Sodom and Amora Parable

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1. Yirmiyahu and the False Prophets

   Rabbi David Sabato

   Clashes between true and false prophets take place in many places in the Bible. But for no other prophet does this type of confrontation play such a central role in his world as it does for Yirmiyahu.

   Yirmiyahu highlights four distinctions between the true prophet and the false prophet.

   Personality of the Prophet:

   One cannot separate the prophet's personality from his prophecy. Prophecy is not a profession external to the prophet's person; rather, it must fill his entire world. Hence, a prophet who sins in his personal life cannot be a true prophet in his public life.

   Purpose of the Prophecy:

   The role of the true prophet, from the days of Avraham, is to speak out against the faults of society and try to fix them, thus trying to prevent the moral deterioration so that it not be destroyed like Sedom. The false prophets, on the other hand, work in the opposite manner: They turn Jerusalem into Sedom by way of their false prophecies of reassurance, thus betraying their role as prophets.

   Wording of the Prophecy:

   The authenticity of a prophecy is reflected in the unique style of the prophet who delivers it. He receives the word of God and then formulates it in his own words and his own personal style. The uniform style of the false testifies to its inauthenticity and the absence of inner connection to the prophet himself.

   Experience and Clarity of the Prophecy:

   The realm of dreams is by its very nature a place where the boundary between reality and imagination becomes blurred; a person is liable to think that he received a prophecy from above, when in fact he merely had a dream and imagined fantasies in his mind. The experience of prophecy, on the other hand, is unequivocal; a prophet who experiences the intensity of prophecy – "like a burning fire shut up in my bones" cannot be mistaken about it. The inner distinction between imagination and prophecy is sharp and clear, and anyone can distinguish between the two in himself.

2. He Speaks in Allegories

   Dr. Tova Ganzel

   Throughout the chapters dating to the years prior to the destruction there is a motif of words and terms that relate to women. This image is fully realized with the death of the prophet’s wife, symbolizing the final destruction of the city.

   The detailed description of the unfaithfulness of this woman – Jerusalem – emphasizes the chasm between her humble beginnings, with no lineage and no identity, and the abundance God bestowed upon her and His favors done for her that ultimately end in her betrayal. God’s response is a detailed description of total annihilation.

   Yehezkel compares the deeds of the city of Jerusalem to those of Shomron and Sodom. The sin of Sodom, as depicted here, is that despite the economic stability and strength of its inhabitants, they did not support the poor and needy. Yehezkel attributes only social sins to Sodom in order to emphasize the more grievous sins of Jerusalem, which are described as unfaithfulness.

   Despite the people’s actions in the present, the covenant that God remembers and maintains even in the future is a covenant of youth, and even at the time of their sin, this historical covenant will stand. This is also why the nation is rebuked just as it is being forgiven.

3. Yeshayahu 33-34 - Matan Al HaPerek

   Rabbi David Sabato

   Perek 33 focuses on Assyria's campaign against Jerusalem, prophesying God's deliverance of Jerusalem and the destruction of Assyria, followed by the glory and moral purity of Jerusalem that would follow.

   Perek 34 includes a prophecy of destruction of Edom, which is described as similar to that of Sodom. 

4. Sedom vs. Shalem-Jerusalem

   Rabbi David Silverberg

5. Ramban on Vayeira - Sedom and Pilegesh baGiv'a

   Rabbi Ezra Bick | 36 minutes

   Ramban has a lengthy comment comparing the story of Sodom to the story of the Concubine at Giveah. This shiur explores those parallels and raises questions about the various parties involved. Beyond the specific elements that are unique to both stories, they each involve a corrupt society. In the case of Sodom, God destroys the city, but in the case of Giveah, the rest of the tribes band together to wage war against Binyamin. But was this the right thing to do? Did they properly consult with God? When a society has a problem within it, it is the responsibility of that society to fix it. The story about Giveah is a tragedy wherein none of the survivors are blameless. Before embarking on something as severe as civil war, the parties involved must seriously and carefully determine whether it is something that God wants.