Vayeira 18:26 · unit 1

Parashas Vayeira · Passuk 18:26

The Complete Passuk

וַיֹּ֣אמֶר יְהֹוָ֔ה אִם־אֶמְצָ֥א בִסְדֹ֛ם חֲמִשִּׁ֥ים צַדִּיקִ֖ם בְּת֣וֹךְ הָעִ֑יר וְנָשָׂ֥אתִי לְכׇל־הַמָּק֖וֹם בַּעֲבוּרָֽם׃

And Hashem said, “If I find in Sedom fifty righteous within the city, I will spare the whole place for their sake.”

Chabad / Judaica Press

Source Citation

Torah Temimah points to Sanhedrin 99b.

TT lemma: בעבורם.

Sefaria — Sanhedrin 99b

Core Text of Chazal

Core Text
בַּעֲבוּרָם. מְלַמֵּד שֶׁהַצַּדִּיקִים מְגִנִּים לָעוֹלָם.

English: “For their sake.” This teaches that the righteous protect the world.

On the daf / in context: The willingness of Hashem to spare an entire city for the sake of a small number of righteous people is the classic proof that the presence of tzaddikim shields the larger community.

Type of Learning

Derash on the verse (Bavli sugya) — not a formal named middah of the 13. The conditional promise is generalized into a principle of protection.

What Is Learned

The righteous protect the world; even a minority of fifty could have saved all of Sedom.