Tonya M
El Paso Texas, USA
Inquiry: Shalom Yirmeyahu ben David,

A few things I've learned from this weeks parahsah,

1. Based on bә-Reish•itꞋ 18:19, Hashem expected that mishpat and tsedaqah be passed down to all generations starting with Yitsak. Witnessed in beit shem 8:15, yeshayahu 58:2 and yiremyahu 23:5.

   

   
   

   Everyone please note: My response is running way too close to Shab•âtꞋ . After 0800, Y^әru•shâ•laꞋ yim time, on Yom Shein•iꞋ  each week, I'm going to have to ignore submissions dealing with the Pâ•râsh•atꞋ  Shâ•vuꞋ a. (Submissions on other issues will still be accepted – though if late in the week, I may not get to them until the following week. The Pâ•râsh•atꞋ  Shâ•vuꞋ a should always be for the upcoming Shab•âtꞋ , not the previous Shab•âtꞋ .)

   What is "beit shem" (house of a name)? Be sure to check the glossary entries to double-check both that you have the right term and that it is spelled according to the examples in NQ. This will help you later, making it easier for you to relate to and remember עברית spellings.

   Readers can use an apostrophe where I use the technically (scholarly) more proper schwa (^Ə = ְ ).

2. Apparently Sodom lacked tsedaqah to have any influence on the people of that city and also mishpat as told in yiremeyahu 23:14 and yechezkel 16:49.

   

   
   

   I think you meant Lot, rather than S^Ədom. (Non-computer geeks can use the spelling S'dom.)

3. I see the maturity of Avraham in Hashem when he was told to kill his only son. He did not question or try to reason with Hashem like he did with Sodom.

   

   
   

   If Av•râ•hâmꞋ  did not try to question or reason, they why did he "rationalize" that he should kill the ram instead? Why did he not, robot-like, kill Yitz•khâqꞋ ? How does "a ma•lâkhꞋ  out of the heavens saying…" square with the Ha•lâkh•âhꞋ  to ignore any בַּת קוֹל that is incompatible with Tor•âhꞋ ? If י--ה told him to kill his son, who is authorized to countermand that order? Did י--ה contradict Himself (and, therefore, is not Perfect)? What is the explanation? Food for thought while examining the Artscroll "Bereshis" commentary and the NQ commentary.