Lech Lecha- Which Road Will You Take?

Vayisa Lot et einav vayar et kol kikar haYarden ki kulah mashkeh lifnei shaheit A-donai et S’dom v’et Amorah k’gan A-donai k’eretz Mitzraiyim bo’achah tzo’ar.

And Lot lifted his eyes and saw all the plain of the Jordan that it was all well-watered, before A-donai destroyed S’dom and Amorah, like a garden from Adonai, like the land of Egypt. (Breishit 13:10)

When Avram and Sarai left their homeland, their families, and their previous heritage behind they took with them the souls they made and Lot. The text tells us first “that Avram went… and Lot went with him.” (12:4) In the very next verse we read “And Avram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother’s son, and all their possessions, and all the souls they had gathered in Haran.” (12:5). Did Lot merely follow? Did Avram specifically choose to go him to accompany them? Why also are the “souls they made” separated from Avram’s, Sarai’s, and Lot’s departure in the verse? “Avram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother’s son.” This is followed by their possessions, and then the “souls they made.” Was Lot not also a convert to A-donai?

The p’shat of the text may imply importance- Avram, his wife, and his nephew- their family. This is followed by their household possessions. Only after are “the souls they made” mentioned. When these souls followed Avram, and he accepted their accompaniment, Avram became responsible for them. He “took” them, and they became part of his camp.

On closer reading we see Sarai’s own personal connection to Adonai. But Lot’s connection is more tenuous. His family is saved from S’dom by the virtue of Avraham. Upon escape from S’dom Lot does not seek out his family. Before Avram and Lot separated there was strife between them. Their cattle and herdsmen competed and challenged each other. Avram suggests they go their separate ways. Lot does not argue family connection or ideology. He sees a beautiful valley, irrigated and lush, and chooses it. It is the easy way.

Haran was a large developed area. Competition for land would have been fierce. Potential for wealth limited. Lot sees an opportunity to follow Avram, but he forgets the most important piece. “And Avram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother’s son…” For Avram, Lot was intimately connected. This family connection provides opportunity, but also security, comfort, and shared ideology. They need not be strangers in a strange land because they have each other. Lot loses this, and is eventually left bereft. Family relationships are never easy. Strong emotions and close quarters can bring strife, but if we work together to minimize discord and maintain these special relationships, rather than taking the easy path, much can be saved in the future.