GEN757 … cruelty begets cruelty.   Even if at the outset it is just a modicum of cruelty, in the end it will grow, as the Seforno teaches in Parshas Noach, in his commentary on [this verse], “And Hashem descended to see.” He writes: The expression “descended to see” is said of God, may He be blessed, when the subject under discussion does not yet deserve to be punished at that particular time; it is only on account of the degeneracy he will ultimately be drawn to. [In other words, the word “descend” means “descending in time,” that is, looking down the road into his future.] Such is the case of the “rebellious son,” regarding whom our Sages taught Sanhedrin 72a ‘The Torah foresaw his eventual end.’  [According to the Talmud, the passage in Deuteronomy 21:18-21) calling for the rebellious son to be killed was only intended as a moral lesson, to nip evil behavior in the bud before it degenerates into something far worse.] This is similarly true with regard to the city of Sodom, about which the Torah states Genesis 18:21, “I will descend and see.” For in truth, their wickedness at that time was not any worse than any of the other heathen nations, that they should deserve the punishment they received in this world—with the sole exception of their cruelty to the poor, which ultimately led to utter depravity, as it is written Ezekiel 16:49 “Behold, this was the iniquity of your sister Sodom…She did not strengthen the hand of the poor and need.”  This was also true of the Jewish nation’s punishment of exile, as the Torah states, “I shall see what their end will be.”  [Deuteronomy 32:20]  Thus, according to the Seforno, it was inevitable in all these cases that their limited cruelty would ultimately worsen and develop into outright cruelty and depravity.  In the case of Sodom, this notion also clears up an apparent contradiction between the statement in Ezekiel, which seems to imply that the people of Sodom merely sinned in that they “did not strengthen the hand of the poor and need,” and the Talmudic lesson in Sanhedrin 109b which indicates that Sodom’s cruelty far exceeded a mere failure to give charity to the poor.  In fact, they actually went so far as to brutally torture a young girl who was caught giving bread to the poor!  The Seforno therefore explains that this is the meaning of the verse, “I will descend and see” – namely, I will look down into the future.  Even though their cruelty at the present moment is only manifest by the fact that they do not give bread to the poor, that cruelty will ultimately rise to the level described in the Talmudic example of the young girl who was tortured for daring to give bread to the poor.  Because of this natural tendency for cruelty that is left unchecked to grow ever stronger and more prevalent, it is of critical importance to denounce it immediately, before it is allowed to poison the public ethic. EYES 207-8