“Shall I conceal from Abraham what I am doing?
genesis 18:17
the vayeira torah portion famously confronts “the loop.” governments, businesses, families and relationships have their “loop” moments. both trust and the stability of the relationship are at stake.
building or maintaining relationships can require bringing someone “into the loop.” there are many happenings in day to day living which can be “loop” moments. “by the way, i am going to be out of town this weekend” or “i am thinking about changing jobs” are examples. they evidence a special bond, a trust, or a concern.
in vayeira, the master of the universe debates as to whether to disclose to abraham his intentions to destroy sodom and gomorah: “and the lord said, “shall i conceal from abraham what i am doing? and abraham will become a great and powerful nation, and all the nations of the world will be blessed in him. for i have known him because he commands his sons and his household after him, that they should keep the way of the lord to perform righteousness and justice, in order that the lord bring upon abraham that which he spoke concerning him.” genesis 18:17-19
in this moment, god knows that the bond was in the balance. the values of righteousness and justice were at threat. how could abraham reconcile the master’s act in terms of righteousness and justice if he was out of the loop? how could he explain it to others?
the unforeseen consequence of bringing abraham into the loop was that a sense of righteousness and justice were addressed. abraham negotiated on with the master on behalf of the righteous of sodom and gemorrah. god, in this instance, was forced to address this uncomfortable topic head on.
“loop” matters like this happen at times. ukraine-russia war immigration to israel brought forward stalled ethiopian immigration. albeit the war constituted a crisis, there were others who were waiting their turn. with israel minister in charge of these issues of ethiopian decent, a voice was present to address the immigration queue problem. many countries face issues of how a queue should be and queue jumping. a possible solution could be diverting or obtaining additional resources to speed up the ethiopian queue.
the unforeseen consequence with respect to “the loop” is that problems and moral issues may need to be addressed. the additional person can bring a new perspective or challenge the plan. due to this pandora’s box possibility, it takes courage to bring someone into “the loop.”
be well!!
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