When Rabbi Levi-Yitzhak of Berdichev was appointed rabbi of the city, he agreed with the community leaders that he would not be bothered to come to every meeting of the community leaders, but only to the meetings where they would seek to amend new regulations.
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Once, they invited him to a meeting, where they asked for a regulation that the poor would not go from house to house to ask for charity, but would stand near the synagogues, and whoever wanted to could approach them and donate.
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Rabbi Levi-Yitzhak said to the Pharesim: "And didn't we agree that you would not invite me except to the assembly where a new regulation is adopted!".
The leaders of the congregation were puzzled: "We are seeking to amend a new regulation." Rabbi Levi-Yitzhak responded and said: "It is not a new regulation, but an old one; already in Sodom they amended regulations against the poor.".
Following Sodom and Gomorrah
The ancient cities of Sodom and Gomorrah are a symbol of wickedness and evil, but there is a point that is not always taken into account. There have always been bad people who did evil deeds. What is unique about Sodom and Gomorrah is that evil became the norm and the right behavior, while generosity, helping the weak, and caring for the needy were considered inappropriate acts.
The Sages' teachings expand and tell about the legal system of Sodom, which was fundamentally distorted. About the clever theories they constructed in an attempt to create logic behind the evil behavior.
They had a coherent philosophy according to which good is bad and bad is good. Just as it is clear to us that criminals need to be punished, it was clear to the people of Sodom that the girl who cared about providing food for the poor was worthy of a cruel punishment.
This type of normative evil is infinitely more serious than ordinary crime, and even organized crime, because it distorts fundamental concepts and turns light into darkness and darkness into light. It creates a reality in which the perpetrator is not only not ashamed of his actions, but is also seen as a symbol of progress and enlightenment, while those who hold to the 'old’ values of good and evil are seen as enemies of society and must be condemned and fought against.
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Sodom and Gomorrah are not a one-time phenomenon in human history. There were other societies that enacted evil laws and turned the concepts of good and evil upside down. In Sparta, they killed the disabled and sick, in an effort to create a healthy and strong society. In Japan, they killed female babies, in order to thin the population. The Eskimos believed that the old and sick should be abandoned, so that they would not be a burden on the young and strong. The Nazis also cultivated the theory of race, which provided an ideological basis for all the atrocities they committed.
Moral anchors
All of these are warning signs that warn of what can happen the moment we break away from the anchors of morality based on faith. Reason and logic cannot establish stable morality, because they can always build theories that turn the tables.
Against every logical argument, a counterargument will be presented, which will sometimes seem more original and magical. Only values based on an absolute and unquestionable divine command have the power to withstand the vicissitudes of time.
Our father Abraham formulates this truth in a short sentence: "Because I said, 'There is no fear of God in this place,' and they killed me.".
The firm and stable foundation of morality is the fear of God – the recognition that it is not man who determines what is good and what is evil, but the Creator of the world. Such values stand forever.
