| A thought has been perplexing me about Parshat | | | | example of cause and effect. |
| Vayeira. | | | | When one displays an overwhelming amount of |
| Quick recap: | | | | compassion for someone or something clearly |
| Sodom and Gomorrah were towns infamous for their | | | | undeserving of said compassion, it produces a tumult |
| sick and repulsive behavior. Yet when Hashem told | | | | through every bit of you, messing up your mental |
| Avraham (Abraham) that He was going to destroy the | | | | capabilities so much that you gain an inability to make |
| towns, Avraham went out of his way to stick out his | | | | clear and intelligent decisions. |
| neck and argue on behalf of these cities so that | | | | The decision to be compassionate to a murderer was |
| perhaps God might spare them. | | | | irrational, and so was the decision to slaughter innocent |
| OK, sticking up for the potentially innocent is generally | | | | priests. One action caused the brain to be able to |
| considered high-quality behavior, as is taking great risks | | | | perform the next action. |
| for the sake of helping others. | | | | So what about Avraham? |
| But here's what confuses me: | | | | Is there a parallel? |
| When God told Avraham to sacrifice his son Yitzchak | | | | Was his decision to argue on behalf of the worthless, |
| (Isaac), Avraham proceeded to carry out his orders | | | | wicked folk of Sodom and Gomorrah misplaced |
| with no protest. Not only was Yitzchak 100% innocent, | | | | compassion that would confuse Avraham so |
| but unlike Sodom and Gomorrah for which Avraham | | | | tremendously that he couldn't even argue on behalf of |
| lacked a connection, Yitzchak was his own flesh and | | | | his own innocent son? |
| blood. | | | | Or conceivably a worse scenario: Perhaps God's |
| What makes matters worse for me is Avraham goes | | | | explicit rejection of misplaced compassion helps foster |
| down in history as being a great person for his actions | | | | in people a fear of compassion in general, even when |
| in both scenarios. | | | | it is highly warranted. Maybe Shaul saw how angry |
| And to make things even more troubling, we have the | | | | God was at his actions with the king of Amalek, so |
| story of Shaul HaMelech (King Saul). Early in his career | | | | next time an opportunity arose to be compassionate, |
| as a monarch he was given the directive to kill the | | | | he no longer saw compassion as an option. Maybe |
| entire people of Amalek, the quintessential nemesis of | | | | Avraham saw how eventually God didn't pay much |
| the Jewish people. | | | | heed to his repeated attempts to save the people of |
| He did not complete his duties, expressing misplaced | | | | Sodom, and felt that purely succumbing to God's will |
| compassion for the king of Amalek, a depraved | | | | was the only acceptable decision, hence not arguing at |
| murderer. | | | | the request to slaughter his own child. |
| This same King Saul would later on massacre an | | | | Maybe. |
| entire town of innocent kohanim (priests) on suspicion | | | | I don't yet have answers for all my questions, or |
| that they were harboring a fugitive. This would have | | | | comfort from my every concern. |
| likely been an overreaction even if he was correct. | | | | All I know is: Something about Parshat Veyeira just |
| However, in this case not only were they only | | | | doesn't feel right. Neither the request to slaughter a |
| unknowingly harboring this fugitive, but the fugitive in | | | | child, nor the righteous willingness to carry out the |
| question was entirely innocent of all that he was being | | | | decree without protest, leave me with much clarity |
| accused. | | | | about what God wants from me. |
| Two isolated incidents reflecting a severe mental | | | | Nevertheless, this feeling doesn't shake my faith. It |
| imbalance? Perhaps. | | | | doesn't even place a mild dent. |
| But traditional sources tell us this is more of an | | | | |