Vayeira 5786 – The Sedom Welfare System

The Mishna (Avos 5:10) tells us there are four types of people. One who says what’s mine is mine and yours is yours, is an average person. Some say, this is the characteristic of Sedom. One who says, mine is yours and yours is mine, a simpleton. One who says, mine is yours and yours is yours is righteous and one who says yours is mine and mine is mine is wicked.

The most striking of these four is the first. Somebody who is a private property absolutist. He believes that nobody has a right to his possessions and equally he does not ask for the possessions of the other. The two opinions in the Mishna paint completely opposed pictures of this attitude. The first opinion is that he is average, not generous perse, but nothing terrible. The second opinion is that this reflects the attitude of Sedom, a nasty inditement.

The Maharal on the Mishna explains that the key lies in the underlying cause of this person’s views. A person can have two contractionary attitudes because he is not passionate in either extreme. For example, a person can eat very healthily yet does zero exercise. Such a person isn’t a contradiction, they just have an average view towards their health. So too a person can be not interested in other people’s money and simultaneously keep a closed fist protecting theirs. They are just average. Not particularly greedy and by equal measure not generous.

However, the Maharal explains, you can have person who’s entire personally is self centered. Their only interest is their own personal wellbeing and success. Such a person can respect other’s rights, but only a means towards the end of them respecting their own rights. I can respect rule of law and not steal because I want to live in a low crime society.

This attitude was what was reflected in Sedom. They withheld not just charity but also trade with outsiders for fear that they would deplete the natural resources available in Sedom. Sedom did not ask for charity from others, but you’d better not dare ask from them.

Israel has a Capitalist economic system with a social welfare safety net. This is mirrored in most Western countries with broadly the same philosophy, but with differences in shades and applications. We respect individual property rights and view them as vital for maintaining the natural order and goodness of society. However, as the Mishna tells us, absolutism has a downside. We have to use our own material means and blessings to help others. One should not be stingy either out of apathy towards the needs of others nor as a tactic to enhance one’s own standing.

Israel, like many countries encourages charitable donations through giving tax credits of 35% for donations made to recognized charities. Additionally, for those who like a Segulah, the Yerushalmi says that giving Tzedkah is a segulah for avoiding taxes.

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Good Shabbos.