"And Lot went up out of Tzoar"

295. "And Lot went up out of Tzoar, and dwelt in the mountain and his two daughters with him..." (Beresheet 19:30). HE ASKS, Why DID HE GO UP OUT OF TZOAR? AND HE REPLIES, Because he noticed that Tzoar was close to Sodom. That is why he left there.

296. Rabbi Yitzchak then began the discussion by quoting, "And it is turned around and about by His counsels, (I don't know if this supposed to be "council" - I'm only putting "counsel" because it appears elsewhere in the text) that they may do whatsoever He commands them..." (Iyov 37:12). THIS MEANS THAT the Holy One, blessed be He, arranges events in the world and creates destructive lights to accomplish His actions. And afterward, He turns them around again and again in different ways.

297. HE ASKS, And with what DOES HE TURN THEM AROUND? AND HE REPLIES, THIS IS DONE by His counsels, THAT IS, THE HOLY ONE, BLESSED BE HE, plans schemes and invents reasons to turn things around, so that they are completely changed and are not similar to what they seemed to be previously. "...that they may do..." refers to the doings of people and the ways in which they accomplish their deeds. This is how He turns things around AND CHANGES THE ACTIVITIES OF THE DESTRUCTIVE LIGHTS. And "whatsoever He commands them upon the face of the world in the earth" MEANS THAT events change because the activities of people change, thereby turning around those same activities that THE HOLY ONE, BLESSED BE HE, commands them to accomplish upon earth. AND THEY ARE CHANGED INTO MANY DIFFERENT FORMS IN THE WORLD, ALL ACCORDING TO THE QUALITY OF THE ACTIVITIES OF THE PEOPLE. WITH THESE WORDS, RABBI YITZCHAK BEGAN THE DISCUSSION TO UNDERSTAND THE ISSUE OF AMON AND MOAB, AND HOW THEY WERE FORMED AS A RESULT OF A CORRUPT ACTION, AND HOW ALL THE KINGS OF JUDAH ISSUED FROM THEM, EVEN KING MESSIAH.

298. Rabbi Elazar said, "And it is turned around and about by His schemes..." This means that the Holy One, blessed be He, guides the course of events and causes certain actions to be performed in the world. As soon as the people are convinced that events are stable, the Holy One, blessed be He, turns them "around and about" and completely changes them again. HERE, RABBI ELAZAR DISAGREES WITH RABBI YITZCHAK'S EXPLANATION THAT IN THE BEGINNING THE ACTIVITIES WERE DISRUPTED BY DESTRUCTIVE LIGHTS, BUT LATER WERE TURNED "AROUND AND ABOUT" AND AMENDED BY THE HOLY ONE, BLESSED BE HE. RABBI ELAZAR EXPLAINS THAT IN THE BEGINNING THEY WERE GOOD AND WORTHY OF EXISTING IN THE WORLD, BUT WERE EVENTUALLY CORRUPTED BY THE DOINGS OF THE PEOPLE. AS A RESULT, THE HOLY ONE, BLESSED BE HE, TURNED THEM "AROUND AND ABOUT" FOR THE BETTER, IF THE PEOPLE REPENT AND ATONE FOR THEIR MISDOINGS.

299. The word, "by His counsels" is spelled without a Yud, WHICH INDICATES THE SINGULAR FORM, and could be compared to a potter who shapes vessels from clay. As long as the stone wheel is still revolving, he can fashion the pot according to his taste and even change its shape. This is possible only while the pots are still turning.

300. Similarly, the Holy One, blessed be He, turns His actions "around and about by His counsel(s)," minus the Yud, WHICH IS THE SINGULAR FORM. But what is "HIS COUNSEL?" His counsel is the lower court of Judgment, THAT IS, THE NUKVA OF ZEIR ANPIN, which corresponds to the pots of clay turning in front of the potter. And he changes them from one vessels to another.

