The Moral Education of God

Vayera

Genesis 18:1-22:24

Précis: God “appeared” (vayera) to Abraham in the form of three travelers to whom Abraham shows hospitality. They predict the birth of Isaac, overheard by Sarah (who laughs). God reveals His plans for the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, and Abraham argues for its salvation for the sake of any innocent who might dwell there. The scene shifts to Sodom, where Lot lives, and he and his daughters are rescued first from an unruly mob, and then from the destruction of the city itself. Lot’s wife glances back and turns into the pillar of salt. His daughters, fearing that they are the last females alive, make Lot drunk and engage in sexual relations with him, later giving birth to founders of the tribes of Moab and Ammon (traditional adversaries of the Israelites).

Back with Abraham, Sarah conceives and gives birth to Isaac. She becomes unhappy with the continued presence of Ishmael and prevails upon Abraham to expel Ishmael and Hagar from the household, which he does (after being promised by God that Ishmael, too, will be the father of a great nation). Thereafter, the story continues with the attempted sacrifice of Isaac by Abraham, called the Akedah (the Binding of Isaac).


Genesis 18:23-33 “Abraham came forward and said, ‘Will you sweep away the innocent along with the guilty? What if there be fifty innocent within the city…? Far be it from You to do such a thing, to bring death to the innocent as well as the guilty…’ And Adonai said, ‘I will forgive the whole place for their sake.’ And Abraham said, ‘What if the 50 innocent will lack five? Will you destroy the whole city for want of the five?’"

In my recent comments about the parasha Noach, I suggested that we should consider God as a character in the narrative: God undergoes changes and growth which can give us vital insights into the text.

Similarly, Jerome M. Segal suggests in his book, Joseph’s Bones (Riverhead Books, 2007) that the story of Sodom and the bargaining about its fate is an example of what he calls “the moral education of God.”

Regarding the Flood story, God felt that all of humanity, with the exception of Noah, was evil (Gen. 6:5: … “every form of their heart’s planning was only evil all the day”). But we know that humanity was not entirely evil, based upon the fact that the Bible has positive things to say, at times, about other earlier characters (Abel offers an appropriate sacrifice, for example). When we add to this the fact that God expresses regret for the Flood, and promises never to repeat it, we can conclude that God has “learned a lesson” not to slay the innocent with the guilty. This lesson is documented by the rainbow, a sign of a new covenant.

In this week’s reading, God asks the angels whether He should hide His intentions regarding Sodom from Abraham. He states that Abraham has been “singled out” so that he “may instruct his children and his posterity to keep the way of the Eternal, doing what is right and just” (Gen. 18:19). Thus, because Abraham is to be a teacher of morals, God becomes an early practioner of “teaching the teacher.”

It is ironic, then, that the roles are immediately reversed: Abraham becomes the teacher, and God the student. Abraham knows what God has planned, because God has done it before (the Flood). Abraham asks in the best of Socratic instruction: “Will you sweep away the innocent with the guilty?...Shall not the Judge of all the earth deal justly?” Abraham asserts that moral law is binding, even upon God. Mankind cannot be viewed as God’s plaything merely because He created it.

The midrash supports this interpretation. In Genesis Rabbah 49:9, Abraham reminds God about His promise: “You have sworn not to bring a deluge upon the world. Would You evade Your oath? Not a deluge of water but a deluge of fire? Then You have not acted according to Your oath.” Abraham chides God for looking for a loophole. The Torah seems to be telling us that God’s understanding of morality grows as His understanding of humanity grows. God’s initial subscription to the theory of collective punishment slowly gives way to the conception of individual culpability: the innocent should not suffer on account of the guilty.

God learns, and we should learn by His example. We are repeatedly told to act as God would act. “Just as God visits the sick, we should visit the sick. Just as God comforts mourners, so should we.” (BT Sotah 14a). The story of the Flood and the story of Sodom taken together show that God has the ability to grow as His understanding of human beings grows. What a wonderful metaphor for all of us to consider as we strive to live ethical lives.