That’s the feeling that explodes from the story of Sodom and Gomorrah.
We find it in Genesis 18:20: "The Lord said: Because the outcry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great and because their sin is very heavy." But it's not just about the sin itself. It's about how it grows.
Rabbi Ḥanina, in Bereshit Rabbah, that incredible collection of rabbinic interpretations of Genesis, points out the word "great" – raba in Hebrew – should be understood as "becoming greater." It wasn't just a single act, a moment in time. It was a constant, escalating accumulation of wickedness. Can you imagine that? A sin that just keeps getting bigger and bigger?
And here’s a fascinating connection made by Rabbi Berekhya in the name of Rabbi Yoḥanan. We know the generation of the Flood was judged with water, and the Sodomites with fire. But did you know the Rabbis considered if these punishments could be applied to both generations?
The reasoning is based on a verbal analogy. The word raba – "great" – appears in both the story of Sodom and Gomorrah, and in the story of Noah's Flood: "The wickedness of man was great [raba]" (Genesis 6:5). So, if the word "great" links them, could the punishments also be linked?
Both the generation of the Flood and the people of Sodom were punished with both water and fire.
It’s a powerful idea, isn’t it? That unchecked wrongdoing doesn't just stay put. It festers, it spreads, and it ultimately destroys. It's a reminder that we can’t just stand by and watch things get worse. We have a responsibility, perhaps even a sacred duty, to push back against the forces that lead to destruction. Because if we don't, who will? And what will become of us?