(2006/5767)

In Sefer Bereishit, there are four people who resist the negative influence of their environment. These four people are Noach, Avraham, Lot, and Rachel. Noach, Avraham, and Rachel each received great reward for his/her persistent refusal to allow the spiritual morass of the surrounding society to impact his/her Avodat Hashem. However, Lot’s reward is conspicuously absent. We don’t hear so much about his being rewarded for what he did.

Parshat Lech Lecha recounts Lot’s decision to move to Sedom, a terrible city which, according to Chazal (Avot 5:13), lived by the mantra, “What’s mine is mine, and what’s yours is yours.” In fact, Sedom was so bad that Hashem completely obliterated it. Lot nevertheless fulfilled the Mitzvah of inviting guests into his home. This Mitzvah was one of the worst “crimes” one could commit in Sedom. Lot merits surviving the destruction of the city, but was this sufficient reward for his Mitzvah?

My friend and I decided to look into the respective merits Avraham, Noach, and Rachel. We discovered one common thing between them - all gave birth to great Tzadikim. Ten generations from Noach was Avraham. Avraham’s grandson was Yaakov. Rachel gave birth to two of the twelve tribes. With this insight, we arrived at an answer. Lot indeed received reward similar to Avraham, Noach, and Rachel.  Lot’s grandson was Moav, ancestor of Rut HaMoaviyah.  The line of David HaMelech, a direct descendent of Rut, ultimately leads to Mashiach. Because Lot did the Mitzvah of inviting guests despite the terrible environment of Sedom, Mashiach ultimately comes from his line.

A Mitzvah, no matter how small it may seem, can have profound effect. We should learn from Lot to overcome the negative influences of the environment and remain steadfast servants of Hashem.