Parshas Vayeira

In this week's parsha, the Torah tells us the legendary story of how the malachim came to visit Lot in S'dom. Having no salt in the house, Lot's wife went to a neighbor, ostensibly to borrow some salt. But her real intention was to betray their guests' presence to the other residents of the city, who were not fond of guests (to say the least). As punishment, when fleeing S'dom, Lot's wife was turned into a pillar of salt.

Two questions arise here: first of all, why was there no salt in the house? What kind of self-respecting housewife runs a kitchen without salt? Second of all, why was Lot's wife turned into a pillar of salt - how is turning into salt a suitable punishment for not hosting guests properly?

To answer these questions, let's analyze for a moment exactly what salt is. Salt is a food that is useless on its own - when eaten plain, it is neither tasty nor healthy. However, that being said, it is an extremely crucial ingredient in many other foods - as any chef will tell you, salt is one of the most versatile condiments there is. Thus we see that salt, by definition, is a food whose essence is serving others. Therefore, Lot's wife did not have any salt in her home: as a resident of S'dom, the selfishness was so ingrained in her that it was unthinkable to have a condiment whose whole essence is to not be selfish, whose purpose in creation is merely the enhancement of other foods. Likewise, that is why her punishment was to be turned into a pillar of salt: since she was so selfish all her life, in death she was converted into salt so that she would spend the rest of eternity as a food whose only purpose is to serve other foods.

We can see from here how important it is to be generous toward other people. A person should always strive to be like salt - always benevolent and caring to other people, even if it comes at great personal expense. Because by being kind to others, we are able to truly refine our character, and rise to greater spiritual heights.

(This week's dvar torah is in honor of hachosson Yoel ben Yisroel.)