In this week’s parashah, Vayera, we read of one of the most moving moments in the Torah: Avraham Avinu standing before God, pleading on behalf of the people of Sodom and Amorah. He argues passionately for their survival—first for the sake of fifty righteous people, then forty-five, forty, thirty, twenty, and finally ten. Remarkably, God agrees each time.
Rashi (on Bereishit 18:24) explains that Avraham initially prayed for all five cities to be saved—ten righteous individuals per city. When he realized that there might not be enough righteous people to save them all, he tried to save as many as possible—four cities, three, two, or even one.
Yet, the Ramban (Nachmanides) raises a sharp question: if God agreed that fifty righteous people could save five cities, why would forty not save four? The ratio remains the same—ten per city! Why then does Avraham approach each new request with hesitation and awe, as though asking something new and uncertain?
The Ramban answers with a profound insight into human and spiritual nature: “Ko’ach ha-tzibbur gadol mikoch ha-yechidim” — the power of a group is greater than the sum of its individuals. When righteous people unite, their combined influence grows exponentially. Just as two people can lift together far more than what they could each lift alone, so too, the spiritual power of fifty righteous souls together far exceeds that of smaller groups.
Avraham understood that as the total number of tzaddikim decreased, their collective force—their ability to inspire, influence, and uplift others—would decline as well. That is why, before each new request, Avraham speaks with such humility: he is not simply reducing a number; he is acknowledging that every missing righteous person changes the spiritual equation.
But Avraham’s prayer also teaches us something even deeper. Notice his repeated phrasing: “Perhaps there are fifty righteous within the city” (Bereishit 18:24). Not “near” the city, not “around” the city—within it. And God answers him in the same way: “If I find… righteous within the city” (18:26).
Avraham is teaching us that righteousness in isolation is not enough. A tzaddik who lives a life of holiness apart from others may preserve his or her own soul, but cannot redeem a city. Only those who are “betoch ha’ir”—within the city, engaged with their neighbors, students, and community, have the power to transform society.
The salvation of Sodom depended not on the number of righteous people who existed, but on whether there were righteous people who cared enough to be involved.
Avraham’s message is timeless. He believed that even the most corrupt and broken society could be redeemed if there were just a few righteous people willing to live within it, to influence it from the inside. He refused to give up on Sodom—and if Avraham didn’t give up on them, how could we ever give up on one another?
As members of the Posnack community, we are called to be “tzaddikim betoch ha’ir”—righteous individuals within our world. This week, let’s each take one step to bring more light into our surroundings: reach out to a friend who needs encouragement, stand up for what’s right even when it’s hard, or bring more Torah and kindness into our classroom or home.
Because when even a few people choose to live as righteous influences within their communities, entire worlds can be saved.