English translation — וירא ב

Talk <pg>70</pg>

A.

And Hashem rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire etc. and He overturned these cities and all the plain and all the inhabitants of the cities etc.¹

And in Rashi on the verse²,

that what is said "And He overturned these cities" refers not only to Sodom and Gomorrah that were mentioned in the verse before it,

but to all four cities in the plain³,

and as explicit in Parshat Nitzavim⁴

"like the overturning of Sodom and Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboiim"

[And even though above⁵

Rashi explains that five cities were in the plain

(and they are the five kings mentioned in Parshat Lech⁶,

Sodom and Gomorrah, Admah, Zeboiim, and Zoar),

only four of them were overturned,

because the angel agreed to Lot's request "not to overturn the city

(Zoar)

"⁷,

as explained in the commentaries⁸].

And it explains in Tzafnat Paneach

(by the Rogatchover)

on the Torah⁹

the reason for the difference between the punishment of Sodom and Gomorrah and that of Admah and Zeboiim,

that the first ones were burned with fire from heaven,

while Admah and Zeboiim were only overturned — because Sodom and Gomorrah were punished by the law of an apostate city¹⁰

(as understood from the Yerushalmi¹¹

and Tosefta¹²),

and therefore they were burned

(according to the law of an apostate city¹³),

but Admah and Zeboiim could not be judged by the law of an apostate city,

as the ruling of the Mishnah¹⁴

that three towns are not made into an apostate city,

and therefore they were only overturned.

And behold, this distinction between the punishment of Sodom and Gomorrah and Admah and Zeboiim is also necessary in the simple meaning of the verses,

for the punishment of burning

(sulfur and fire from heaven)

is mentioned only regarding Sodom and Gomorrah,

and regarding the overturning of the cities it is said "and He overturned these cities"

(and it refers to the four cities,

and as above from Rashi)¹⁵

— and thus one must examine,

what is the reason according to the simple meaning of Scripture for this distinction?

And it is understood,

that the above explanation of the Tzeidah LaDerech is not relevant to the simple meaning of Scripture,

for according to the plain sense —

(a)

the main punishment of Sodom and Gomorrah was not due to the sin of idolatry¹⁶,

but rather

(in the language of the verse¹⁷)

because "the hand of the poor and needy did not<pg>71</pg>

the holding"

(and as will be explained below section 3),

(b)

the entire law of an apostate city does not apply to Bnei Noach and before the giving of the Torah,

(c)

in the plain sense of the verse the law that one does not make three apostate cities is not mentioned,

(d)

and if from the reasoning

(as the one who says in the Gemara¹⁸

that it is "because of baldness"¹⁹)

— then there is no difference in this between burning or overturning,

for that same reasoning that one should not burn

(and destroy)

three cities,

also obligates not to destroy them in a manner of overturning.

2.

And this will be understood with an introduction of the precise language of the verse²⁰

(at the beginning of the matter),

"And the Lord said, The cry of Sodom and Gomorrah, because it is great, and their sin, because it is very heavy,"

that it is necessary to examine why were mentioned

(explicitly)

in the verse only Sodom and Gomorrah and not the rest of the cities in the plain

(and only in Rashi⁵

it is brought that there were five provinces).

[Radak²⁰

explanation "for they are the heads of the kingdoms"

(and the other cities were secondary to them).

But at first glance it is not a sufficient explanation,

for if so it should have said only Sodom,

since

(in the language of the Radak there)

"Sodom was the mother of them all",

and so it is brought in Rashi²¹

(regarding the reason that the Lord said²¹

"If I find in Sodom

(specifically)

fifty righteous etc. and I will bear with the entire place for their sake")

"because Sodom was the metropolis and important of them all, Scripture attributed it to her",

and so we find that the angel²²

went only to Sodom — and so also in our case,

if the intention of Scripture is only to mention the main one,

it should have sufficed here as well to mention Sodom²³

(and in the manner of Rashi's language in several places²⁴

regarding the sending of the angels "to overturn

(to destroy)

Sodom"),

why did it mention also Gomorrah²⁵?].

And it is implied from this,

that the main sinners were the people of Sodom and Gomorrah²⁶.

And this is also the reason that only upon Sodom and Gomorrah did Hashem rain brimstone and fire,

and as Rashi explains on the verse²⁷

that "when He comes to chastise the creatures He brings upon them fire from heaven",

meaning that the people of Sodom and Gomorrah, whose sin was great, died and were destroyed through sufferings of "fire from heaven",

but not so the people of the other cities were only destroyed by their overturning.

