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Why does Avrohom argue with God to save Sodom and Gomorrah, and what principle is he trying to establish? The shiur analyzes the complex dialogue structure and argues that Avrohom seeks to establish divine judgment based on mishpat (justice) rather than pure mercy. The Rambam (רמב"ם)'s principle of majority rule in divine judgment creates tensions with the Torah (תורה)'s narrative that ten righteous people could save entire cities.
This shiur provides a detailed analysis of Parshas Vayeira's account of Avrohom's argument with God regarding the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah (Genesis 18:20-33). Rabbi Zweig begins by carefully examining the text structure, noting that Avrohom makes multiple arguments with varying degrees of new introductions between them, suggesting different levels of quantum leaps in his reasoning. The shiur identifies several textual difficulties: Why does Avrohom present two seemingly unrelated arguments - that God shouldn't kill the righteous (ha'aftis tzaddik im rasha) and that the righteous should save the wicked? Why does the phrase 'chalilah lecha' (far be it from You) only appear after mentioning fifty righteous people? How can these arguments flow together without interruption when they appear to address fundamentally different principles?
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Parshas Vayeira 18:20-33
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