“Shall I conceal from Abraham what I am about to do?” (Bereishis 18:17)

In this week’s Torah portion Vayeira, G-d sends angels to destroy the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. But before He does, G-d hesitates, with an understanding that He must inform Abraham of the cataclysm that is about to unfold. From this revelation, Abraham objects and does his best to debate his Creator to save as many lives as possible. “Will You destroy the righteous with the wicked?” From there, Abraham plays a bit of a numbers game to find the minimum number of innocent people necessary for G-d to spare the wicked. Would any of us be so bold as to stand up to the “true judge”? Noah wouldn’t stand up for his entire generation two parshas ago. At what point must you show mercy and at what point is someone too far gone to save…? Those are questions that are beyond me.

But I think there’s a bigger question at the root of this story that is far more relevant to us, today. Why did G-d even tell Abraham his plan in the first place? “Shall I conceal from Abraham what I am about to do?” Notice the Torah doesn’t say, “Shall I share what I am about to do…” Not, “Shall I divulge.” It’s, “Shall I conceal.” The Hebrew word, ha-m’chasseh, means to hide or cover up, implying that if G-d enacted His plan to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah, it would have been surreptitious. Since when does G-d ever have to tell anyone anything?

Let’s think about it this way. Let’s say you and your friend agree to buy a house together. Now, while your friend is staying in the house for six months, they decide to knock out a few walls, redo the countertops, and completely tear up your beautifully manicured garden because they think a basketball court would look really nice. Now, was your friend under any legal obligation to tell you before starting any of this construction? Of course they would be! Because you’re co-owners of the house.

This is why G-d has to tell Abraham He is going to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah. Abraham has made the world’s fate his business. Hashem isn’t informing him because He needs permission. Paraphrasing an idea from Rabbi Noach Weinberg, Abraham argued against the whole world, not because he just loved the debate stage. He didn’t just love being right. He was taking responsibility to save the world. He saw the world was lacking and said, “No one is going to do this but me.” So he devoted his life to spreading enlightenment, kindness, and hospitality. That’s what made him co-owner of the world. So much so that it became G-d’s responsibility to inform Abraham before destroying part of it.

How do we know this was the case? For one, G-d has already entered into a covenant with Abraham in last week’s parsha, so the lease agreement has already been signed. Secondly, G-d gives the reason for His obligation, “[Abraham commands his descendants] to preserve the way of Hashem, doing tzedakah and mishpat.” Tzedakah and mishpat are often translated as charity and justice. But here, tzedakah means righteousness or justice, not simply charity. So why does the Torah need both words? Perhaps tzedakah is the obligation to do what is right, in the present moment, while mishpat is the work of establishing justice in the world. Abraham wasn’t merely trying to be a good person. He was trying to create a world in which goodness and justice could endure.

Why this is relevant is that the generation of the flood and the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah fell into depravity. Abraham, however, has taken it upon himself to try to stop that depravity from happening. He’s actively working to instill that the world won’t become so corrupt ever again. So regarding this very matter, Hashem has to consult with Abraham because Abraham has involved himself so much in this endeavor.

Why did Abraham think he could ever change the world so fundamentally? Rabbi Noach Weinberg would cite the verse from Talmud Sanhedrin (37a), “Each and every person is obligated to say, ‘the world was created for me.’” Usually this is related to the idea that because the whole world descended from Adam, killing one person is akin to killing the whole world. However, Rabbi Weinberg saw it that since Adam was able to fundamentally influence and steer the nature of humanity, so can each and every one of us. He literally believed we had a responsibility to bring the world we wanted to see into existence.

Whether or not I believe that, it is undeniable that Abraham was willing to stand up to anything, no matter the odds. In fact, he was known as Abraham the Ivri (the Hebrew), which means, “from the other side.” Now literally it meant that he was from the other side of the river. But metaphorically, it meant that he was always arguing against the majority for the sake of justice. Even if that meant arguing with G-d Himself.

The message is clear. If something matters to you, stand up for it, no matter the odds. It’s your world.

This post is dedicated to the refuah shlema of Batya bat Lore.