Nitzavim: Sulfur and Fire Out of Heaven

Sep 21

Original author - Shai Spetgang, edited by the GrowTorah Summer Inchworms 2021, and

Shoshi Ehrenreich

The elements that Hashem has created for the world are varied and complex: vital and useful in certain concentrations and contexts, harmful in others. Our parsha, Parshat Netzavim gives us the opportunity to focus on just one: sulfur.

In low concentrations, sulfur can be used in medical treatments: it can alleviate diseases and agitations related to burning in the skin, heart, and joints.[1] However, in vast quantities and high concentrations, sulfur is very destructive. It has the ability to acidify arable land, making it unfit for growing crops. When it is found in rainwater, it changes the pH level and, therefore, detrimentally affects plant growth.[2]

In this week’s parsha, sulfur appears in a reference to the story of S'dom and Amorah:

“Sulfur and salt, a conflagration of its entire land, it cannot be sown and it cannot sprout and no grass shall rise up on it; like the upheaval of S'dom and Amorah, Admah and Zeboim which Hashem overturned in his anger and his wrath.”[3]

Back in Bereisheit, the Torah described the process of S'dom’s upheaval: “And Hashem had rained upon S'dom and upon Amorah sulfur and fire, from Hashem, out of heaven. He overturned these cities and the entire plain, and all the inhabitants of the cities and the vegetation of the soil.”[4] The Torah tells us that the sulfur and fire came down at the same time. We know from the scientific properties of sulfur that it burns due to its acidity. The sulfur destroyed S'dom and Amorah, which started out as the most fertile areas of the land, making them desolate and infertile.

Rashi teaches that what came down on S'dom and Amorah was at first rain, and only then sulfur and fire.[5] In modern times the combination of these elements is reminiscent of acid rain. As water evaporates, it combines with acidic additives, including sulfur dioxide from car exhaust, factory smokestacks, and coal-generating plants during raindrop formation to make acid rain. While the repairing of this effect does take place naturally over great expanses of time, it affects the food and livelihood of entire regions, and can even compromise human health and safety.[6]

Unfortunately, our current status quo regarding acid rain is not the only similarity we share with S’dom. The Navi Yechezkel tells us that S’dom’s mistake was neglecting the needs of her citizens.[7] Our society’s pollution has impacted those that fall within and beyond our border delineations. In Scandinavia, for example, acid rain falls as a result of global pollution—not just their own—and has caused some lakes to lose their fish populations.[8]

The more we look towards and use alternative fuels and renewable sources of energy, the less acid rain we will experience in the future. Investing in cleaner energy, for ourselves and our whole world, is a critical act of sensitivity for our fellow human beings that did not exist in S'dom and Amorah.

This trait shows an ability to care about that which is beyond oneself. The problem of acid rain is a problem that stems from a lack of concern for the next person down the ecological line, whether on our home front or across the globe, in less developed countries.

There is a concept of midah k’neged midah - a punishment fitting the crime. This was the case in S'dom and Amorah. They did not care for outsiders, and therefore they were bombarded with a substance that was as harsh to them as they were to others. May we be blessed to care deeply about our effects on others, and through this holy concern merit to clear the skies and breathe the nourishing air Hashem created.

Suggested Action Items:

Walk, cycle, take public transit, or carpool to reduce urban air pollution. If you are going to buy a personal vehicle, make sure it has low NOx emissions, and that you properly maintain your vehicle. You can also promote and invest in alternative energy projects that do not cause sulfur and other harmful substances to be released into the atmosphere.

Original Canfei Nesharim Sponsorships:

Parsha Nitzavim is sponsored by Dr. Theodore and Sissy Geballe.

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Notes:

[1] See here for more on Sulfur’s use in medicine.

[2] Sulfuric dioxide forms acid rain - see here for information on the effects of acid rain.

[3] Devarim 29:22. (All Tanach translations from ArtScroll Mesorah.)

[4] Bereishit 19:24

[5] Rashi on Bereishit 19:24, based on the Mechilta Beshalach, Shira, 5. The verb used in the verse, himtir, is related to the noun matar – rain. It would have been expected to read hishlich, or cast down, when referring to sulfur and fire. (Mizrachi; Sifsei Chachamim)

[6] See here for more information on acid rain.

[7] Yechezkel 16:49

[8] See here for an article on Norway’s fish populations.

[9]Babylonian Talmud, Tractate Sanhedrin 104b (translation from the Hebrew Midrashic text by the author of this article).