Vayeira 18:28 · EXTRA

Supplementary classical material; Torah Temimah lists no citation under this passuk.

The Complete Passuk

אוּלַ֥י יַחְסְר֛וּן חֲמִשִּׁ֥ים הַצַּדִּיקִ֖ם חֲמִשָּׁ֑ה הֲתַשְׁחִ֥ית בַּחֲמִשָּׁ֖ה אֶת־כָּל־הָעִֽיר׃ וַיֹּ֙אמֶר֙ לֹ֣א אַשְׁחִ֔ית אִם־אֶמְצָ֣א שָׁ֔ם אַרְבָּעִ֖ים וַחֲמִשָּֽׁה׃

“Perhaps the fifty righteous will lack five; will You destroy the whole city for lack of five?” And He said, “I will not destroy if I find there forty-five.”

Source Citation

Rashi on Genesis 18:28 (and parallel midrashic tradition on the descending numbers).

Core Text of Chazal

Core Text

אוּלַי יַחְסְרוּן. אָמַר אַבְרָהָם, בַּחֲמִשָּׁה לֹא תַשְׁחִית, כְּלוֹמַר צַדִּיקֵי הַדּוֹר עִם אַרְבָּעִים וַחֲמִשָּׁה, אוֹ שֶׁמָּא תְּסַיֵּעַ הַזְּכוּת שֶׁל שְׁלֹשֶׁת הָאָבוֹת עִם אַרְבָּעִים וַחֲמִשָּׁה.

English: “Perhaps they will lack.” Avraham said: for five You will not destroy — meaning the righteous of the generation together with forty-five, or perhaps the merit of the three Patriarchs will assist together with forty-five.

On the daf / in context: The stepwise reduction of the number of righteous is read as Avraham’s careful negotiation, invoking both living righteous and ancestral merit so that judgment may be averted.

Type of Learning

Derash on the verse (Rashi / Midrash) — not a formal named middah of the 13. The descending numbers are treated as a deliberate bargaining strategy that relies on zechus Avos.

What Is Learned

Advocacy for a city may rest on the merit of even a reduced number of righteous, and on the enduring credit of the Patriarchs, teaching the power of intercession and collective merit.