Rabbi Ari Kahn
Parashat Vayera 5776
The Chief Rabbi Of Sodom
When Terach began his
trek from his hometown, his destination was the Land of Canaan. The Torah never
explains this migration, never gives us any insight into Terach’s motivation. The
only information we are offered is the make-up of the travelling party: Terach
uproots his son Avraham, his daughter-in-law Sarah, and his orphaned grandson
Lot, only to stop short of his stated destination and remain in Charan.
At some later juncture,
Avraham heeds the Divine call and heads for an unknown destination – which
turns out, ironically, to be the land of Canaan. Although Terach remains in
Charan, Lot tags along with Avraham and Sarah. Once again, we have no
information regarding Lot’s reasons for this second relocation: Was he merely
an adventurer, always eager to explore new lands and new cultures? Perhaps Avraham’s
personal charisma or the holiness and spirituality of Avraham’s household
attracted Lot, or perhaps Lot simply choose to maintain his ties with his
closest living relative, his sister Sarah.[1]
Whatever his motivation
may have been, as they continue their travels it becomes clear that Avraham and
Lot are incompatible, and that they must part ways. Avraham suggests that Lot establish
his own homestead, offering him the length and breadth of the Promised Land.
Instead, Lot choses neither the north nor the south, as Avraham had suggested,
opting instead to travel east and settle in Sodom, a place that reminds him of
Egypt. [2]
What
is the nature of this similarity? The
Torah describes the terrain and the abundance of water, but was there something
more about Sodom that attracted Lot? Could
he perhaps have been nostalgic for the things they had recently experienced in
the kingdom of the pharaohs? Although their visit there had made Lot and
Avraham rich men, they had just barely escaped intact from the corruption and
immorality, from the system of power and cruelty that had nearly cost Avraham
his life and Sarah her freedom and honor: Shortly after their arrival in Egypt,
their hosts took an unhealthy interest in their female guest, and snatched her
away from her family.[3] It seems this sort of behavior was a
deep-seated Egyptian characteristic; years later, Yosef was subjected to very
similar treatment.[4]
Could this have been what attracted Lot to Sodom?
It should come as no
surprise that the consequences of Lot’s choice are tragic: By choosing Sodom,
Lot turned his back – literally, in a geographical sense, as well as figuratively,
in the moral and spiritual sense – on the greatest man alive. He distanced
himself from Avraham and Sarah, and instead sought out a place that represented
the very antithesis of Avraham and Sarah’s tent. At one time, Lot might have
been considered Avraham’s heir-apparent, but from the moment Lot departs for
Sodom, that is no longer an option: When Avraham pours out his heart to God and
laments his infertility, he mentions his chief steward Eliezer as his only
potential heir;[5]
Lot, his ne’er-do-well nephew/brother-in-law, is no longer part of the
equation.
Eventually, Lot’s poor
choices rebound on him, with a vengeance: Even when he tries to imitate the hospitality
he learned from Avraham and Sarah, the results are a grotesque caricature of
true hesed: Rather than a
wholehearted invitation, Lot’s heavenly guests are shown the door out before
they even step in.
Please, my lords, turn
aside to my house. Spend the night, bathe your feet, and then continue on your
way early in the morning. (Bereishit 19:2)
Lot invites the guests
to stay, yet strongly hints that it would be best for them to leave early in
the morning. His invitation seems perfunctory, half-hearted, lacking warmth and
conviction. Once the guests acquiesce, Lot’s neighbors demand to “get to know”
them (in the biblical sense).[6]
I have two daughters
who have never known a man. I will bring them out to you; do as you please with
them, but don’t do anything to these men. After all, they have come under my
roof!' (Bereishit 19:8)
Lot’s
pathetic attempt to mimic Avraham’s hospitality is nothing short of bizarre: He readily
sacrifices his daughters to the marauding crowd, perhaps seeing himself as the
hero of an alternative Akeida.
The crowd responds with an interesting and unexpected
accusation:
This man came here as an immigrant, and now all of a
sudden, he has set himself up as a judge! (Bereishit 19:9)
Here, then, is the crux of the matter: Lot came to Sodom to
be a judge.[7]
When measuring up his options, he decided that it would be preferable to be “chief rabbi of Sodom” rather than play “second fiddle” and live in Avraham’s shadow. Sharing such close quarters
with a spiritual giant can make a certain type of person feel small and
inadequate; Lot preferred to strike out on his own, to settle in a place where expectations
would be lowest, a place devoid of spirituality, a place that would make him
look good in comparison to those around him. In Sodom, Lot could shine.
Unfortunately, Lot’s plan backfired. By choosing to live in a corrupt and
immoral environment, Lot became estranged from both his immediate and extended
family, and eventually became the victim of his children’s failed education and the warped
morality they had internalized in their hometown. Lot’s daughters, who clearly had no
feelings of tenderness or loyalty toward the father who was willing to throw
them to the wolves, displayed their own version of Sodomite morality: When
their father was most vulnerable, they used him for their own purposes, plying
him with drink and
raping him. The image of Lot with which the Torah
leaves us is of a drunk, humiliated and violated man – but one who, we might well imagine,
still took pride in the highlight of his resume - his position as judge or “chief rabbi” of Sodom.
For
a more in-depth analysis see: http://arikahn.blogspot.co.il/2015/10/parshat-vayera-essays-and-lectures.html
[1]
See Rashi, Bereishit 11:29.
[2]
Bereishit 13:10.
[3]
Bereishit 12:15.
[4]
Bereishit 39:7-13.
[5]
Bereishit 15:2.
[6]
Bereishit 19:5.
[7]
Lot is described as sitting “in the gate of Sodom,” which connotes a judicial
position, or, at the very least, a position of civic importance. See Rashi, Bereishit 19:1, and commentaries on
Rashi.
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