'THE PILLAR OF SALT' - LOT'S WIFE

What was the essence of Lot's wife's transgression in Parashat Vayeira? Was it disobeying the instruction of the divine messengers? Was it simply looking back? Does the text suggest that something more complex is involved? Why was it her specific punishment to be turned into a pillar of salt? We invite you to consider these questions as you read and study the texts that follow.

As Lot and his family were fleeing the city of Sodom, they were instructed by the angels to not look back, but Lot’s wife did look back and was immediately converted in a pillar of Salt. Now our today’s travel Tuesday picture is of that Pillar of Salt believed to be originally Lot’s Wife ( she is not referred by her name in Holy Bible, only some Jewish references mention her as Ado or Edith ). This Salt Pillar is on a small hill opposite the Jordanian side of the Dead Sea. But this pillar and story of Lot’s wife are not the only reason for the importance of Lot in Christianity. It is believed that Jesus is a descendant of Lot through David’s great-grandmother Ruth, who is descended from Moab, Lot’s son through one of his daughters.

"As the sun rose upon the earth and Lot entered Zoar, the Eternal rained upon Sodom and Gomorrah sulfurous fire [brimstone and fire] from the Eternal out of heaven?. Lot's wife looked back [literally, "from behind him"], and she thereupon turned into a pillar of salt." - Genesis 19:23-24, 26

- Where were Lot and his wife in relation to each other when she looked back?
- To what does the phrase "from behind him" refer?

We begin our study with a text from the Zohar, a mystical, thirteenth-century Spanish commentary:

"But his wife looked back from behind him." We should have expected "from behind her." What this text really means is, "from behind the Sh'chinah" (the immanent Presence of God). Thus when "his wife looked back from behind him," she turned her face to the destroying angel, and, as a result, she became a pillar of salt. For as long as the destroying angel does not see the face of a person, he does not harm that individual; but as soon as Lot's wife turned her face to look at him, she became a pillar of salt."

An eighth-century midrash from Pirkei d'Rabbi Eliezer states: The angels said to them, "Do not look behind you since the Divine Presence of the Holy One, blessed be He, has descended to rain brimstone and fire upon Sodom and Gomorrah."

"Lot's wife looked back [from behind him], and she thereupon turned into a pillar of salt." In Genesis, Isaac said: "She sinned through salt. On the night that the angels visited Lot, Lot said to his wife, 'Give these guests a bit of salt.' But she replied, '[Besides entertaining guests], is it your wish to introduce into Sodom another vile custom [that of seasoning their food]?' What did she do? She went around among all her neighbours, saying to each one, 'Give me the salt. We have guests,' intending thereby to have the townspeople become aware of the presence of guests in her home [and penalize Lot for it]. Hence, she herself became a pillar of salt."