In this week’s Parsha we are taught about the unusual demise of Lot’s wife. Two angels come to the city of Sodom to rescue Lot from the Divine destruction that will soon ensue. As Lot and his family are leaving, the angels warn them not to look back at the city of Sodom as it is being destroyed.
The Torah tells us that Lot’s wife could not resist the temptation, and she looked back; at that moment she was reduced to a pillar of salt. “His wife peered behind him and she became a pillar of salt.” (Bereishis 19:26) Rashi cites the Midrash Rabba that explains why Lot’s wife was punished in this peculiar way. “For she had sinned with salt and with salt she was punished. He (Lot) said to her (his wife), ‘Give me a bit of salt for these guests.’ She responded, ‘Even this evil practice you have brought to this place!’ The Midrash Aggadah (Bereishis 19:26) adds that Lot’s enraged wife went out to the neighbors asking for salt ‘for her husband’s guests’. Shortly thereafter the people of Sodom gathered around Lot’s house to enforce the law, demanding that Lot surrender his guests to the angry mob.
I once heard a beautiful idea in the name of the late Gadol, Rav Yosef Shalom Elyashiv Z”l. Rav Elyashiv asked an interesting question about the Midrash that Rashi cites. It seems from the Midrash that Lot’s wife did not approve of hosting guests, as it was contrary to the philosophy of Sodom. The people of Sodom believed ‘what’s mine is mine, and what’s yours is yours’, as the Mishna records in Pirkei Avos, sharing, giving, and charity were outlawed. Clearly, Lot’s wife had adopted the cruel attitude and philosophy of Sodom. What seems strange is that Lot’s wife did not protest when Lot invited the guests in, nor did she protest when he provided them with bread. Only when Lot asked for salt, she expressed her disapproval. Bread requires more expensive ingredients than a bit of salt and significant labor to produce, why was she okay with a meal of bread but she complained about a pinch of salt?
Rav Elyashiv explained that bread is a necessity. As much as she did not believe in hosting guests, she could tolerate providing them with necessities. Salt, on the other hand, makes food taste good; it is not essential. Giving the guests something just for them to enjoy, that Lot’s wife could not tolerate.
When I think of this story, I find that there is a striking lesson we can learn. Lot’s wife got so upset that she went out to the neighbors and informed on her own husband, inciting an angry mob that was ready to act violently. What made her so upset to lead to such a terrible response? A pinch of salt! Everything was okay until Lot asked her for a little salt for the guests. It is remarkable that so much harm could be done because of an argument over a pinch of salt! But the truth of the matter is, that this is something we see all the time.
So many arguments boil down to nothing more than a pinch of salt. So many trivial matters are blown out of proportion because of “the principle of the matter.” We must learn from Lot’s wife that an argument gone wrong can lead to catastrophic results. And we must learn from Lot’s wife that, more often than not, we are arguing over small things, trivial details! It would serve us well to swallow our pride, to see past “the principle of the matter”, and recognize that ultimately, we are arguing over nothing more than a pinch of salt.