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Before Hashem sent the angels to destroy Sodom, He felt it would be proper to inform Avraham what He was doing. As a result, Avraham tried to defend Sodom and its neighboring areas from being wiped out, but to no avail. Why did Hashem feel compelled to tell Avraham Avinu of His plans?
The Torah writes in this week’s portion of Vayera, “And Hashem said, ‘Shall I conceal from Avraham what I do? Now that Avraham is surely to become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall bless themselves by him. For I have loved him because he commands his children and his household after him that they keep the way of Hashem, doing charity and justice, in order that Hashem might then bring upon Avraham that which He had spoken of him'” (Breishis 18:17-19). The Rashbam explains, Hashem was saying “How can I hide from Avraham the fact that I want to destroy Sodom? And I know that his children will uphold the way of Hashem, and they will merit that which was spoken to Avraham, to give them the Land of Canaan. And these cities are part of the inheritance of his children as it writes, ‘And the Canaanite boundary extended from Zidon going to Gerar, as far as Gaza; going to Sodom, Gomorrah and Admah, and tzevoi’im, as far as Lasha’ (Breishis 10:19). And how can I destroy his land or the land of his children without his knowledge?” (Click here for Hebrew text.)
The state of Sodom was a very dire one, which Avraham knew about. When he split from Lot, he purposely did not go anywhere near Sodom as we saw in last week’s Torah portion of Lech Licha, “Avram dwelled in the Land of Canaan while Lot dwelled in the cities of the plain and pitches tents as far as Sodom. Now the people of Sodom were wicked and sinful toward Hashem, exceedingly” (Breishis 13:12, 13). Surely Avraham, who was a tremendous believer in Hashem and trusted Hashem in whatever He did, if he had been asked to would have accepted, without any qualms whatsoever, the destruction of that area of the land after the fact. If it is deserving, and Hashem’s Will, there is nothing to doubt or question. As for his descendants, who the Rashbam attests have also followed in the ways of Hashem, they would no doubt accept Hashem’s decree. In fact they would not know what they were missing, hundreds, and now thousands of years after Sodom’s destruction. Sodom and its surrounding areas are today the area of the Dead Sea, and there are many rich minerals that come from there and are sold throughout the world, Dead Sea salts . It has become an international business and even a tourist trap, so even in the eyes of Avraham’s descendants there would be no reason to think they would be upset or question Hashem if Hashem would have just exacted strict justice, destroying the land, without first informing Avraham Avinu. If that is the case, what was Hashem worried about? Why did He feel compelled to tell Avraham Avinu what He, the Master Of The Universe, who is in control of everything and only gave the inheritance of the Land of Canaan to Avraham and His descendants as a deposit for safe keeping to take care of it and treat it well, but of course everything belongs to Hashem?
It would seem, though, that because Avraham and his descendants were His trusted servants and children, therefore it would be a lack of derech eretz, proper manners, to not be transparent to someone who trusts you and is totally devoted to you.