Was Sodom and Gomorrah an Example for Today?
What was the principal sin of Sodom and Gomorrah? How is it connected to the state of society today? What must change if we are to avoid bringing destruction upon ourselves?
It is said that the motto of Sodom was: "What is mine is mine, and what is yours is yours." I am here, you are there, and do not come near me. Period. This attitude was expressed in the fact that helping another person, supporting someone, or benefiting society was forbidden in Sodom.
The Midrash relates:
"It happened that two young women went down to draw water. One said to the other, 'Why do you look so ill?' The other replied, 'My food has run out, and I am close to death.' What did she do? She filled her friend's water jug with flour and exchanged it with her own. When the people discovered what she had done, they seized her and burned her." (Genesis Rabbah 49:6)
In simple terms, one girl explained that she had nothing left to eat. Her friend secretly filled her water jug with flour and exchanged the jugs so no one would know she was helping her. But the secret was discovered, and the girl who offered assistance was executed. Such was the atmosphere in Sodom, and this is why it symbolizes the most terrible of places.
There is nothing worse than the severing of human connection. Disconnection is a state of death. This idea is also hinted at in the story of Lot's wife, who was turned into a pillar of salt. In Sodom, life itself was impossible because the people were disconnected from one another.
We can sense something of this in every relationship. If people argue and shout, there is still a chance that afterward they will reconcile and make peace. The relationship may even deepen as a result of overcoming friction. But if contact is cut off altogether, there is no hope for any kind of development.
From a broader perspective, indifference is the greatest evil because it runs contrary to the overall direction of development in reality. What does this mean? Nature is interconnected in all its parts. It is a global and integral system. The whole of nature gradually evolves to a state of balance and mutual complementarity. This is how the web of life is formed. It is how our own bodies function, through cooperation among their different parts. Nature’s still, vegetative, and animate levels are synchronized and connected in a single mechanism by the force of nature that instinctively operates them.
Only human beings have developed to the level of awareness and the possibility of free choice. Nature, so to speak, has left us a sphere of independent action.
At the peak of our development, we will come to recognize that we are all parts of a single whole, and we will relate to each other with consideration and love. Together we will rise to a new level of existence, one that is spiritual, eternal, and perfect, beyond limitations of time, space, and motion. But before reaching that state, there is much scrutiny to be done and much work ahead. We need to learn what is truly good and what is truly evil, what is falsehood and what is genuine truth.
Returning to Sodom, the Talmud tells of the famous "Bed of Sodom," a single bed on which all visitors were forced to lie. If a guest was longer than the bed, parts of him were cut off; if he was shorter, he was stretched to fit it (Sanhedrin 109b). Here we see the Sodomite principle of enforced conformity, of creating uniformity by force. Everyone had to possess the same inclinations, the same opinions, and the same behaviors, no more and no less. Why? It was so that no possibility of completion between different individuals could emerge.
This destroys the uniqueness that nature has given to every person, a uniqueness that allows mutual enrichment among all people. If I possess something that you do not, and you possess something that I do not, then by connecting with each other we can both benefit from the qualities each of us has received. Like the exchange of substances in a living body, we can give to each other and receive from each other, creating a flow of life and vitality between us.
But Sodom sanctified separation and division. In a certain sense, there is even a kind of logic to it. If I am naturally selfish and you are naturally selfish, then perhaps it is better to keep our distance.
However, Abraham, the man of kindness, held a fundamentally different worldview. After discovering that a single force operates throughout nature, and understanding that a complementary unity must also emerge among human beings, he discovered a method for correcting narrow egoism, which is called “the evil inclination.” Today, this method is studied as the wisdom of Kabbalah.
Abraham examined whether Sodom could be saved, but he could not find even ten people, which was the minimum number required for group work aimed at achieving integral connection that is aligned with the overall evolutionary direction in creation. Due to this, Sodom had no basis for continued existence and was destroyed.
Thousands of generations have passed since then, and humanity has built an extensive civilization. Today, the world is rapidly becoming increasingly interconnected and interdependent, placing us all into the same boat. Anyone who tries to separate themselves from others discovers that it is impossible, because everyone influences everyone else. Whether we like it or not, this is a fact.
At the same time, the ego has reached an unprecedented level, and relationships between people are becoming increasingly strained. This is an extremely dangerous setup for everyone.
When we recognize that we have reached a dead end, and that the selfish nature in human beings needs to be corrected, then we will discover a need for Abraham's wisdom of connection.
Based on “New Life 185 – Sodom And Gomorrah” with Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman. Written/edited by students of Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman.