The Lonely Righteous

Sodom was not destroyed because of the thousands or even millions of evildoers in its midst. It was destroyed simply because it lacked ten good people in its society. And this is G-d's message to Abraham as well. Abraham is a lonely person — he is on one side and everyone else in the world is seemingly on the other side.

Lonely people oftentimes are beset by doubts as to their course in life. "Fifty million Frenchmen can't be wrong!" But history has shown us time and again that the lonely individual is proven correct and the behavior and opinions of the many are proven to be wrong and even dangerous. Abraham becomes the paradigm for the lonely righteous in a world that envies, imitates and glorifies Sodom. He is the father of the Jewish people especially in this regard.

This inner realization of ourselves and our role in G-d's plan for human existence and growth marks us as the true children of Abraham and gives us hope even in a world where Sodom appears all powerful.