בנו לנו סדום

We should reflect about the persistent parade threat in Yerushalayim. There may be a message deeper than we want to think. The Mishna Pirkei Avot 5:13 speaks about the Midah (mentality) of Sedom. Rav Ovadiah MiBartenura comments that in Sedom they could not stand the prosperity of others, even if they did not lack anything, and they refused to let others benefit from what they had. The Midah of Sedom is marketed with words that sound good, like it says in the Mishna: What is mine is mine and what is yours is yours. It is a subtle kind of cruelty of heart sold as the rule of law, as a matter of high principle. Sedom was not destroyed for its sexual sins. It had to be destroyed because of its general legalization of evil.

How did so many enjoy the destruction of the successful settlements of the Gaza strip? And were these settlements not destroyed according to the rule of law? The corruption of our leaders is being displayed for all to see. But the problem is not limited to the leaders. They were elected by people who know how they are. We have built a society in which ethical principles are shamelessly sacrificed for the pursuit of money. Add to this the sexual scandals of public figures, and the spreading addiction to pornography. This is Sedom.

Jews cannot rule over Eretz Yisrael the way Gentiles do in other lands. The governmental and judicial bodies have to be subservient to Torah. If this is not the case, Sedom is rebuilt. History repeats itself.

The parade, allowed under the rule of law, is a sign on the wall. They have built us Sedom in Israel. If we will not destroy it, we will be destroyed.

Hear, the word of HaShem, leaders of Sedom, listen to the Torah of our G-d, people of Amora (Yeshaya 1:10).


PS. It looks like the government chose to confirm as explicitly as they can that they indeed aspire to be leaders of Sedom. Look at this and this.

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