2019/5780
In this week's Parashah, Parashat VaYeira, it is recorded that three angels come to visit Avraham Avinu. However, after visiting Avraham and telling him that Sarah will give birth in one year, the three angels continue to Sedom in order to save Lot (Avraham’s nephew) and his family before they punish Sedom. When the angels reach Sedom, the Pasuk states, "VaYavo’u Shenei HaMalachim Sedomah BaErev VeLot Yosheiv BeSha’ar Sedom VaYar Lot VaYakom Likratam VaYishtachu Apayim Artzah,” “The two angels arrived in Sedom in the evening, as Lot was sitting at the gate of Sedom. When Lot saw them, he rose to greet them and bowed low with his face to the ground” (BeReishit 19:1). Seemingly, Lot was sitting already by the gate of Sedom when the angels arrived. Thus, the question arises: why was Lot sitting at the gate of Sedom?
Rashi comments (BeReshit 19:1 s.v. VeLot Yosheiv BeShaar Sedom) that Lot was appointed as a judge of Sedom that very day, so he was waiting at the gate for disputants. However, the Midrash on which this comment of Rashi is ostensibly based (because it is the source that Lot was involved in the legal profession) writes something different. The Midrash Rabbah ( BeReishit 50:3) writes that there were five judges who presided over the law in Sedom and Lot was one of the lawyers who presented cases before them. Sometimes these judges liked his logic, and sometimes they did not.
Rashi’s approach implies that Lot was just as crooked as the rest of the people as Sedom, and as such, there would be no reason for him to be saved. However, according to the Midrash Rabbah, Lot was not completely crooked; sometimes he struggled and succumbed to his environment, yet sometimes he would fight the injustice which surrounded him. Thus, Lot was neither a Tzaddik nor a Rasha, yet Hashem sent angels specifically to save him. Lot’s example teaches us that every action is significant and can radically change our lives. In fact, Rambam writes in Hilchot Teshuvah (3:4) that we should view every action that we commit as if it has the potential to decide whether the world should continue to exist, or if it should be destroyed. Thus, even Lot’s small action of honoring the angels allowed him to be worthy of salvation, since it tipped his balanced scales of guilt and merit in favor of the latter.
Furthermore, the Ba’al HaTanya clearly notes that his Seifer is intended for Beinonim (mediocre people). The Seifer is specifically meant for neither a Tzaddik nor a Rasha. Throughout the Tanya, it is clear that we should actually strive to be a Beinoni. The fact that Lot greets them, even from this one good action that he did, had the ability to save himself and his family and ensure that he was not destroyed with the rest of Sedom. The Torah is teaching us that we should never view ourselves as bad and we should understand that being a Beinoni is tolerable as long as we strive for the one Mitzvah which merits us to to continue on through our lives. Of course, striving for mediocrity is a hallmark of Lot. As descendants of Avraham Avinu our goal is much loftier. Still, we must appreciate that even when we struggle, our small victories matter.