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In this week’s parshah we are introduced to our forefather Abraham who, in essence, founded Judaism. The parshah opens up with God speaking to Abraham, telling him to leave his birthplace and travel to the land of Canaan (which is the land of Israel today). Along with his wife Sarah and his nephew Lot, Abraham travels to Canaan. Then, a famine breaks loose in the land and Abraham is forced to travel to Egypt to seek provisions. During his stay in Egypt, Abraham acquired more than enough to provide for himself and his family throughout the famine.

Coming out of Egypt, the Torah describes Abraham as “very laden with livestock, silver, and gold” (13: 2). The Torah also tells us that also Lot, Abraham’s nephew, “had flocks, cattle, and tents” (13: 5). At this point the Torah tells us that “the land could not support them dwelling together for their possessions were abundant” (13: 6). Therefore, Abraham and Lot had to go their separate ways and live in different regions of the land.

After they departed from one another, the Torah tells us:

“Hashem (God) said to Abram after Lot had parted from him, ‘Raise now your eyes…for all the land that you see, to you will I give it and to your descendants forever” [Genesis: 13: 14 – 15]

Why did the Torah have to stress that God spoke to Abraham “after Lot had parted from him”? Rashi (Rabbi Shlomo Yitzhaqi, 1040-1105, famed as the author of the first comprehensive commentary on the Torah) tells us the following: “All the while that the wicked one was with him, the speech (of God) was separated from him…”

Evidently, according to Rashi’s words, Lot was considered a wicked individual and whenever he was around, God could not speak to Abraham. However, if we were to look closer into the opening verses of this week’s parshah, we may say that this is not so! Going back to the beginning of this week’s parshah, the Torah writes:

“Abram took his wife Sarai and Lot, his brother’s son…and they left to go to the land of Canaan, and they came to the land of Canaan…Hashem (God) appeared to Abram and said ‘To your offspring I will give this land’… ” [Genesis: 12: 5 – 7]

How can this be!? The verses clearly indicates that Abram brought Lot along with him, yet it also says that God “appeared to Abram and said…”! Didn’t Rashi just tell us that as long as Lot was around, Hashem couldn’t speak to Abraham!? How do we reconcile Rashi’s words?

There may be numerous ways to answer this question. But in order to reach one possible solution, let us look at Rashi’s words once more: “All the while that the wicked one was with him, the speech (of God) was separated from him…” Rashi never says “ All the while that Lot was with him…” he says “All the while that the wicked one was with him…” So we must say that it wasn’t Lot that kept God away, it was wickedness that kept God away. Therefore, when God “appeared to Abram and said…” at the start of the parshah, we must say that Lot was not yet wicked at this point! Because Lot had not yet transformed into a wicked person, it was fitting for Hashem’s voice to descend there. But now we may ask: What happened? What brought about this transformation in Lot’s character from one moment to the next? What was it that caused Lot to become wicked?

Recalling our brief summary at the beginning of the essay, the event that occurred between verses (12: 5 –7) and (13: 14 –15) was the descent into Egypt. Egypt, as we learn later on in the Torah, was the most corrupt country in the world at that time. It was a country entirely devoted to mundane pleasures, lewdness, and cruel behavior. Being exposed to such an evil environment can undoubtedly have a terrible effect on a person’s soul and can have the power to draw him into the depths of sin and the pursuit of vanity. This is what happened to Lot. It was after leaving Egypt that Lot was now an entirely different person and was termed “wicked”. (*See 1^st footnote*)

Abraham, who had refined himself to an extremely lofty spiritual state, possessed the power to withstand the dangerous temptations and influences of the Egyptian culture. However, Lot was not on such a level. Therefore he fell into the trap that is Egypt and became so wicked to the point that God was not able to speak to Abraham until he was no longer around. (*See 2^nd footnote*)

This unfortunate collapse of Lot is there to teach us all a valuable lesson. We can not lie to ourselves! Of course, we must aspire to become righteous individuals and follow God’s ways. And yes, we must look to the righteous individuals of our generations and of past generations, and make an effort to act as they acted. But when it comes to being exposed to tempting and sinful situations, we must run away! At these moments we cannot compare ourselves to the righteous and pious individuals, who were able to come out unscathed from the enticement of the evil inclination. We must know our boundaries!

Good Shabbos,

NZL

*Upon leaving Egypt, the verse says: “So Abram went up from Egypt, he with his wife and all that was his – and Lot with him – to the south” [Genesis: 13: 1Our sages tell us that “went up” here alludes to a spiritual elevation. By not juxtaposing Lot with the “went up”, it highlights that Lot did not elevate himself, but rather descended in spirituality, upon leaving Egypt.

**Lot should have never gone with Abraham in the first place on the trip to Canaan. In Rashi’s words that we quoted, the second half of his statement explains that God only told Abraham to “go, for yourself… to the land that I will show you”. “For yourself” and not “for Lot”. After God finshes speaking to Abraham the verses indeed say: “So Abram went as Hahsem had spoken to him, and Lot went with him…” This implies that “Lot went with him” despite the fact that he was told not to do so.