301. And all is done to reflect people's actions. THE HOLY ONE, BLESSED BE HE, CHANGES THE FORM OF THE VESSELS in accordance with the actions of people. If the people perform good deeds, the clay pots revolve to the right, WHICH IS CHESED. If their actions benefit humanity, CHASSADIM AND ALL GOODNESS WILL BE DRAWN DOWN INTO THE WORLD. As long as the stone wheel turns to the right, events will be positive. The world will revolve with it AND RECEIVE THE DOINGS AND ACTIONS FROM THE RIGHT COLUMN, WHICH IS CHESED.

302. But, if people intend to sin, then the Holy One, blessed be He will direct "His counsel," WHICH IS THE NUKVA that constantly moves and which was revolving to the right, to turn around and revolve to the left. And He turn the objects and the vessels, which were to the right, to the left.

303. As a result, the stone wheels change direction and become actions that will hurt humankind. And these stone wheels keep turning in that direction - TO THE LEFT - until people perform good deeds again. So the direction in which the stone wheels turn depends on the actions of humankind. THEREFORE, IT IS WRITTEN, "AND IT IS TURNED AROUND AND ABOUT BY HIS COUNSELS THAT THEY MAY DO WHATSOEVER HE COMMANDS THEM," because the "counsel," WHICH IS THE SECRET OF THE STONE WHEELS, depends upon the actions OF HUMANKIND. And it never stands still; IT CONSTANTLY REVOLVES EITHER TO THE RIGHT OR TO THE LEFT.

304. Come and behold, the Holy One, blessed be He, has created all the events and actions necessary to accomplish everything properly. And everything comes down AND IS DRAWN INTO THE WORLD from the main source and root above. THE HOLY ONE, BLESSED BE HE, brought Abraham to be close to Him. He then begot Ishmael, who was born before Abraham was circumcised. Thus, Ishmael was born down below and was not perfected by the sign of the Covenant.

305. Later on, the Holy One, blessed be He, guided the course of events by His counsel, and Abraham was circumcised and joined the Covenant. His name was completed, and he was called Abraham, WITH THE ADDITION OF THE HEI. So the first Hei OF THE HOLY NAME, YUD HEI VAV HEI, WHICH IS BINAH, became his crown, according to the secret of deriving water from air.

306. As soon as this secret was perfected and Abraham was circumcised, Isaac was born to him. He was a "Holy Seed" and was attached up above according to the secret of deriving fire from water. And so it is written, "Yet I had planted you a noble vine, wholly a right seed..." (Yirmeyah 2:21). Hence, he was not related to the Other Side, WHICH REFERS TO THE LEFT SIDE ALONE. INSTEAD, HE WAS INCLUDED WITHIN THE RIGHT SIDE.

307. Come and behold, two separate nations came forth from Lot and his daughters, which were attached to the side that was appropriate for them, NAMELY THE OTHER SIDE. This is why the Holy One, blessed be He, manipulates events and turns things around in the world; He wants everything to be well arranged and related to its place IN HOLINESS. THIS MEANS THAT EVERYTHING SHOULD BE CAREFULLY ARRANGED AND PROPERLY PLANNED TO ENSURE THE PROPER ISSUING OF THE KINGS OF JUDAH AND KING MESSIAH. THIS IS THE MEANING OF THE VERSE, "AND IT IS TURNED AROUND AND ABOUT BY HIS COUNSEL(S) THAT THEY MAY DO WHATSOEVER HE COMMANDS THEM."

308. Come and behold, Lot was worthy of having the Holy One, blessed be He, produce these two nations from his union with his wife. But in order to attach them to their predestined place, HE PRODUCED THEM FROM HIS DAUGHTERS. AND THIS was achieved with the help of wine, AS IT IS WRITTEN, "AND THEY MADE THEIR FATHER DRINK WINE" (BERESHEET 19:33). This wine, which is the secret explanation of their actions, was prepared ESPECIALLY for them and was found on that specific night in the cave. IF THERE HAD BEEN NO WINE, THESE TWO NATIONS WOULD NOT HAVE COME INTO THE WORLD. Therefore, it is written, "And he drank of the wine, and was drunk" (Beresheet 9:21), and this has already been explained.

