Good Verses Evil

Hashem felt the need to discuss with Avraham Avinu the need to destroy Sodom and Amorah. He knew that Avraham was going to teach his children the path of goodness and righteousness. He wanted him to understand that there were times when a strong hand was needed in order to eliminate evil.

This was very difficult for Avraham to comprehend. He epitomized everything that was sacred in the world. How could it be possible for people to sink to such a low level of sinfulness and decadence.

The Mussar books discuss how sad it is that human beings are capable of falling to a level, lower than that of animals. Even animals are given the instincts needed for self preservation. But man allows himself to self destruct to a point that it is difficult to ever recover.

Avraham was being taught a harsh reality that evil exists in the world. There are bad people that need a great deal of fixing. Sometimes they can be fixed, but other times, there is no choice but to distance ourselves from such people.

In the case of enemies of the Jewish people, our survival demands that these enemies be destroyed.

Hashem was teaching Avraham that the right thing to do was to continue teaching the ways of kindness and righteousness. The behavior of Sodom represented a harsh reality that people sometimes choose evil. The destiny of the Jewish people is to bring truth and goodness to the world, so that a situation like Sodom will never happen again.