The Kindness of Abraham: A Lesson for Us All

The people of Sodom were known for their cruelty. They barred wayfarers from entering their city. If anyone dared to host a visitor overnight, both the visitor and the host faced punishment. In one shocking incident, they tortured and murdered a young girl simply for feeding a passerby. If a poor person entered their oasis seeking alms, they wouldn’t just turn him away; they would harass and torture him first.

Yet, when G-d informed Abraham that He intended to destroy Sodom and its inhabitants, Abraham prayed for them. This act is often hailed as a supreme display of kindness, especially considering the Sodomites were genuinely wicked. They even harassed Abraham’s student and valet, Eliezer, making it personal. Abraham could have justifiably felt anger towards them. Yet, he chose to pray for their salvation.

The Dilemma of Kindness

But we must ask ourselves: Is it truly an act of kindness to preserve a cruel population? Kindness towards the people of Sodom could be seen as cruelty to everyone they would harm. It’s akin to showing compassion for murderers. If we pardon them and release them back into society, we are being cruel to the community they may harm.

Isn’t it ironic how kindness works? True kindness must benefit all. If an act of kindness helps one segment of the community but harms another, it ceases to be kind. Kindness that favors one while being cruel to others is misplaced. So, what was Abraham thinking when he prayed for G-d to spare the people of Sodom?

Ash and Dust

As is common in Jewish thought, we often answer a question with another question. In the midst of Abraham’s dialogue with G-d, he humbly declared, “I am but dust and ashes.” At first glance, this seems like a statement of humility: “You are so great, and I am so small—have patience with me.” But if that were all he meant, he could have simply said, “I am human.”

When we consider the vastness of G-d, even the most intelligent person is no closer to His wisdom than a speck of dust. The difference between finitude and infinity is staggering. If there were a finite difference between G-d and Abraham, it would make sense for Abraham to diminish himself further by saying he is merely dust and ashes. However, the gap between us and G-d is infinite. One and a trillion are equally distant from infinity; both are finite.

So, why did Abraham say, “Listen to me because I am merely ash and dust,” when he could have just as easily said, “Listen to me because I am Abraham”?

G-d’s Kindness

Abraham was making a profound point about G-d’s kindness, drawing from his own experiences. He pointed to himself and said, “Dear G-d, you consider me better than the Sodomites, right? You think them worthy of punishment and me unworthy. Well, let me tell you what drives me to be better than them.”

It is your kindness that compels me to turn to you. When I fought the four kings to save my nephew Lot, I should have been ground to dust. I took them on by myself, and yet you miraculously saved me from my fate. When I angered Nimrod by refusing to bow before his idol, he threw me into the furnace. By rights, I should have been ashes today. But you saved me. Without you, I would have been dust and ashes.

When you saved me, I felt your presence—the glorious King of Heaven and Earth—come down to my battlefield, to my furnace, to protect me. I was humbled and overwhelmed with gratitude. The exalted, transcendent G-d abandoned His Heavenly abode to descend to my muddy battlefield and save my life.

Your kindness moved me deeply, igniting my own desire to be kind. I devoted my life to you in every way I could think of. Your love for me inspired my love for others. Your devotion to me triggered my dedication to you.

This, then, was Abraham’s suggestion for G-d. Let G-d show the people of Sodom that they all deserve to die. Let them see and feel the danger until they can sense it coming. Then G-d would swoop in to save them—not because they are deserving, but because G-d loves them and wishes to be kind to them.

I can tell you from personal experience that if you did that, they would be moved to repent and mend their ways. They would be just like me—deserving of reward, not punishment. That was Abraham’s pitch.

If it worked out that way, it would be a kindness to Sodom and to everyone else. Sodom was a prosperous city on fertile soil. Had the Sodomites survived and repented, it would have been a boon to the entire region. They would have invited people in and shared their wealth. This was not a kindness that hurt others; it was a kindness that would elevate everyone.

Blind to Kindness

G-d, however, rejected Abraham’s argument, assuring him that even if a few people would respond to G-d’s kindness as Abraham did, most would not. To demonstrate this, G-d struck the people of Sodom with blindness. This occurred when Lot took in visitors, and the people gathered at his home to attack him. The visitors, who were actually angels, struck the attackers with blindness. Yet, despite their blindness, they continued to grope around for the door, unable to find it.

This was G-d’s way of indicating that even when you know where the door is, if you are blind, you can’t find it. Even if you realize that G-d saved you out of kindness, if you are blind to it, you won’t see it and won’t learn from it.

In the following passage, we read that the angels urged Lot’s family to flee Sodom and save themselves before the city was destroyed. Yet, Lot’s sons-in-law thought the angels were joking. These angels had just struck their people with blindness. They could see that the angels meant business, so why did the sons-in-law from Sodom think the angels were joking?

The answer lies in their blindness—not physical, but spiritual, mental, and emotional. They had a mental block and couldn’t process that this was the end, even when they saw it with their own eyes. The same would have been true had the Sodomites been saved. They would have known what had happened but would have been too blind to acknowledge it or learn from it. This is why G-d rejected Abraham’s plea.

Embracing G-d’s Kindness

The lesson for us is clear. When good things happen, we must not be blind to G-d’s kindness. We must be humble and grateful to G-d. We should respond by embracing G-d with love and pay it forward with kindness. We must always be on the lookout because G-d’s kindness is constant.

For the most part, we are oblivious to His acts of kindness. But if we actively seek them out and acknowledge them, we will foster a much better relationship with G-d, ourselves, and those around us.

In this journey of kindness, let us remember that every act of compassion can ripple through our community, creating a more vibrant and welcoming environment for all.