is made clear also in the Midrash,61 and they tarried somewhat to allow for the possibility that the wicked people might turn from their evil way, hence allowing the quality of justice to be transformed to compassion, sparing them from annihilation.
Accordingly, the Lord said, “Shall I hide from Abraham (from what I am about to do?” Gen 18:17), for Abraham is the personification of mercy, and perhaps he will draw down heavenly lovingkindness upon them, sparing them from destruction. The Blessed and Exulted One desires lovingkindness, for lovingkindness can allow for a sweetening of the judgments. And so it is said (concerning Abraham), “For I have singled him out, that he may instruct his children and his posterity to keep the way of the Lord by doing what is just and right, in order that the Lord may bring about for Abraham what He has promised him” (Gen 18:19).
Now, the word dibbur (spoke), wherever it occurs, alludes to harsh judgment, as is known.62 Its meaning in this verse is that perhaps through Abraham, who is the source of lovingkindness, the judgments might be included in mercy and be sweetened at their root. And so even though it is written, “The men set out from there and looked down toward Sodom . . .” (Gen 18:16), afterward it is said, “The men went on from there to Sodom” (Gen 18:22). Even though they had already gone, they returned and waited a while, for perhaps Abraham had spoken on behalf of the people of the cities of the plain. In other words, after they were already in Sodom, and “Abraham remained standing before the Lord” (Gen 18:22), they returned and saw Abraham who had continued standing before the Lord to awaken mercy, for perhaps he was able to extend heavenly lovingkindness upon the inhabitants for the purpose of averting their destruction.
And the Midrash alludes to this as it understood the men’s turning (vayifnu) from there to infer that angels lack brazenness (associated with ʿoref, “the back of the neck”)63 as they lack any inclination for judgment and punishment. For they are angels of compassion who do not hurriedly execute vengeance but rather wait patiently, for perhaps the people of Sodom might repent or Abraham might bring about mercy for them.64
Comment: Kalonymus Kalman constructed this passage upon various threads that the Midrash had woven together to emphasize the attribute of compassion both in regard to Abraham and to the very angels sent to destroy the cities. The preacher did not introduce innovative interpretations as much as impress upon his flock the tone of some interesting midrashic readings on this biblical episode.
The tone of this passage is in accord with emphases found elsewhere in Maʾor va-shemesh. For example, in his homilies on Lekh l’kha, he related to the saying in Mishna ʾAvot that God created the world with Ten Utterances65 (Gen 1, rather than with a single utterance) in order to increase both the reward for the righteous and the punishment for the wicked who might respectively sustain or destroy the world. But in his interpretation of that statement, Kalonymus Kalman associated the Ten Utterances with the contractions and garments involved in creation that made it more difficult to know God, hence providing a justification for evil-doers which could allow for greater leniency toward them.
In Maʾor va-shemesh, the homilies on this portion, perhaps conveniently, omit any treatment of the ʿAkedah (the binding of Isaac) with its very problematic aspects. But elsewhere in the same volume,66 the preacher related to that episode in a distinctly allegorical manner, drawing upon earlier interpretations in which Abraham represents the quality of ḥesed (lovingkindness) while Isaac represents that of din (judgment, punishment). In his treatment of the subject, the very command of the ʿAkedah is read symbolically as the triumph of lovingkindness and mercy over strict judgment: judgment is bound and hence made subservient to mercy.
52. Maʾor va-shemesh, I, 12b.
53. b. Sotah 14a.
54. b. B. Bat. 16b.
55. m. Roš. Haš. 3:8.
56. Gries, Sefer, sofer vesippur, 35–39; The Book, 1700–1900, 85–87.
57. Thompson, Motif-Index of Folk-Literature, D800–1699, Magic Objects. Note: D1071, Magic jewel, D1342, Magic object gives health, D1500.1.2, Sacred healing stone. Also D2161, Magic healing power, D1900.1.9, Magic jewel cures disease.
58. Noʿam ʾElimelekh (Vayera).
59. Maʾor va-shemesh, I, 12b.
60. Maʾor va-shemesh, I, 13a.
61. Midr. Gen. 50:1.
62. Sipre (B’haʿalotkha) #99, on Num 12:1.
63. Midr. Gen 49:7.
64. Midr. Gen 50:1.
65. m. Abot 5:1.
66. Maʾor va-shemesh (Rimze Rosh hashanah), V, 32b.
Hayyei Sarah
A Person Coming to the Tzaddik (Holy Man)67
“Raising her eyes, Rebekah saw Isaac. (She alighted from the camel and said to the servant, ‘Who is that man walking in the field toward us?’ And the servant said, ‘That is my master.’) So she took her veil and covered herself.” (Gen 24:64–65)
And Rashi commented, “Rebekah saw Isaac”—she saw him as splendid and awe-inspiring.
The words require clarification. And it would seem to allude to the effect on the person who journeys to the tzaddikim. It is normal for every person to view himself as upright, and specifically one who studies Torah and engages in prayer and devotion will feel in his heart that he is already on the level of a tzaddik. However, in approaching the tzaddik, one becomes fearful and is given to awe, and he sees that his deeds are really nothing at all. He descends from his level in his own eyes in that though he had considered himself a tzaddik and a person of moral and spiritual rank, he now comes to the level of t’shuvah (repentance) as he examines his deeds and perceives that they are not as they should be. And as he notes the very high devotion of the tzaddik, he feels shame in his own deeds and qualities and grasps the need to repair them and to serve God on a higher level with greater energy. This is brought about by his journey to the tzaddik. And it is known that Isaac both personified the quality of awe (yirʾah), connected with the world of repentance, and directed his contemporaries to strive to improve their actions.
This is inferred from the
