In Chapter 5 of Pirkei Avot, we learn of a series of groups of ten generations during which Hashem did not destroy the world, in spite of the evident justice of such an outcome.
The ten generations from Noach to Avraham teach us how patient and slow to anger Hashem is, until Avraham comes along to take the reward of all of them (Avot 5:3). This is a strange formulation. On the surface we’d expect Avraham to expiate the iniquity if, for example, his righteousness is relevant to the forbearance of Hashem in not annihilating the wicked who came before him. Also, the Mishna is very specific that Avraham receives the reward “of all of them,” and not more generally “their reward.”
The writing of Rabbi Menachem Azaria di Fano sheds a fascinating light on this Mishna. Rabbi Menachem, or Rema of Fano as his name is often abbreviated, was the disciple of the Ari’s student Yisrael Sarug, and he was chiefly responsible for the dissemination of the Torah of the Arizal in Europe at the beginning of the Renaissance. In the Ashkenazi world, the study of Jewish mysticism would be profoundly different if not for the legacy of his teachings. His principal work of original philosophy and chidushei Torah is the collection of essays known as Asara Ma’amarot, or ten sayings, in a wink to the ten declarations of the Creator at Har Sinai.
In the first of these, the Investigation of Judgment (foreshadowing Kant’s Critique of Judgment by a generation or more), Rema of Fano examines our Mishna through a systematic and utilitarian lens. He asks what it means for Avraham to receive the reward of all the wicked generations that preceded him, and by what mechanism is this achieved. In the limited space available to us, we will summarize some of his conclusions; those who find this interesting are encouraged to read the essay in length, principally the latter chapters of the third part of this work.
Rema of Fano begins with a discussion of taxation and appropriation by foreign governments in language that foreshadows conclusions we will recognize from the disciple of his disciples, Ramchal. He explains, giving references from Scripture, that all the money that is taken from the Jews in every generation, in the form of taxation and expropriation, is considered as tzedakah, and counted in our favor as the performance of a mitzvah. This is because insofar as the nations of the world perform the will of Hashem and fulfill the purposes that have been given to them throughout history, they are entitled to an earthly reward. In most cases they do not earn any reward beyond this world. Thus, we, the nation of Israel, leverage our earthly goods against the eternal reward that is more valuable to us. We serve as Hashem’s intermediaries in enriching the nations on earth, and we collect the reward that might otherwise be due to them in the next world. In this way, as the descendants of Avraham and on his behalf. we receive the reward of all of them.
But perhaps more poignantly, Rema of Fano investigates the ethical or philosophical problem that emerges from the Covenant Between the Parts (Brit bein haBetarim) that Hashem made with Avraham, as described in Bereishit. It is difficult to understand what benefit was made apparent to Avraham in hearing that his children would be enslaved and persecuted for countless generations under four different empires. For most of us, this isn’t the sort of promise we’d be looking for before entering into an arrangement with an omnipotent deity.
Rema of Fano explains that in light of the fact that the Tower of Babel was built in Avraham’s lifetime, and he was a witness to the growing decadence and violent antipathy of the people of his generation, Avraham would be justified in concluding there was little hope for the future of humanity or for the prevailing justice of the Divine order. Avraham was a righteous individual in a mass of wicked depraved individuals and civilizations, and he was one single light in the face of a growing darkness. Rema of Fano cites in this regard the statement of Chazal that all of the righteousness that might by natural law have been distributed throughout those generations was placed in Avraham.
On the other hand, it was indeed necessary for the flaws and transgressions of the generations to be expiated through Avraham, and this work was spread out over multiple generations of his descendants – up to and including ourselves. Avraham recognized that it would be necessary for humanity to be reformed and to do penance in order to be redeemed, and Hashem revealed to him a mechanism for achieving this. So, for example when he splits the animals prior to receiving his vision and the concomitant promises of Hashem, these animals are the same species of animals that the Torah prescribes for the sacrificial service that would be performed in the Beit HaMikdash to be built by his offspring, may it be speedily rebuilt in our lifetimes.
In every generation, Rema of Fano explains, there are wicked people and there are the good people that carry on the work of Avraham our forefather. This same calculation that we addressed earlier is at work for all people at all times: The righteous earn the eternal reward that is squandered by the wicked, and in many cases they purchase this merit with the earthly wealth they might have otherwise earned. There is a clear calculation being performed and adjudicated by the Highest Court, and nothing is ever lost or overlooked. This is why Avraham receives the reward “of all of them,” and not simply “their reward.” There is detailed accounting going on behind the scenes.
However, apart from the purely transactional aspect of this arrangement, there is also a master plan that isn’t always apparent to us. Rema of Fano brings several examples of this but he concludes with the destruction of Sodom. Of course, as we know, Avraham pled for the salvation of the city and to spare its inhabitants. And of course, the dramatic destruction of these cities and this entire civilization is somewhat unique in the history of the world, as we don’t usually find Hashem so utterly obliterating an entire society in that way, miraculously and dramatically. There are few other examples we can point to from history. Rema of Fano explains that what was unique about Sodom and Amora was that these cities were situated in the Land of Israel, and although it would be a long time before Israel would come into our inheritance, by then – if allowed to survive – the inhabitants of these cities would represent a mortal threat to us – as well as a moral one.
Avraham couldn’t have understood this, but Hashem understood that such a corrupt and hateful society couldn’t be allowed to flourish in the Land of Israel, and that we could never achieve our true spiritual destiny when faced with such an existential threat. So in spite of Avraham’s entreaties on behalf of his fellow humans, Hashem understood that it was ultimately in his interest to wipe out this nation of evildoers, and He acted accordingly.
