewish Day School Education.
Why does Jewish Day School Education work so well? A Jewish Day School Education is so powerful because students are immersed in the culture of Torah-study and love of mitzvot, Israel and the Jewish People through Jewish learning and through their continual exposure to their rebbeim, morot, teachers and fellow students. Because we are hard-wired to be affected by the culture in which we live, humans cannot escape the impact on our morals of peer pressure, group-think and other subtle group influences. Therefore, the To-rah teaches us to not only seek out righteous friends and neighbors. Through Avraham’s inquiry we learn about the critical importance of associating not only with righteous individuals but with righteous groups of people. When we associate with righteous groups, we are influenced on a different level and with a qualitatively different power.
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