Who's to Blame, the Mob or the Corrupted Leaders?
Vayeira
Last week, the world saw the horrific pogrom that took place on the streets of Amsterdam, where a wild, antisemitic mob openly attacked Jews on the streets. The police did nothing to stop the attacks and the government has yet to take any serious action to punish the offenders. So who is to blame? The active participants or the failings of the government and their poor decisions that fostered a culture where such an attack could take place?
Parshas Vayeira tells us about the sinfulness and evil of the cities of Sedom and Amora, “The outrage of Sedom and Amora is so great, and their sin so grave!”. Hashem considered their behaviour so evil and unconscionable, that they had to be completely destroyed. Like the Generation of the Flood before them who were also destroyed, their sins were particularly in relation to their treatment of their fellow man. The Talmud and Midrash brings horrific examples of their cruelty and perversion of justice.
In the Haftorah read on the Shabbos before Tisha B’av, Yishayahu rebukes the people for their sins that would bring about their impending destruction. He addresses the Jewish people saying “Hear the word of Hashem chiefs of Sedom, give ear to the teachings of our G-d, people of Amora.”
Even though he was addressing the Jewish people, he refers to them as the people of Sedom and Amora, because their society and their deeds resembled those of Sedom and Amora. More specifically, the Novi separates them into 2 categories; the chiefs of Sedom and the people of Amora.
The chiefs of Sedom refers to the leadership; the judges and rulers. The people of Amora refers to the regular population.
The Gemara in Mesechta Sanhedrin teaches us about the four judges of Sedom; Shakrai (liar), Shakrurai (habitual liar), Zayfai (forger) and Matzlei Dina (perverter of justice). They were named after their corrupt and perverted judgments that punished the victims and rewarded the perpetrators.
The sins of the populace included lack of hospitality, mistreatment of the vulnerable, theft and brutality. The people of Sedom were the violent mob that stormed Lot’s house - “all of the people, from every corner” - for the “crime” of hosting guests”.
Both groups were to blame for creating the cities and societies that have become synonymous with sin and moral corruption. Yishayahu castigated the Jewish leadership and populace, who were both liable, for having corrupted the “faithful city… full of justice and righteousness”, to become societies that were just like Sedom and Amora.
The leadership has the responsibility to shape and create the societal values and culture. They are supposed to set expectations of what is acceptable and what is unacceptable behaviour. This is done through their laws and more importantly the enforcement of those laws, and through emulating these standards and behaviours.
The populace was certainly guilty as well and each person was liable for their own actions. But in the Torah’s perspective, the leadership carries the greater responsibility. It is the corruption and failings on the level of the leadership of a society, that encourage, enable and give “free-reign” to the populace.
This is why the “chiefs” are called the “chiefs of Sedom”, whereas the people are the “people of Amora”. Sedom was the primary city and epitome of corruption, after which all of the other cities and their collective behaviours are called.
Back to Amsterdam; each participant of the mob must be held to account with the full force of the law. But more importantly, it should be a waking call to the country’s leadership to take ownership of their own failings that could allow such a thing to take place, and to take the necessary steps to rectify them for the future.
One of the principles of interpreting and applying the Torah’s teachings is מכלל לאו אתה שומע הן, that from the negative, we can infer to the positive.
The Torah wants us to create societies of kindness and care, righteousness, respect, ethics and justice. Societies where the vulnerable are protected, where justice is fairly served and where anti-social behaviours are not tolerated. This message also applies in building our own communities.
In this pursuit, we each have a contribution to make and role to play; the “chiefs” leading from “top down” and the “people” through their actions from “bottom up”.
May our efforts to increase in kindness in our communities be blessed and rewarded with the coming of Moshiach who will usher in an era of true peace and harmony, when Yerushalaim will be restored to its true glory, a “faithful city… full of justice and righteousness” that is an example to all mankind.
Parshas Vayeira tells us about the sinfulness and evil of the cities of Sedom and Amora, “The outrage of Sedom and Amora is so great, and their sin so grave!”. Hashem considered their behaviour so evil and unconscionable, that they had to be completely destroyed. Like the Generation of the Flood before them who were also destroyed, their sins were particularly in relation to their treatment of their fellow man. The Talmud and Midrash brings horrific examples of their cruelty and perversion of justice.
In the Haftorah read on the Shabbos before Tisha B’av, Yishayahu rebukes the people for their sins that would bring about their impending destruction. He addresses the Jewish people saying “Hear the word of Hashem chiefs of Sedom, give ear to the teachings of our G-d, people of Amora.”
Even though he was addressing the Jewish people, he refers to them as the people of Sedom and Amora, because their society and their deeds resembled those of Sedom and Amora. More specifically, the Novi separates them into 2 categories; the chiefs of Sedom and the people of Amora.
The chiefs of Sedom refers to the leadership; the judges and rulers. The people of Amora refers to the regular population.
The Gemara in Mesechta Sanhedrin teaches us about the four judges of Sedom; Shakrai (liar), Shakrurai (habitual liar), Zayfai (forger) and Matzlei Dina (perverter of justice). They were named after their corrupt and perverted judgments that punished the victims and rewarded the perpetrators.
The sins of the populace included lack of hospitality, mistreatment of the vulnerable, theft and brutality. The people of Sedom were the violent mob that stormed Lot’s house - “all of the people, from every corner” - for the “crime” of hosting guests”.
Both groups were to blame for creating the cities and societies that have become synonymous with sin and moral corruption. Yishayahu castigated the Jewish leadership and populace, who were both liable, for having corrupted the “faithful city… full of justice and righteousness”, to become societies that were just like Sedom and Amora.
The leadership has the responsibility to shape and create the societal values and culture. They are supposed to set expectations of what is acceptable and what is unacceptable behaviour. This is done through their laws and more importantly the enforcement of those laws, and through emulating these standards and behaviours.
The populace was certainly guilty as well and each person was liable for their own actions. But in the Torah’s perspective, the leadership carries the greater responsibility. It is the corruption and failings on the level of the leadership of a society, that encourage, enable and give “free-reign” to the populace.
This is why the “chiefs” are called the “chiefs of Sedom”, whereas the people are the “people of Amora”. Sedom was the primary city and epitome of corruption, after which all of the other cities and their collective behaviours are called.
Back to Amsterdam; each participant of the mob must be held to account with the full force of the law. But more importantly, it should be a waking call to the country’s leadership to take ownership of their own failings that could allow such a thing to take place, and to take the necessary steps to rectify them for the future.
One of the principles of interpreting and applying the Torah’s teachings is מכלל לאו אתה שומע הן, that from the negative, we can infer to the positive.
The Torah wants us to create societies of kindness and care, righteousness, respect, ethics and justice. Societies where the vulnerable are protected, where justice is fairly served and where anti-social behaviours are not tolerated. This message also applies in building our own communities.
In this pursuit, we each have a contribution to make and role to play; the “chiefs” leading from “top down” and the “people” through their actions from “bottom up”.
May our efforts to increase in kindness in our communities be blessed and rewarded with the coming of Moshiach who will usher in an era of true peace and harmony, when Yerushalaim will be restored to its true glory, a “faithful city… full of justice and righteousness” that is an example to all mankind.