309. Come and behold, they called their sons Moab and Amon. SHE CALLED HIM Moab, BECAUSE HE WAS Me-av (lit. 'from father'). Rabbi Yosi said, The elder daughter cried out boldly - Mo-av, he is born from my father! "And the younger daughter also bore a son, whom she called Ben-Ami (lit. 'the son of my people')," in a cryptic way (Beresheet 19:38) but she did not declare who fathered him.

310. Come and behold. Of the elder daughter, it is written, "and he perceived not when she lay down, nor when she arose" (Ibid. 33). The phrase, "when she arose" is spelled with a Vav with a dot above it. This indicates that there was help from above in performing that action, which was to ultimately result in the birth of Messiah. Of the younger daughter, however, it is written, "nor when she arose" (Ibid. 35), without a Vav, because her issue was not for the sake of the Holy One, blessed be He. This is why when writting "when she arose," about the elder sister, there is a dot over the Vav. EVEN THOUGH THE YOUNGER DAUGHTER ALSO PRODUCED KINGS - NAAMAH THE AMMONITE WAS KING SOLOMON'S WIFE AND THE MOTHER OF RECHAV'AM - NEVERTHELSS KING DAVID, CERTAINLY, IS THE MOST IMPORTANT OF ALL, AS HE IS MESSIAH.

311. Rabbi Shimon then said, THE MEANING OF THE VERSE, "HE PERCEIVED NOT WHEN SHE LAY DOWN, NOR WHEN SHE AROSE" IS THAT he did not know that the Holy One, blessed be He, intended to raise from her King David and KING Solomon, and all the other kings, along with Messiah. Furthermore, "when she arose," is ANALOGOUS TO what was said of Rut, "And she rose up before one could discern another" (Rut 3:14). And on that day, she certainly had an issue, because Boaz mated with her to preserve the name of the dead and his lineage. Thus, all these kings and all the noble men in Yisrael were raised through her. ACCORDING TO ANOTHER EXPLANATION, "and he perceived not when she lay down" RESEMBLES THE WORDS, "And she lay at his feet until the morning." It is written, "when she arose" and, "she rose up before one could discern another..." This is WHY "when she arose" IS SPELLED with a Vav with a dot above it. THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THIS EXPLANATION AND THE FIRST ONE IS THAT HERE HE EXPLAINED THE VERSE, "AND HE PERCEIVED NOT WHEN SHE LAY DOWN" AS WELL. IN THE FIRST EXPLANATION HE DID NOT EXPLAIN THIS VERSE.

312. Come and behold, see how modest Abraham was. From the beginning, when the Holy One, blessed be He, determined to execute His Judgment on Sodom, ABRAHAM PLEADED FOR MERCY, BUT he did not plead for Mercy for Lot. Later, when it is written, "And, lo, the smoke of the country went up as the smoke of a furnace" (Beresheet 19:28), Abraham still did not intercede for Lot and said nothing to the Holy One, blessed be He, in Lot's favor. And the Holy One, blessed be He, did not mention anything to him, so that Abraham would not think that the Holy One, blessed be He, had drawn on Abraham's merits BECAUSE OF THAT.

313. We know that Abraham cared about Lot because Abraham risked his life for Lot by waging war against four powerful kings. As it is written, "And when Abraham heard that his brother was taken captive...And he divided himself against them...by night... And he brought back all the goods, and also brought back his brother Lot, and his possessions" (Beresheet 14:14-16). However, because of ABRAHAM'S love for the Holy One, blessed be He, and because he knew of Lot's misconduct, he did not ask that the Holy One, blessed be He, overlook Lot's actions. Thus, he did not plead for Mercy on Lot's account - neither in the beginning, nor in the end.

