What would you do? If you suddenly realized that all your so-called friends and colleagues were so wicked that your whole club/team/dorm/frat/company/organization was about to face destruction?
Would you run to the hills like the angel warned, abandon your property, and return to the tents of Abraham and humble yourself?
(ז) נִתַּאי הָאַרְבֵּלִי אוֹמֵר, הַרְחֵק מִשָּׁכֵן רָע, וְאַל תִּתְחַבֵּר לָרָשָׁע, וְאַל תִּתְיָאֵשׁ מִן הַפֻּרְעָנוּת:
(7) Nittai the Arbelite used to say: keep a distance from an evil neighbor, do not become attached to the wicked, and do not abandon faith in [divine] retribution.
Lot tries to deal with evil by an outward assimilation to it, and an attempt at appeasement. His story teaches the futility of this path as well as the depths of depravity to which it leads: a lesson that should not be lost on those recovering from the "Haskalah" anti-morality of progressive modernism, or ignored by those perpetrating it. Return to the source.
The initial error of Lot was to regard the wicked men of Sodom as "brothers" / "achim". First, he begs them to stop. This enrages them, and he then tries in vain to appease them of Sodom by forcing his daughters into prostitution, in order to prevent a homosexual rape of his houseguests.
Arrogance, before failure. (19) Better to be humble and among the lowly
Than to share spoils with the proud.
(יח) וַיִּֽהְי֣וּ בְנֵי־נֹ֗חַ הַיֹּֽצְאִים֙ מִן־הַתֵּבָ֔ה שֵׁ֖ם וְחָ֣ם וָיָ֑פֶת וְחָ֕ם ה֖וּא אֲבִ֥י כְנָֽעַן׃
