YAAKOV SHAPIRA: the departure of a righteous person from the city leaves an impression. As long as this person resides in the city, he constitutes its glory, its splendor, and its beauty. When he departs, its glory, splendor, and beauty depart with him.
MAHARAT VICTORIA SUTTON: The rabbis named Lot’s wife Idit, “she who bears witness.” To what did she bear eternal witness? Lot’s wife turned to gaze at the Shechinah’s destructive presence in Sdom, looking past the Shechinah for signs of her loved ones, and immediately is caught up in the path of destruction.
TOM POLAND: Forget psychology. If you want to know what people value, look through their Bible.
Jorge Mario Bergoglio: without roots we cannot progress, but to go in reverse is to go back in order to have a form of defense, a safety measure that saves us from the risk of going forward
CHAYA SHUCHAT: Lot’s two daughters produced two sons, who grew into two mighty nations, Moab and Ammon. From Moab descended Ruth, the famous convert who became the great-grandmother of King David. From Ammon descended Naamah, wife of King Solomon, and mother of his firstborn son and heir, Rehoboam. Thus, the lineage of the dynasty of David, and by extension Moshiach, comes through Lot.
YOEL ELITZUR: I will conclude with the words of Ezekiel from later in chapter 16. He relays an extraordinary prophecy, one that is unique in all of Tanakh:I will restore their fortunes – the fortunes of Sodom and her daughters
eCondolence: Each person will throw salt over his shoulder on the property to ward off evil spirits. Some sects will have the walkways and sidewalks leading to the front door sprinkled with salt for the mourners to walk on.
TAMAR KADARI: According to the Rabbis, Naamah was Noah’s wife; as her name indicates, her actions were pleasing (ne’imim—Gen. Rabbah 23:3). According to another view, however, she acted improperly, for she beat on a drum and drew people to engage in idolatry, and her musical activity increased corruption among people. This tradition is apparently connected with a different interpretation of the name Naamah, from ne’imah (melody and song) (Targum Pseudo-Jonathan on Gen. 4:22).
BEN~TZION SPITZ: He sees a rich, fertile, productive land. He sees wealth and opulence. From a purely superficial, material, financial perspective, it was likely the best neighborhood in the area. However, the Bechor Shor states, Lot didn’t check out the neighbors. He didn’t bother to determine the character, the kindness, the benevolence of his fellow residents of Sodom. He saw nice fields and nice houses and that was enough for him.
CONGREGATION EITZ CHAYIM: Lot is not a native of Sodom. He is newly arrived, considered a ger, a resident alien, not permanent.
RON JAWARY: This week, the Torah warns us that looking back and focusing too much on the past can result in spiritual and physical stagnation.
Kazimiera Kostewicz~Mika, then just a 10 year-old Polish girl, crying over her older sister’s body. She was killed during a German air raid while picking potatoes outside Warsaw, Poland. 1939 September
HELEN PLOTKIN: There was something that cried a cry that wafted up to God, something singular, not plural, and in response to that cry God began the process that led to annihilation. It was the cry of a young girl that caught God’s attention and compelled God to act, a cry not loud, but thin and true.
MAHARAT VICTORIA SUTTON: Lot’s wife simply looked back at something she was not supposed to see: the Divine presence descending over Sdom.
ARTHUR WASKOW: If Messiah is to be made possible, then the tradition itself says that what is most frightening to the tradition must be lifted into consciousness, faced-and redeemed. And the redemptive process cannot be left until the end of days: it must be happening along the way.
YOEL ELITZUR: In order to determine where the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah took place, we must ask how it took place. The Torah’s description – “the Lord rained upon Sodom and Gomorrah sulfurous fire” (19:24) and “the smoke of the land rose like the smoke of a kiln” (19:28) – gives the impression of a kind of volcanic eruption.
SHIMON SILVER: There seems to have been a flow of hot sulphur and fire. The moment Lot’s wife looked back, she was grabbed by the river.
JACK BIELER: to watch the Destroying Angel or even God’s Presence engaged in carrying out this massive and brutal destruction was not for human eyes to see and should someone see what they were not authorized to, punishment would come swiftly and irreversibly.
