Page 212 - BERESHIT

The Torah is the guide to life, and the events of the Avot Hakedoshim are
the guideposts which point us in the direction of Hashem’s will. Every
Jew, in any walk of life can learn from their righteous behavior how to
act.

What was the difference between Avraham Avinu and Lot? What can we
learn from the story of Lot and his separation from Avraham? Lot gave
an appearance of being righteous. But beneath the veneer, we see why he
chose to live near Sodom. He allowed his shepherds to graze his sheep in
other people’s property, thinking that he would eventually become the
rightful owner of the land. But beneath his religious appearance lay the
indifference to taking the property of others, similar to the Sodomites and
their thieving ways.

Perhaps Lot was motivated by the desire to show how he did more chessed
than Avraham, or else he based his actions on religious grounds, thinking
that it was legitimate to take from the rich to give to the poor. He also
thought that he was walking in the ways of Hashem, Who often employs
this form of justice. Avraham on the other hand emulated the middah of
compassion of Hashem, without resorting to appropriating the possession
of others. He gave only what was rightfully his. And so Lot was saved
because of the righteousness of Avraham, not by his own merit. His
chessed lacked the true inner desire to really help the other person. It was
done more for show, to show Avraham that he was superior and a worthy
heir, to show others what a good person he was.

One should take the Heavenly signs alerting him to do teshuvah. When
one does not accept words of reproof, his conduct changes its status to
that of meizid.

Lot’s original intentions were praiseworthy, and through his descendant
Ruth, he merited to become a progenitor of the ultimate Mashiach.