“And Avraham spoke up and said, “Behold I desire to speak to my Master and I am but dust and ashes.” (Beraishis 18:27)
These words of Avraham reverberate through history. They stand as a paradigm of humility, where Avraham compares himself to these two seemingly lowly items. In return, Hashem gave Avraham’s children two mitzvos: the ashes of Parah Aduma and the dust of the Sotah. (Sotah 17a, Chulin 88b)
The Beis HaLevi comments that dust is currently nothing, but could potentially be used to form something. Ashes, on the other hand, used to be something, but are now spent and unable to be used for anything meaningful. Avraham felt himself similar to the lesser aspect of each, and in return, Hashem gave us these mitzvos in which both dust and ashes are used to either clarify a woman’s pure status, or purify someone who is not pure.
An obvious question arises. If Avraham felt so humble, what gave him the boldness to begin to bargain with Hashem for the lives of the people of Sodom? The wording of the posuk strengthens the question. Avraham uses the word “hoalti,” which means I want, or I am pleased to, speak to Hashem. Shouldn’t his humility override this desire?
Additionally, the conjunction “and” is used here, “and I am dust and ashes,” instead of “but,” where he would have said, “I want to speak to Hashem BUT I am dust and ashes,” which would more closely comport with the general agreement that this was an expression of Avraham’s humility. A look at Rashi gives us an insight into Avraham’s statement, and an answer to our questions.
Rashi tells us, “I was already worthy of becoming dust [by being killed] at the hands of the kings, and ashes [by being thrown in the furnace] at the hands of Nimrod, were it not for Your mercy that stood by me.” Avraham acknowledged that he had only survived these dire circumstances through Hashem’s kindness. But he was saved.
This is why Avraham was willing to fight for the people of Sodom. “Master of the Universe,” he said, “You saved me from death on multiple occasions so that I might serve you. You showed Your mercy to me, and kept me alive. Was it not for a reason?”
What gave Avraham the courage to stand up and plead for mercy for those who didn’t deserve it was the very fact that Avraham had been saved himself! He understood that in Hashem’s world, even the sinner is given a chance to repent and be saved. He (in his humility) was living proof of this! If Hashem had kept him alive, it was for a purpose, perhaps this one. This, then, was what empowered him to speak.
In return, Avraham’s children were granted these two mitzvos, the ashes of the Para Aduma and the dust of the Sota, which give people a second chance to turn their lives around and live.
A well-known speaker started off his seminar by holding up a $20 bill. In the room of 200, he asked, “Who would like this $20 bill?” Hands started going up. He proceeded to crumple up the $20 dollar bill and asked, “Who still wants it?” There were still just as many takers.
“Well,” he replied, “What if I do this?” He dropped it on the ground and started to grind it into the floor with his shoe. He picked it up, now crumpled and dirty. “Who still wants it?” All hands went into the air.
“My friends,” he said, “we have all learned a very valuable lesson. No matter what I did to the money, you still wanted it because it did not decrease in value. It was still worth $20. Many times in our lives, we are dropped, crumpled, and ground into the dirt by the decisions we make and the circumstances that come our way. We feel as though we are worthless. But, the truth is, no matter what has happened or what will happen, you will never lose your value. Dirty or clean, crumpled or finely creased, you are still priceless.”
©2025 – J. Gewirtz
