Telushkin uses this idea from Pirkei Avot, as a jumping off point for today’s lesson. Lot was strongly influenced by his neighbors in Sodom - although he refused the crowd’s demands to have their way with his guests (who happened to be messengers from God), he did offer his two virgin daughters to the crowd. And then there was Korach, who was able to roundup 250 leaders of the tribe of Reuven to rebel against Moses and Aaron - that didn’t go so well for them. Peer pressure is something that we are all aware of. But Telushkin makes an intriguing statement, “…evil tends to be a more powerful influence than good.”
That made me pause and go, “Hmmm.” Really? Is that really true? Maybe evil is more powerful than good (certainly a few armed terrorists can hijack a much larger group). Maybe evil is somehow more compelling than good? But what does that say about the good options that are provided to people? Is it naive to think that good can be more powerful than evil? We certainly see some cases where “good prevails” - this week’s celebration of the 50th anniversary of The Freedom Marchs would be a relevant example. But good never seems to prevail without a lot of pain and a long experience of evil. Is there something innate in human nature that is drawn to evil. Or if evil is a bit hyperbolic, why are we so often drawn to the things that we know are bad for us? THAT is a topic that I hope Telushkin explores in greater depth.
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