GEN1072 A man may not compel his wife to move from one place to another and even from a less desirable location to a better one; for relocation, even to a better place, puts one’s body to a test, as it is written: “Lest evil overtake me” Yerushalmi, Kethuvoth 13:10  TEMIMAH-GEN 89-90

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GEN1073 The Rambam wrote, “It is possible that a man will commit a severe transgression or a myriad of transgressions, until judgment demands, before the True Judge, that the punishment for the sins … will be that he be prevented from repentance.” We see from the Rambam that sometimes the severity of the sin is the cause for the sinner to be prevented from performing teshuvah, as the verse says, “One sin destroys an abundance of good” Koheles 9:18. On the other hand, sometimes the quantity of sin causes the prevention of teshuvah, for the sins multiply on themselves. The Talmud (Shabbos 10b) alludes to this: “Let man always dwell in a recently populate city, for since the city is new, the sins are few.” As the verse says, ‘Behold now, this city is near (kerovah) to flee to, and it is a little one’ [this verse]. What is meant by kerovah? Since it is recently populated its sins are few.” This teaches that quantities of sins, which are compounded, cause much culpability.  OHRYIS 541-2

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GEN1074 The Bible also believes that a society’s lack of charity makes it worthy of destruction.   Thus, although there are few details in the Torah about the condemned city of Sodom (except for its extreme inhospitality to visitors, see Genesis 19:4-10, later biblical teachings interpret God’s decision to destroy it as due in part to its lack of generosity: “She [Sodom] and her daughters had plenty of bread and untroubled tranquility; yet she did not support the poor and needy” Ezekiel 16:49   TELVOL2:160

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GEN1075 The Rabbis describe the evil city of Sodom as filled with dishonest judges.   They tell a story about Eliezer, Abraham’s righteous servant, who, while visiting Sodom, was beaten severely; his assailant even drew blood.  Yet when he brought the man into court, the judge ordered Eliezer to pay his attacker for having bled him (bleeding sometimes was performed as a medical procedure on sick patients).  In a rare Midrash with a humorous ending, the Rabbis report that the infuriated Eliezer picked up a stone, threw it at the judge, and opened a big wound.   He then said to the judge: Now, go and pay the fee you owe me for bleeding you to the man who attacked me.”   Sanhedrin 109b; Bialik and Ravnitzky, Book of Legends, 36.  TELVOL2:422

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GEN1076 See [[EXOD431]] Exodus 20:12 honor TZADIK 109

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GEN1077 R. Chiyya b. Avin said in the name of R. Yehoshua b. Karcha: “One should always take the initiative in the dong of a mitzvah, for because of the one night in which the elder sister preceded the younger [in living with their father for the perpetuation of mankind], she merited putting forward four generations of royalty in Israel before her sister” [Oved (son of Ruth the Moabitess), Yishai, David, Solomon – her sister not entering royalty until Rechovom, the son of Solomon by Na’amah the Ammonitess]. Nazir 23b TEMIMAH-GEN 92

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GEN1078 It was taught: “R. Chiyya b. Abba said in the name of R. Yochanan: Whence do we derive that the Holy One Blessed be He does not withhold reward even for discretion in the use of words?   For in relation to the elder daughter, who called her son ‘Moav’ [lit., ‘from my father’], the Holy One Blessed be He commanded Deuteronomy 2:9: ‘Do not besiege Moav, not incite a war against them’ – it is not permitted to war against them, but it is permitted to subjugate them; whereas in relation to the younger daughter who called her son [euphemistically] ‘Ben Ami’ [‘son of my nation’], the Holy One Blessed be He commanded Moses Deuteronomy 2:19: ‘Do not besiege them [Ammon] and do not incite them [at all]’ – it is not even permitted to subjugate them” Nazir 23a TEMIMAH-GEN 92-93

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GEN1079 [You deserve to die] at the hands of man.   And though it is written Genesis 6: “And I also withheld you from sinning against Me,” even so, his sin is subject to human justice.   This is similar to the case of Joseph, where even though he says Genesis 39:9: “And I will sin to God” [by living with the wife of Potiphar], [it is obvious that] his sin is subject to. Human justice. [From here it is to be derived that one who commits a sin, assuming (consciously) that he is not sinning, is close to sinning intentionally] Makkoth 9a TEMIMAH-GEN 93

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GEN1085 Prayer that asks God to heal someone from sickness is something desirable in Judaism and can be found numerous times in the Jewish Bible.   … God told Avimelech in a dream to return Sara to her husband Abraham, and Abraham will pray for his recovery.   AMJV 102

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GEN1082 If one has caused anguish to another and has harassed him, embarrassed him, or spoken badly of him, he cannot attain atonement without [first] asking forgiveness from him.  So our Sages, of blessed memory, said Baba Kama 92a: Even though he has monetarily compensated the other for his shame and the suffering inflicted through beating, he is not atoned for these wrongs until he asks his forgiveness, i.e. even after returning Abraham’s wife, Avimelech needed forgiveness.   Abraham’s willingness to pray for Avimelech testifies to his having forgiven him.  (Peirush Mar”d)  GATES 74-5

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