314. Midrash Hane'elam (Homiletical interpretations on the obscure). "And Lot went up out of Tzoar." Rabbi Avahu said, Behold what is written about the Evil Inclination. You should know that it will always exist in human beings until the time of which it is written, "and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh" (Yechezkel 36:26). And even though the Evil Inclination sees human beings punished in Gehenom, it returns again in people. This is as it is written, "And Lot went up out of Tzoar," that is, out of the agony (Heb. tza'ar) of Gehenom. From there, he goes up to seduce people.

315. Rabbi Yehuda said, There are three directing powers in people. One is the directing power of the mind and wisdom, which is the power of the Holy Neshamah. Next is the directing power of lust, which craves all kinds of evil desires. And finally, the directing power that controls human beings in their behavior and strengthens the body. This is called the Nefesh of the body, of which Rabbi Dimi said, This is the Maintaining Power.

316. Rabbi Yehuda said, Come and behold. The Evil Inclination has control over the last two powers. The lusting Nefesh always follows the Evil Inclination. We learn this from what is written, "And the firstborn said to the younger, Our father is old..." (Beresheet 19:31) The lusting Nefesh arouses the other and seduces it through the body to cleave to the Evil Inclination. And it says, "Come, let us make our father drink wine, and we will lie with him." What is for us in in the World to Come? Let us pursue the Evil Inclination and the lustful pleasures of this world. So what did they do? They agreed to cling to it. Thus, it is written, "And they made their father drink wine." They feed ravenously in order to arouse themselves and reach the Evil Inclination through food and drink.

317. "...And the firstborn went in, and lay with her father" (Ibid. 33). When a person lies in bed at night, the lusting Nefesh arouses the Evil Inclination. It causes him to cling to every evil thought, which brings evil thought into the heart of man. And it clings to it and remains in the heart without being fulfilled, until that lustful desire arouses the power of the body, as it did at first, to cling to the Evil Inclination. And then evil is achieved, as it is written, "Thus were both the daughters of Lot with child by their father" (Ibid. 36).

318. Rabbi Yitzchak said, The Evil Inclination can be seduced only by eating and drinking, and by the merriment of wine. Then it controls humankind. As for the righteous, what is written of him? It is written, "The righteous eats to the satisfying of his soul" (Mishlei 13:25), and never becomes drunk. As Rabbi Yehuda said, A Torah scholar who gets drunk is described as "A jewel of gold in a swine's snout" (Mishlei 11:22). And as well as that, he desecrates the Celestial Name. How do sinners behave? It is written, "And behold joy and gladness..." (Yeshayah 22:13). At this stage, wine takes over a person, "slaying oxen, and killing sheep, eating flesh and drinking wine" (Ibid.). Of them the Scriptures say, "Woe to them that rise up early in the morning, that they may follow strong drink..." (Yeshayah 5:11) to arouse the Evil Inclination, as this inclination is not aroused without wine. Therefore, it is written, "And they made their father drink wine."

319. Rabbi Avahu then said, It is written, "He perceived not when she lay down, nor when she arose." This means that the Evil Inclination is not aware of its lying down in this world, nor of its rising up to the World to Come. It is aroused through the power of the body to accomplish its lustful desires in this world. As Rabbi Avahu said, When the sinners enter into Gehenom, the Evil Inclination is brought there to see them. As it is written, "When Lot entered into Tzoar (Heb. tza'ar, 'agony')" (Beresheet 19:23), that is, into the agony of Gehenom. And from there it rises to seduce people. Therefore, it is written, "And Lot went up out of Tzoar," out of the agony of Gehenom.

320. "...And dwelt in the mountain..." (Ibid. 30) Rabbi Yitzchak said, What we learn from the words "in the mountain" is that this is the dwelling place of Lot and his two daughters, who are the two forces mentioned before. In the mountain means in the body, which is as wasted as a mountain that has no goodness in it. Because "he feared to dwell in Tzoar" (Ibid. 30), fear and anxiety overtook him, as he saw the agony of Gehenom and the misery of the wicked. And it thinks it will be punished there. However, as soon as it realizes that it shall not be punished there, the Evil Inclination goes out and seeks to seduce human beings to follow it.

