Enduring Values

Lot had it made.  He had reached the pinnacle of society.  Not only had he settled comfortably in the affluent Sedom, as a relative newcomer he was quite successful to have been appointed a judge!  Two of his daughters had married local men, and the other two were engaged.  It was a good, comfortable life. 

 

Lot had had to make a decision a while back.  His great, wealthy and famous uncle Avraham had brought him along on his journey from Charan to Canaan, but after a while there had been a clash of values.  Lot’s shepherds allowed their sheep to graze on other people’s lands, while Avraham’s shepherds would never allow it.  They had to split.  Avraham promised to stay nearby wherever Lot moved to, in order to protect him but they could not live together.  Where should Lot move to?  He looked around and found the beautiful pastures of Sedom and Amora. 

 

If you visit that area now it is impossible to imagine that it was once green meadows and pastures.  It’s the Dead Sea.  But this was before Sedom was destroyed.  The values in Sedom were very far from what he had learned in Avraham’s company, but Lot went for comfort and affluence.  And he made it there and became part of the society.

 

Then a problem developed.  Two strangers (they were angels but Lot didn’t know it) came to town, and Lot knew that they were in grave danger, as were all guests in Sedom.  So in a throwback to his sense of kindness to guests, he decided to protect these civilians and invite them to his house.  The people of Sedom were not happy.  They came to force him to send the guests out where they could violate them.  Lot begged them to leave the guests alone, because he had committed to protect them.  Although Lot had very much become like the locals, offering his two unmarried daughters to the mob instead of the guests, all of a sudden this honored judge was labeled a stranger.

 

When he heard about the impending destruction of the town and its inhabitants, Lot spoke to his sons in law, his family members.  He encouraged them to join him and leave.  But now he was the stranger, and they refused.  It didn’t matter how much he had integrated into the place, he was Avraham’s nephew, and when push came to shove they turned against him.  In the end it was in Avraham’s merit that Lot was saved.

It pays to learn the lessons of history. Our strength in the long run lies in our heritage. Giving up our connection to Torah has never protected us. Not in ancient Israel, not in Spain, not in Germany and not in the modern state. As a people we have awakened to the realities of the world around us, and have joined to stand together as one nation. 

It has always been, and remains to this day, our mission to bring light to the world through adherence to our heritage. That’s how we are still here against all odds, and that is how we will march toward Moshiach very soon.