Lot's Wife Turns to a Pillar of Salt

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  1. R. Yosef Bekhor Shor

    Dr. Avigail Rock

    R. Yosef of Orléans, (northern France) was a 12th-century exegete who has become known through the generation as Ri Bekhor Shor. He was a Tosafist, a student of Rabbeinu Tam, and he was influenced mainly by Rashi’s commentary and the commentaries of Mahari Kara and the Rashbam. Like his predecessors Mahari Kara and Rashbam, he was a member of the peshat school.  It appears that Ri Bekhor Shor forges a path that is a middle way between Rashi and the pursuers of the peshat. These are his major exegetical principles:

    • Ri Bekhor Shor aims to explain the verses without non-biblical information; however, when the derash is appropriate for explaining the peshat and for the general context of verses, or when one may explain it as being in keeping with biblical reality, he will not hesitate to bring a midrash.
    • The Torah does not provide superfluous information. All information provided is in fact essential.
    • Verses should be explained within their specific context, a reverse method to the foreshadowing principle of Rashbam.
    • Verses should be explained based on understanding the state of mind of the human actors.
    • Verses should be explained according to the reality of the biblical era.
    • God directs the world in a natural way as much as possible, and the use made of miracles is the absolute minimum.
    • An expansive and consistent approach to the question of the reasons of mitzvot.
    • In the Peshat vs. Halakha discussion, Ri Bekhor Shor is closer to Rashi’s approach with exception in which he explains the verses according to a Peshat that differs from Halakha.
    • A tendency to counteract Christian interpretations of the Torah.

  2. Parshat Vayera Part 3: Escape from Sedom

    Rabbi Alex Israel | 32 minutes

    Chapter 19 describes the destruction of Sodom and Lot’s escape. This podcast compares Avraham’s hospitality at the beginning of Parshat Vayera with the hospitality Lot shows the angels in Sodom, and attempts to analyze Lot’s character through a close examination of the text and classical commentaries.  

    Courtesy of www.tanachstudy.com

  3. The Rescue of Lot and His Daughters

    Rabbi Yaakov Medan

    This article examines the parallels between the story of Lot and the Exodus from Egypt. What does Pesach, which will eventually be given to Israel alone, have to do with Lot, the ancestor of the nations of Moav and Ammon? A close analysis of these texts and the story of Lot and his daughters attempts to answer this question.