But this is not a sufficient explanation,

for from Rashi regarding Lot's request "behold²⁸

now this city is near to flee there etc." — "its settlement is near, it was settled recently, therefore its measure has not yet been filled",

"is it not a little one? — and are not its sins few?"²⁹,

it is proven,

that the two other cities

(Admah and Zeboiim)

were filled<pg>72</pg>

Soton.

And if so, why were they also not punished by "fire from heaven"?

3.

And one can say the explanation in this,

according to Rashi above in Parshat Lech³⁰,

in the explanation of the names of the kings,

"Bera king of Sodom..

Birsha king of Gomorrah, Shinav king of Admah, and Shemeber king of Zeboiim",

and his language³¹

: "Bera — evil to heaven and evil to creatures; Birsha — that he became great in his wickedness³²

; Shinav — who hates his Father in heaven; Shemeber — there he made a wing to fly and jump and rebel against the Holy One, blessed be He."

Behold, in the last two their rebellion against the Holy One, blessed be He, is emphasized in their name

(between man and the Omnipresent),

whereas by "Bera" there was double evil — evil toward heaven and evil toward creatures.

And simply this is the explanation of "Bera" — "two

(types of)

evil".

And based on this, it seems to me,

that what Rashi says later in his explanation of "Berasha" — "that he rose up in his wickedness",

is an addition to "Bera",

namely that also by "Berasha" there were two types of wickedness

("two wickedness"),

toward heaven and toward creatures,

and it is called "Berasha"

(not "Bera")

because "he rose up in his wickedness".

And one may say,

that this is also the difference between the wickedness of the men of these cities in the later years³³

(when they were punished for their sin),

that the wickedness of Admah and Zeboiim was primarily in sins between man and the Omnipresent,

evil toward heaven,

but by Sodom and Gomorrah there was double evil,

both toward heaven

(that they rebelled against the Lord³⁴

and were idolaters³⁵)

and toward creatures,

and moreover,

the main wickedness of Sodom and Gomorrah because of which they were punished with such a severe punishment was

(as explained in the verse¹⁷)

"the hand of the poor and needy they did not grasp",

and as also brought in Rashi on our parshah³⁶

"Is the outcry,

the outcry of a certain young woman whom they killed by an unnatural death because she gave food to a poor person"

(and as is also understood from the conduct of the men of Sodom when the angels came to Lot³⁷).

4.

And according to this, the difference between the punishment of the cities is also understood,

to the extent that Rashi does not need to explain it,

because it is understood from Rashi above:

At the end of Parshas Noach³⁸

Rashi explains the difference between the punishment of the generation of the Flood and the generation of the Dispersion,

and this is his language: "And which is more severe, that of the generation of the Flood or that of the generation of the Dispersion,

these did not stretch out their hand against the Essence, and these stretched out their hand against the Essence to fight with Him,

and these were swept away, and these were not destroyed from the world,

but rather the generation of the Flood were robbers and there was strife among them, therefore they were destroyed,

and these conducted themselves with love and friendship among themselves, etc. You have learned that strife is hateful and peace is great."

<pg>73</pg>

Behold it is explicit,

that the punishment of the generation of the flood,

who were swept away and destroyed,

was primarily because they "were robbers and there was strife among them".

And so it is understood from Rashi at the beginning of Parshat Noach,

on the verse³⁹

"For the earth was filled with violence" — "their decree was not sealed except for robbery",

that is,

that even though they also sinned in forbidden relations and idolatry,

as Rashi there itself states⁴⁰,

"and it was corrupt — an expression of forbidden relations and idolatry",

and even though this was the cause of the punishment in a manner of "the end of all flesh"³⁹,

as Rashi there states "wherever you find licentiousness and idolatry, a general calamity comes to the world and kills good and bad",

nevertheless,

"their decree was not sealed except for robbery".

And it is explained in the commentaries⁴¹

regarding the reason for the matter,

because robbery and strife are the opposite of the settlement of the world and return the world to chaos.

And it seems to me regarding the intent of the words,

that the flood is not only a severe punishment for severe sins,

but its matter is like a kind of regret over the entirety of the creation of man and the world⁴²,

that the conduct of the creatures brought about that the Holy One, blessed be He, regretted, as it were, the very creation,

and consequently He destroyed His world which He had created,

in a manner of "and He wiped out⁴³

all existence etc.",

absolute annihilation⁴⁴.

And this is that the primary cause for this decree is the sin of robbery and strife,

because only conduct in a way that returns the world to chaos,

the opposite of the settlement of the world,

is that which opposes the very creation⁴⁵.

