[Avodah] Some Selections From the Commentary of RSRH on Parshas Vayera

[Prof. Levine]

Below are some selections from the commentary of RSRH on this week's Parsha

18: 2 He looked up and saw that three men were 
standing there, turned toward him. When he saw 
this, he ran from the door of the tent
to meet them, and bowed down to the ground;

Many confuse prophecy — Jewish prophecy — with delirium and
divination, ecstasy and clairvoyance. As a result, ecstasy is thought
to lead to prophecy, and prophecy is considered merely a higher
stage of ecstasy.

Even Jewish philosophers are not free of the notion that prophecy
requires Hisbodidus — spatial and spiritual abstraction, physical and
mental isolation. Yet a vast gulf separates all these from true prophecy.
What leads to God’s nearness is not abstract contemplation, but, rather,
a life of vitality, flowing from the Source of life. Jewish prophecy is not
the product of a morbid imagination, of an agitated abnormal condition;
rather, it is part of healthy life, a product of wakefulness and
joyful creativity. As our Sages say: “Prophecy does not come when there
is sorrow or sloth, frivolity or levity, chatter or foolishness; it comes
as a result of joy in the performance of a mitzvah” (Shabbos 30b).

18: 19 For I have turned My particular attention 
to him, so that he may command his children and 
his household after him to keep the
way of God, to practice dutiful benevolence, and 
justice, so that God may bring upon Avraham that which He said about him.

If one is not a devoted follower of God, he is under God’s general
providence. But if one walks in the light of God’s Presence; if one considers
himself merely an instrument of God on earth, then God in turn
watches over him with special care, he is favored with God’s special
providence. As we seek God, so does He seek us. If one walks with God
B'keri  (Vayikra 26:23), incidentally; if doing God’s Will is not one’s first
and foremost aim, but, rather, one pursues other endeavors, leaving to
chance whether these endeavors coincide with God’s Will, then God,
too, walks with him éø÷á and leaves him to the vicissitudes of chance.
But as for the righteous, who devote themselves to being instruments
of God’s Will on earth, who regard doing His Will as the sole aim of
their lives and actions, and cast their burden and all their needs on God
their Provider — He goes before them with His guiding hand and
watches over them with His special providence. This special providence
is called Yeida

Walking with God in the way of moral purity is 
the precondition and root of just and upright
human relationships.

Moreover, Sodom shows us that a pleasure-seeking world addicted
to sensual enjoyment, a world that ultimately values a person only to
the extent that he is useful or provides pleasure — precisely such a
world is likely to twist the idea of strict justice into a double-edged
sword of shameless sophism, which argues: “What I
have is mine and what you have is yours” (see Avos 5:10). According
to this world-view, egoism is a sacred principle of life, helplessness is
considered a crime, and offering assistance is considered a folly and an
offense against the public welfare. Under the rule of the principle of
Sodom, entitlements are dictated only by achievements, not by needs;
the poor and the needy are despised. Only a wealthy man, like Lot, who
is bound to provide jobs and profit, is perhaps granted rights; but “begging
is forbidden,” and those who cannot support themselves are punished,
imprisoned, and deported.

But not by external means will the world by righted. This cannot
be imposed by governments or enforced by legislation, nor can it be
achieved through worldwide revolution which unleashes the Red beast
against the palaces and manors of the wealthy. Only an inner revolution
of mind and soul can produce a generation of people educated to a
sense of duty; only such a revolution can produce people committed
to duty who will transmit the testament of the patriarch — articulated
by God — as a living teaching to children and grandchildren: v'shomru
derech HaShem la'asos tzedaka umishpot.

The educational goal is not religious faith, but observance of the
commandments.
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