OCTOBER 21 • 2021 | 41

Rafal 95th
E

leanor Rafal, a resident 
at Hechtman Apts. II 
in West Bloomfield, 
recently celebrated her 95th 
birthday at a family picnic with 
her children, stepchildren, 
grandchildren and great-
grandchildren. Family came 
from around the country to 
honor this very special woman. 

HOW TO SUBMIT ANNOUNCEMENTS
Mazel Tov! announcements are welcomed for members of the 
Jewish community. Anniversaries, engagements and weddings 
with a photo (preferably color) can appear at a cost of $18 each. 
Births are $10. There is no charge for bar/bat mitzvahs or for 
special birthdays starting at the 90th.
For information, contact Editorial Assistant Sy Manello at 
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or for a mailed or emailed copy of guidelines.

her mitzvah project, she 
raised funds for Love 
Never Ends the Alexa 
Rose Weiss Foundation, 
which helps families 
affected by pediatric brain 
tumors and childhood 
cancers.

Callie Nan 
Weinbaum, 
daughter of 
Karen and 
Brandon 
Weinbaum, 
became a bat mitzvah at 
Temple Israel in West 
Bloomfield on Saturday, 

Oct. 16, 2021. She is the 
grandchild of Esther and 
Neal Zalenko, and Sheila 
Weinbaum and James 
Prenzlauer. 
Callie is a student 
at Norup International 
School in Oak Park. She 
has been volunteering 
with a dog care facility 
to learn about working 
with dogs as part of her 
mitzvah project. 

SPIRIT

Societal Power
O

ne of the central les-
sons of the past 18 
months has been that 
positive societal outcomes can 
only be achieved through sys-
temic, collective effort. 
While individual efforts may 
have a direct positive impact 
on individual lives, achieving a 
positive outcome for society is 
only possible when each indi-
vidual acts in the best interest 
of society, and not just himself. 
In Vayera, we find a story 
which confirms this lesson: 
The choices we make as indi-
viduals have limited power if 
not reflected by society. 
Among the many moments 
of Abraham’s life captured in 
this portion, in the negotiation 
over and subsequent destruc-
tion of Sodom and Gemorah, 
we find a story which tragically 
confirms society’s power over 
the actions of any individual. 

After delivering their mes-
sage about the future arrival of 
Isaac to Sarah, the two angels 
leave Abraham’s house and 
travel to Sodom, where 
they are greeted at the 
gates by Abraham’s neph-
ew, Lot. Lot’s eager hospi-
tality to the angels stands 
in stark contrast to the 
anticipated wickedness of 
the city. Because Lot and 
his family are only four, 
Sodom will fall short of 
the 10 righteous people 
needed to secure its sal-
vation, assuming more 
righteous citizens are not 
somehow discovered. 
The question of the nature of 
Sodom’s wickedness permeates 
this narrative. Could any place 
truly be so pervasively wicked 
as to deserve such complete 
destruction?
In a commentary, Nechama 

Leibovitch quotes the 
Midrashic collection of Pirkei 
D’Rabbi Eliezer, which empha-
sizes this very question. The 
Midrash states, “They 
issued a proclamation 
in Sodom, saying: 
Everyone who strength-
ens the hand of the poor 
and the needy with a 
loaf of bread shall be 
burnt by fire!” 
Leibovitch explains 
that Sodom’s wickedness 
was not just a reflection 
of the evil deeds com-
mitted by each citizen, 
but of the way that 
cruelty and indifference 
were enshrined into the very 
laws of the city. Sodom system-
atically limited the ways its citi-
zens could care for each other. 
Values of empathy, kind-
ness, altruism and care for the 
vulnerable can only come to 

define a society if those values 
are woven systematically into 
the very fabric of that society. 
Lot’s generous actions, howev-
er well intentioned, were not 
nearly enough to save a city 
intent on stamping out gen-
erosity, even after Abraham’s 
tenacious negotiating. The 
citizens of Sodom were irre-
deemable because they allowed 
their very system to become 
rotten, and that system had to 
be destroyed. 
We have the power to act 
together, each day, to embed 
our highest values and best 
inclinations into the very fabric 
of our society. That is what 
differentiates us from Sodom 
and makes us worthy of second 
chances in the face of our mis-
takes and imperfections. 

Rebecca Strobehn teaches Jewish 

Studies at the Frankel Jewish Academy.

TORAH PORTION

Rebecca 
Strobehn

Parshat 

Vayera: 

Genesis 

18:1-22:24; II 

Kings 4;1-37.