And based on this, we can explain the duplication of the matter in the verse³⁹

"The end of all flesh has come before Me, for the earth is filled with violence, etc., and behold I am destroying them with the earth": "The end of all flesh" means the punishment of the sinners for the greatness of their sin,

And since it speaks of the sin of licentiousness and idolatry, the punishment is in a manner of "the end of all flesh",

"a mixed multitude etc. and it kills good and bad"

(And such a punishment is not limited to the time of the flood,

And as the precise language of Rashi "Every place you find licentiousness and idolatry etc.")

; but not so when "the earth is filled with violence

(the sin of robbery)..

behold I am destroying them with the earth",

And as Rashi explains "with the earth,

that even the three handbreadths of the depth of the plow were dissolved and blurred"⁴⁶,

that the very earth was corrupted,

that this matter is because the flood was not only a punishment for the sinners but a matter of the destruction of the very earth

(the opposite of the creation of the world).

And based on all this, it is also understood regarding our matter — the punishment of Sodom and Gomorrah etc.:

The difference between the purpose of "sulfur and fire..

from the heavens" and the overturning of the cities is,

that in the overturning of the cities the inhabitants of the cities were killed and also every plant of the ground was destroyed&lt;sup&gt;47&lt;/sup&gt;,

but there is in this no corruption of the earth itself,

and this is the addition in that "And Hashem caused to rain etc. sulfur and fire",

that in addition to the suffering of the creatures,

there is moreover and mainly,

that in this the cities were burned and were utterly destroyed&lt;sup&gt;48&lt;/sup&gt;

&lt;pg&gt;74&lt;/pg&gt;

(in the manner of&lt;sup&gt;49&lt;/sup&gt;

"Behold I am destroying them with the earth" by means of the flood&lt;sup&gt;*49&lt;/sup&gt;).

And therefore this punishment was imposed only on Sodom and Gomorrah,

whose main sin was between man and his fellow

(similar to the punishment of the generation of the Flood because they were robbers and there was strife among them),

but not so Admah and Zeboiim, whose main sin was between man and God, were punished only by overturning.

5.

And in the inner aspect of the matters, it can be said:

Explained in Chassidus⁵⁰

the reason for the punishment of Sodom,

that it was destroyed and obliterated completely,

because the conduct of Sodom,

the opposite of peace and unity,

is in the manner of the world of Tohu,

that in Tohu "each one is by itself,

branches that are separate",

and this is the reason of the one who says⁵¹

that "the one who says 'mine is mine and yours is yours'...

this is the trait of Sodom",

for the very matter of separation and division from each other is like the matter of the world of Tohu,

branches that are separate.

And this is the matter of the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah etc.,

which is in the manner of the "shattering" of the world of Tohu

(as our Sages said⁵²

"He would create worlds and destroy them"),

whose purpose is "He demolishes in order to build",

for the sake of the creation of the world of Tikkun, whose matter is a world of integration and unity etc.

However,

the ultimate intention is,

that in the "vessels" of Tikkun there will also be drawn and revealed the "lights of Tohu" which are beyond measure and limitation,

but since they will be in the "vessels of Tikkun",

there is no matter of separation and shattering in this,

but rather on the contrary,

the ultimate unity etc.

And based on this we can explain what is said in Ezekiel⁵³

that in the future the cities of Sodom will return,

"And I will return their captivity, the captivity of Sodom and her daughters",

it can be said,

that the inner content of the return and building of these cities is,

that at the time of the redemption the lights of Tohu will be revealed below,

except that then these lights will be drawn down specifically in vessels of Tikkun

(building,

the opposite of breaking).

And this is also what they said in the Midrash⁵⁴

"I have found⁵⁵

David My servant,

where did I find him? In Sodom",

for at first glance it is perplexing,

how is it possible that David the anointed king will be specifically connected to Sodom?

Rather this is because of the inner quality within it,

the revelation of the lights of Tohu,

and therefore "I found him specifically in Sodom",

for this is the matter of David the anointed king,

that through him there will be the revelation of the lights of Tohu

(which are above measure and limitation),

except that they will be drawn down specifically in vessels of Tikkun.

And based on this, perhaps one could say,

that this is the inner content of the superiority in the two types of cities of Sodom and its daughters that will return in the future: Sodom and Gomorrah

(that were burned)

allude to the lights of Tohu that are above measurement and limitation,

and the two cities Admah and Zeboiim

(which are like the generation of the Dispersion⁵⁶

as above,

where there was not

(so much)

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the matter of robbery and strife)

it is like the matter of the inclusion of the vessels of Tikkun⁵⁷

— and the return of all four cities together indicates the connection and unification of the lights of Tohu and the vessels of Tikkun.

(From sichos of Shabbos Parshas Vayeira and Chol Hamoed Sukkos 5743,

Shabbos Parshas Noach 5742)