Sedom

We have been learning in Navi class about the cycle that Bnei Yisrael are continuously involved in. They get themselves into this cycle, and by the story of Sedom they clearly are having more than a hard time getting out of it. Bnei Yisrael do the same things over and over again. They are living peacefully and then find the need to disrupt the good order of things to worship idols. Then Hashem punishes them and they get attacked or oppressed. Finally Bnei Yisrael call out for help or do teshuva and Hashem sends them a navi to save them. This happens numerous times.

This reminds me of our story. We just learned about Sedom. The people of this city were completely corrupt. Our cycle in navi is not exactly the same but I think it had some overlapping with our learning in chumash.

The people in Sedom were completely immoral and unethical. They lacked tzedek and mishpat, which is what Hashem intended and expected them to have. When He saw that they were missing these traits He sent punishment. This is the reason Hashem destroyed the whole city. They needed to be punished.

In navi we have learned about many times that led to not destruction, but war or oppression. I think this is very interesting. When will this cycle of sin punishment end? Clearly it has not ended yet. Clearly we have not learned enough from our past. We are still living in exile. Mashiach has not come yet. When will it? Us living in exile, not having Mashiach is just a result of all the sins the Jewish people do daily. Luckily for us though, Hashem keeps giving us more and more chances, but when will the chances end? He destroyed Sedom and sent attackers and oppressors to the Jewish people many times before. All Hashem wants is a moral and ethical world with tzedek and mishpat. He has the power to destroy us just like He did with Sedom. Fortunately, He has not yet.