321. Rabbi Huna discussed this subject in an effort to warn people. He would say to them, My children, beware of the 'messenger from Gehenom.' And who is this messenger? It is the Evil Inclination, which is the 'messenger from Gehenom.'

322. Rabbi Aba then asks, Why is it written, "The leech has two daughters, crying, Give, give" (Mishlei 30:15)? These refer to the two daughters of Lot, who correspond to the lusting Nefesh and the Nefesh that takes part in the body and constantly pursues the Evil Inclination. Rabbi Yehoshua said, About Lot, it is written, "He feared to dwell in Tzoar." It is also written there that "the leech has two daughters, crying, Give, give." The numerical value of 'feared' equals that of 'leech.' Rabbi Yitzchak said, If he was afraid, why then does the Evil Inclination come to misguide people? But, this is indeed the way of the wicked. When he sees evil, his fear lasts only a moment. He then immediately returns to his wicked ways and fears nothing. Similarly, when the Evil Inclination sees the wicked being punished, it is afraid. But as soon as it leaves, it fears nothing.

323. Rabbi Aba said, In reference to the verse, "And the firstborn said to the younger, Our father is old..." what is "our father is old?" This alludes to the Evil Inclination, that is called 'old,' as it is written, "an old and foolish king" (Kohelet 4:13). It is old because it is born together with a person. As we have learned, Rabbi Yehuda said, Rabbi Yosi said that the lusting Nefesh says to the other one - Our father is old, so let us follow him and cling to him, like all the other wicked people in the world. "...And there is not a man in the earth to come to us" means that there is no righteous person upon earth, and there is no one who has control over his lustful desires. So there are many sinners in the world and we therefore will not be the only guilty ones. Let us do as all the people on earth do - let us sin, since until now this is the way all people on earth conduct themselves. "Let us make our father drink wine," let us be happy in this world by eating and drinking and getting drunk. We will then cling to our "father," namely the Evil Inclination, and "we will lie with him." And the Holy Spirit cries out loud and says, "But they also have erred through wine, and through strong drink they are removed (?)..." (Yeshayah 28:7)

324. Rabbi Yehuda then said, Come and behold. It is written, "And they made their father drink wine" (Beresheet 19:33). The way of the wicked is to go astray by drinking wine, to indulge the Evil Inclination with pleasures and arouse it until it rejoices in drunkenness and lies in its bed. Immediately then, "the firstborn went in and lay with her father;" she joins him and begins to imagine all kinds of bad actions. The Evil Inclination joins her and clings to her, and ceases to be aware of her or of what it does to her "when she lay down" in this world or, "when she arose" to the World to Come. "...When she lay down..." in the World to Come, she will account for her deeds and be judged for them. And "When she arose" for the Day of Judgment, it is written, "And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake" (Daniel 12:2). Here the Evil Inclination has no perception at all, so it clings to her, and she clings to it. Later, she arouses the other. Thus, after the great thought is attached to the Evil Inclination, the other one comes and clings to it.

325. "And they made their father drink wine" (Beresheet 19:35), to arouse the Evil Inclination and cling to it. And then they fulfilled their evil thoughts through action, and they both became pregnant to the Evil Inclination. As it is written, "Thus were both the daughters of Lot with child by their father" (Idib. 36). Now that their deeds are done, each one "bears its evil." This is the way of the wicked. They interact with the Evil Inclination until it kills them, and then drags them down into Gehenom, where it leaves them. Afterward, it goes out to seduce more people, as has been explained. So he who recognizes its ways is saved from it and never joins it.

