FINDING THE GOOD POINT

The aftermath of S’DOM’s destruction led to Lot and his surviving daughters finding refuge in a cave (19:20). While in the cave Lot’s elder daughter that there are no more men available therefore we will need to ply our father with wine and while in a drunken stupor we can seduce him and have children.(19:31-32). The young ladies carried out their plan and the elder daughter gave birth to the progenitor of Moav and the younger was the mother of the Amonite nation.(19:37-38).

The story at first glance is both reasonable and absurd. On the one hand there seemed no other way to propagate the species what Lots’ daughters did took laudable initiative and daring. While it is unrecorded it is likely this was the only time Lot and his daughters’ were together. On the other hand, just because they narrowly escaped G-D’s wrath and it seemed like the end of the world, was that enough of a reason to cast off society’s rules and norms?

Were Lot and his surviving children that filled with hubris that they saw themselves as worthy as Uncle Avraham”s family to survive a world engulfing catastrophe? If Lot had to become the future of humanity, the last surviving man, then why was it necessary that Lot become inebriated before doing what is necessary for humanity’s survival?

At its core this episode lies the question when the world as one knows it come to an end does that change the rules? Do all manners, mores and morals get cast away because they are ostensibly now irrelevant?

Lot and his daughters fled to the Mountains and did not remain in Zoar. Rav Naftali Zvi Berlin ZT’L ZY’A explains in his Hemek Davar The angel promised Lot the destruction would not begin before he and his daughters reached Zoar. However, the destruction did indeed start prior to Lot& Co. reaching their refuge. Lot now had his doubts whether the angel’s promise could be relied on, so there was no choice but to head for the hills. The Malbim ZT’L ZY’A adds once Lot left Zoar it too was destroyed. Lot and his daughters did not have a tent or other shelter so the only protection from the elements was a cave.

Lot and his Daughters were all alone. There is some dispute if Lot and his daughters believed they were the last people on Earth or just the sole survivors in the region.(See S’forno ZT’L ZY’A , Malbim 19:30-31). The Malbim notes because Lot was so elderly he was in no physical state to travel beyond the devastation. Lot’s daughters concluded that their only chance to continue their family’s line was to have children by their father.
The Malbim offers an alternative approach that for whatever reason Lot’s children believed the destruction was not just regional but world wide. As sole survivors they had a duty to continue humanity. Malbim cites the sages’ opinion that whatever their motivation Lot’s daughters acted for sake of heaven.

If the fate of humanity was at stake why did Lot’s daughters need to ply their father with wine? It is a fair guess the concerns for Humanity’s future did not escape Lot’s notice. Rav Zalman Sortzkin ZT;L ZY’A in Oznim L’Torah explains Lot would not have breached the mores of society if he was not drunk.


The subtleties of language offers further insight in to this seemingly sordid story. The Meshech Chochmah ZT’L ZY’A notes that by informing the reader the children born to Lot and his daughters would become the progenitors of nations. Their act of immorality would have an adverse affect on their descendants for at least ten generations since a child born of a prohibited union is a mamzer whose character is dominated by an trait of brazenness. The Oznaim L’Torah continues on this theme that by noting the seductions took place only at night in atmosphere of comparative modesty thereby minimizing the resulting taint of brazenness.

Lot did not go running to his daughters nor were the young ladies too anxious about their aged father and they attempted to preserve some elements of modesty and morality. The significance of these events is alluded to be the Hemek Davar’s understanding of 19:32 B’LILA HAHU implies this episode was orchestrated Providential similar to how Rashi ZT’L ZY’A characterized Rachel and Leah exchanging nights with Ya’akov Avinu A’H in 30:16. So these abnormal circumstances were brought about and recorded for a purpose. Maybe there are two lessons to learn. There were good points in favor of what Lot’s daughters chose to do. It was not as evil as it looks. The other lesson is, even when all alone one should not abandon the manners, mores and morals that set the norms for behavior even in the face of the world coming to an end.