NONE SO BLIND AS THOSE WHO WILL NOT SEE

“They had not yet lain down when the townspeople, the people of Sodom, converged upon the house, from young to old, all the people from every quarter. And they called out to Lot and said to him, “Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us so that we may know them.” Lot went out to them to the entrance, and shut the door behind him. And he said, “I beg you my brothers, do not act wickedly. See, now, I have two daughters who have never known a man. I shall bring them out to you and do to them as you please; but to these men do nothing inasmuch as they have come under the shelter of my roof.” And they said, “Stand back!” Then they said, “This fellow came to sojourn and would act as a judge? Now we will treat you worse than them!” They pressed exceedingly upon the man, upon Lot, and they approached to break the door. The men stretched out their hands and brought Lot into the house with them, and closed the door. And the men who were at the entrance of the house they struck with blindness, from small to great; and they tried vainly to find the entrance.” (Bereishit 19:4-11)

This passage describes the debauchery, cruelty and immorality that was commonplace in the city of Sodom. They considered hospitality to strangers a crime. They demanded that Lot eject the two men, who were actually angels, from his house, and they would then subject them to mass homosexual rape. This episode is the source of the word ‘sodomy’. The two angels had come from the home of Avraham to save Lot and oversee the destruction of Sodom and the neighbouring towns. They rescued Lot from the angry mob and struck the would-be assailants with blindness. They told Lot to gather his family and leave the city immediately as its destruction was imminent.   

The text describes what the Sodomites did when they were stuck blind: “They tried vainly to find the entrance.” Seforno comments: “Even though they were struck with blindness, they still toiled to find the entrance so that they could break down the door. This accords with the saying of the Sages (Talmud, Eruvin 19a), “Wicked people, even if they are standing at the entrance to hell, do not repent.” I have always been amazed at the behaviour of the people of Sodom. Was it not obvious to them, having been miraculously struck blind, that the path they had chosen was wrong and that they should now repent? And yet, that was not the case. They were so full of anger, lust and false zealotry that they ignored their new reality and continued on the path of destruction. This is a good example of the Talmudic principle (Sanhedrin 105b), “Hatred causes people to violate norms of proper conduct.”

Throughout history and until this very day, human beings have emulated the behaviour of the Sodomites.  Even when it is abundantly clear and obvious that a certain belief or ideology is wrong, people will still cling to it regardless of how illogical such behaviour may be. I recall a radio interview several years ago with the General Secretary of the SACP, the South African Communist Party. The host asked his guest what the Party would do if they were voted into power. He said that they would run the country according to the principles of communism. The host then asked why the Party still championed a political ideology that failed hopelessly in the former USSR and lead to great poverty, suffering and human rights abuses. The General Secretary responded that the collapse of communism in the former USSR was the result of the government there failing to implement the true values of communism. Instead, they had practised a skewed version of the political system. His Party, however, would follow true communism which would lead to prosperity for all.

Another example is the ubiquity of so-called “wokism” in the West, especially in America. It is difficult to give an all-encompassing definition of this term. The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines it as: “Aware of and actively attentive to important societal facts and issues, especially issues of racial and social justice.” Woke culture has gone to great extremes in the last few years. There are those who believe, based on the highly controversial Critical Race Theory, that being born white is essentially a crime and that black people, by definition, cannot be racist. Wokeism also preaches that gender is a matter of choice and not based on anatomy or biology such that a person can choose how to identify. This belief has had a negative impact in the sporting arena. Biological males enter tournaments as trans-women, and because of their physical advantage, they are able to defeat the other competitors. When leading female athletes have protested this situation, they are shouted down as being “transphobic.” At a women’s boxing tournament in August, one of the boxers withdrew from a match after 46 seconds after being punched by her opponent who is intersex and has been disqualified in the past for failing testosterone tests. The boxer who withdrew stated that she had no choice as the pain was excruciating and that she had never received such a blow. For more on this topic, read Douglas Murray’s book, The War on the West – How to Prevail in the Age of Unreason.

The anti-Israel activity on American university campuses is a direct result of woke culture. Victimhood plays an important role in wokeism and populations are divided into victims and perpetrators. In the Israel-Palestine issue, the Palestinians are the victims and the Israelis (read: Jews) are the perpetrators. There is no room for nuance or debate. All of the nefarious activities of the pro-Palestinian/anti-Israel protestors are justified in the spirit of liberal values and woke culture. This is from the top down. The ideology is so firmly entrenched in the minds of its practitioners that presidents of major Ivy-League universities could justify calls for genocide against Jews as being acceptable “according to the context.” Wokeism defends evil and excuses bad behaviour. People who refuse to fall into line are “cancelled” and publicly shamed.

In my humble opinion, the victory of Donald Trump in the recent American Presidential Election is a clear indication that the masses in the USA have had enough of wokeism. They did not necessarily vote for Trump, rather they voted against Harris and the values espoused by the Democratic Party. The Trump victory is a major blow to the “woke” in America. They have been struck blind and yet they will continue to look for the entrance so that they can break down the door. If I am correct, I would not be surprised to see European countries beginning to clamp down on the Muslim extremists who have highjacked many of their towns and cities. For too long they have turned a blind eye to the worrying rise in violence and hate speech in their midst. In an absurd irony, Western countries followed Western values of inclusivity and equality to welcome certain groups who reject these very Western values. The recent pogrom in Amsterdam is a sad example of this reality. The Dutch have been “struck blind” and I sincerely hope they come to their senses instead of continuing down a path of destruction. Following the violent attack last Thursday night, King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands said to President Isaac Herzog in a phone call, “We failed the Jewish community of the Netherlands during World War II, and last night we failed again.” Let’s hope this is the last time.

Lee, Chani Merryl & Naomi join me in wishing you Shabbat Shalom. 

Rabbi Liebenberg

Rabbi’s YouTube message for Shabbat: https://youtu.be/BvS2yt7bN50?si=UVK3c3DZz3V2cTjn