326. Rabbi Yitzchak said, This is similar to the example of a group of bandits that prepares ambushes along the roads to rob and kill people. They choose one person from among them, who knows how to deceive other men with soft words. What does he do? He first goes among the intended victims to welcome and serve them until the foolish among them trust him - his affection and his way of speech - and rejoice with him. He leads them on with his soothing words, so that they follow the route along which the other bandits are hiding. And as soon as they reach the hiding place, he is the first to kill them. The other bandits come, kill them, and take their money. While the victims shout and cry, Woe to us for listening to him, NAMELY TO THE EVIL INCLINATION, and to his soothing words. After they are killed, he emerges and goes to deceive other people, as before. What do those who are clever do? When they see him coming to seduce them, they recognize him as the one who ambushes their souls. So they kill him and travel a different route. This is the way of the Evil Inclination. It emerges from among the group of bandits, that is, it leaves Gehenom to welcome people and seduces them with its sweet tongue. As it is written, "And Lot went up out of Tzoar, and dwelt in the mountain," just like the bandits did, to prey on people. What does it do? It walks in front of them. And the fools have faith in it and in its love, through which it deceives them. It serves them as a slave who supplies them with beautiful, forbidden women. It allows people to be bad, and frees them from the commitments of Torah and the yoke of the Heavenly Kingdom. The fools see all this and trust in its love, accept its guidance, and follow it along the same path where the bandits are hidden, the path to Gehenom, along which there is no way of turning to the right or to the left. And as soon as it arrives with them at that place, it is the first to kill them and become the Angel of Death for them. Then it makes them enter Gehenom and brings them down to the Angels of Destruction. And they cry out, saying, Woe to us for listening to it - NAMELY, TO THE EVIL INCLINATION - but their cries serve no purpose. REPENTANCE AND REMORSE ARE ONLY EFFECTIVE DURING ONE'S LIFETIME, NOT AFTER DEATH. Afterward, the Evil Inclination leaves Gehenom and goes to seduce other people. The clever, who immediately recognize it, will overcome it until they have full control over it. Then they choose a different route to save themselves.

327. Rabbi Yosef traveled to Babylon where he saw young lads WHO WERE NOT YET MARRIED. They walked freely among beautiful women and did not commit any sin. He asks them, Are you not afraid of the Evil Inclination? They answered, We do not come from a mixture of good and bad, but were hewn out of the Holy of the Holies. THIS MEANS THAT THEIR PARENTS HAD NO EVIL THOUGHTS AT THE TIME OF THEIR MATING, WHEN THE YOUNG LADS WERE 'HEWN OUT' OF THEM. BECAUSE THEY HAD ONLY HOLY THOUGHTS, THE YOUNG LADS WERE NOT AFRAID OF THE EVIL INCLINATION. As Rabbi Yehuda said that Rav said, A person should sanctify himself during sexual intercourse in order to produce holy children, sons with holy attributes who have no fear of the Evil Inclination. This is according to the verse, "Sanctify yourselves therefore, and be holy" (Vayikra 20:7).

328. Rabbi Aba asks, What is MEANT BY THE VERSE, "And hallow My Shabbatot...(Heb. plural)" (Yechezkel 20:20)? THIS MEANS that the 'mating period' of the sages are timed every Shabbat. And he warns them that because sexual intercourse is a precept, 'hallow' means that you should sanctify yourselves during 'My Shabbatot (Heb. plural)' through the precept of mating. Rav Yehuda said that Rav explained, Whoever arrives at a city and sees nice women should lower his eyes and say - Look how I have been 'hewn' from highly regarded parents. You dangerous obstacle - WHICH IS A REFERENCE TO THE KLIPAH THAT CAUSES THE THOUGHT OF WOMEN - get out, get out OF ME. As he is a 'holy fruit' of Shabbat, WHICH MEANS THAT HE WAS BORN FROM A MATING DURING SHABBAT, THE KLIPAH HAS NO CONTROL OVER HIM. SO HE ASKS, Why then SHOULD HE WHISPER THESE PHRASES AS HE ENTERS THE CITY? AND HE ANSWERS, BECAUSE the heat OF THE HARDSHIP of traveling overcomes him. So the Evil Inclination might also overcome him. End of Midrash Hane'elam.