Daily Chumash & Rashi Lech Licha Shelishi – Lot separates from Avraham

Q: What caused Lot to acquire wealth?
A: His wealth came from accompanying Avram.

Q: What does “וְלֹֽא־נָשָׂא אֹתָם” (“could not support them”) mean?
A: The land’s pasturage could not support both Avram and Lot’s livestock due to their large possessions.

Q: Why did a quarrel arise between the herdsmen of Avram and Lot?
A: Lot’s herdsmen allowed their animals to graze in other people’s fields, claiming the land would belong to Lot. Avram’s herdsmen objected, since the land was still inhabited by Canaanites and Perizites.

Q: What does “אֲנָשִׁים אַחִים” (“we are brothers”) mean?
A: It means they were relatives. The Midrash adds that they resembled each other in appearance.

Q: What does “אִם־הַשְּׂמֹאל וְאֵימִנָה” (“If you go left, I will go right”) mean?
A: Avram was saying he would remain nearby to assist Lot if needed. The phrasing shows flexibility and support.

Q: What does “וְאֵימִנָה” mean grammatically?
A: It means “I will turn to the right.” Though it appears to be in a different form, similar usage is found elsewhere in Scripture.

Q: What did Lot see in the plain of the Jordan?
A: He saw that it was well irrigated, like the Garden of God and like Egypt, with rich vegetation and trees.

Q: What does “בֹּֽאֲכָה צֹֽעַר” (“as far as Tzo’ar”) mean?
A: It means the plain extended to Tzo’ar. The Midrash criticizes Lot for choosing a place known for immorality.

Q: What is the meaning of “כִּכַּר” (“plain”)?
A: It refers to a flat, fertile area, as translated by Onkelos.

Q: What is the Midrashic interpretation of “מִקֶּדֶם” (“from the east”)?
A: Lot distanced himself from “the One who preceded the world,” rejecting both Avram and God.

Q: What does “וַיֶּֽאֱהַל” (“he pitched his tents”) mean?
A: Lot pitched tents for his herdsmen and livestock throughout the plain, up to Sodom.

Q: What does “וְאַנְשֵׁי סדום רָעִים” (“the people of Sodom were wicked”) teach?
A: Despite their evil nature, Lot chose to live among them. The verse reflects disdain for them.

Q: What kind of sins did the people of Sodom commit?
A: They sinned with their bodies (immorality), with their possessions (greed), and deliberately rebelled against God.

Q: Why did God speak to Avram only after Lot separated from him?
A: As long as the wicked Lot was with Avram, Divine communication was withheld.

Q: What promise did God make to Avram after Lot left?
A: God promised to give all the land Avram could see to him and his descendants forever.

Q: What does “אֲשֶׁר אִם־יוּכַל אִישׁ” (“if a man can count”) mean?
A: Just as dust cannot be counted, so too Avram’s descendants will be innumerable.

Q: What does “קוּם הִתְהַלֵּךְ בָאָרֶץ” (“Rise, walk through the land”) mean?
A: God instructed Avram to walk through the land as a symbolic act of acquiring it.

Q: Where did Avram settle after this promise?
A: He settled in the plains of Mamre, in Hebron.

Q: What did Avram do in Mamre?
A: He built an altar to God and offered sacrifices.

Q: Who was Mamre?
A: Mamre was the name of a man, likely an Amorite ally of Avram.