(יב) וַיֹּאמְר֨וּ הָאֲנָשִׁ֜ים אֶל־ל֗וֹט עֹ֚ד מִֽי־לְךָ֣ פֹ֔ה חָתָן֙ וּבָנֶ֣יךָ וּבְנֹתֶ֔יךָ וְכֹ֥ל אֲשֶׁר־לְךָ֖ בָּעִ֑יר הוֹצֵ֖א מִן־הַמָּקֽוֹם׃ (יג) כִּֽי־מַשְׁחִתִ֣ים אֲנַ֔חְנוּ אֶת־הַמָּק֖וֹם הַזֶּ֑ה כִּֽי־גָֽדְלָ֤ה צַעֲקָתָם֙ אֶת־פְּנֵ֣י יְהוָ֔ה וַיְשַׁלְּחֵ֥נוּ יְהוָ֖ה לְשַׁחֲתָֽהּ׃ (יד) וַיֵּצֵ֨א ל֜וֹט וַיְדַבֵּ֣ר ׀ אֶל־חֲתָנָ֣יו ׀ לֹקְחֵ֣י בְנֹתָ֗יו וַיֹּ֙אמֶר֙ ק֤וּמוּ צְּאוּ֙ מִן־הַמָּק֣וֹם הַזֶּ֔ה כִּֽי־מַשְׁחִ֥ית יְהוָ֖ה אֶת־הָעִ֑יר וַיְהִ֥י כִמְצַחֵ֖ק בְּעֵינֵ֥י חֲתָנָֽיו׃ (טו) וּכְמוֹ֙ הַשַּׁ֣חַר עָלָ֔ה וַיָּאִ֥יצוּ הַמַּלְאָכִ֖ים בְּל֣וֹט לֵאמֹ֑ר קוּם֩ קַ֨ח אֶֽת־אִשְׁתְּךָ֜ וְאֶת־שְׁתֵּ֤י בְנֹתֶ֙יךָ֙ הַנִּמְצָאֹ֔ת פֶּן־תִּסָּפֶ֖ה בַּעֲוֺ֥ן הָעִֽיר׃ (טז) וַֽיִּתְמַהְמָ֓הּ ׀ וַיַּחֲזִ֨קוּ הָאֲנָשִׁ֜ים בְּיָד֣וֹ וּבְיַד־אִשְׁתּ֗וֹ וּבְיַד֙ שְׁתֵּ֣י בְנֹתָ֔יו בְּחֶמְלַ֥ת יְהוָ֖ה עָלָ֑יו וַיֹּצִאֻ֥הוּ וַיַּנִּחֻ֖הוּ מִח֥וּץ לָעִֽיר׃ (יז) וַיְהִי֩ כְהוֹצִיאָ֨ם אֹתָ֜ם הַח֗וּצָה וַיֹּ֙אמֶר֙ הִמָּלֵ֣ט עַל־נַפְשֶׁ֔ךָ אַל־תַּבִּ֣יט אַחֲרֶ֔יךָ וְאַֽל־תַּעֲמֹ֖ד בְּכָל־הַכִּכָּ֑ר הָהָ֥רָה הִמָּלֵ֖ט פֶּן־תִּסָּפֶֽה׃ ...
(כג) הַשֶּׁ֖מֶשׁ יָצָ֣א עַל־הָאָ֑רֶץ וְל֖וֹט בָּ֥א צֹֽעֲרָה׃ (כד) וַֽיהוָ֗ה הִמְטִ֧יר עַל־סְדֹ֛ם וְעַל־עֲמֹרָ֖ה גָּפְרִ֣ית וָאֵ֑שׁ מֵאֵ֥ת יְהוָ֖ה מִן־הַשָּׁמָֽיִם׃ (כה) וַֽיַּהֲפֹךְ֙ אֶת־הֶעָרִ֣ים הָאֵ֔ל וְאֵ֖ת כָּל־הַכִּכָּ֑ר וְאֵת֙ כָּל־יֹשְׁבֵ֣י הֶעָרִ֔ים וְצֶ֖מַח הָאֲדָמָֽה׃ (כו) וַתַּבֵּ֥ט אִשְׁתּ֖וֹ מֵאַחֲרָ֑יו וַתְּהִ֖י נְצִ֥יב מֶֽלַח׃
(12) Then the men said to Lot, “Whom else have you here? Sons-in-law, your sons and daughters, or anyone else that you have in the city—bring them out of the place. (13) For we are about to destroy this place; because the outcry against them before the LORD has become so great that the LORD has sent us to destroy it.” (14) So Lot went out and spoke to his sons-in-law, who had married his daughters, and said, “Up, get out of this place, for the LORD is about to destroy the city.” But he seemed to his sons-in-law as one who jests. (15) As dawn broke, the angels urged Lot on, saying, “Up, take your wife and your two remaining daughters, lest you be swept away because of the iniquity of the city.” (16) Still he delayed. So the men seized his hand, and the hands of his wife and his two daughters—in the LORD’s mercy on him—and brought him out and left him outside the city. (17) When they had brought them outside, one said, “Flee for your life! Do not look behind you, nor stop anywhere in the Plain; flee to the hills, lest you be swept away.” ...
(23) As the sun rose upon the earth and Lot entered Zoar, (24) the LORD rained upon Sodom and Gomorrah sulfurous fire from the LORD out of heaven. (25) He annihilated those cities and the entire Plain, and all the inhabitants of the cities and the vegetation of the ground. (26) Lot’s wife looked back, and she thereupon turned into a pillar of salt.
(טז) ויתמהמה, עדיין היה מתמהמה כאילו היה חס על ממונו שהיה מניחו לפי התעכבו עד שעלה השחר ולא הניחו לקחת בידו מאומה אע"פ שאמרו לו וכל אשר לך.
(יז) ויחזיקו האנשים בידו וביד אשתו, להמלט על נפשם. וכאן קראם אנשים לפי שעשו מעשה אנשים להחזיק בידם כאילו היו גוף.
(יח) בחמלת ה' עליו, בעבור אברהם מהרו להוציאו ולהצילו אף על פי שהגיע עת ההפכה.
(יט) ויצאהו וינחהו, הוא ואשתו ובנותיו:
Lot was still hesitant, apparently being loath to leave his wealth behind in the city....
(טז) בחמלת ה' עליו אף על פי שבזכות אברהם היה נמלט כאמרו ויזכור אלהים את אברהם וישלח את לוט מתוך ההפכה הנה כיון שהיה מאחר ומתעכב אחר אזהרת המלאכים היה ראוי להיות נספה אבל היתה החמלה עליו כי לא במרד ולא במעל היה עכובו אלא מצד עצלה ונפש נבהלה:
...His hesitancy was not an act of rebellion against God but merely a reference to his lethargy, to his slowness in getting himself organised to leave town. His hesitancy may even have been influenced by the shock experienced when he heard what the angels were about to do.
...Lot was slow in leaving because he could not make his peace with leaving his married daughters behind. The angels had to physically take him from Sodom; he couldn't abandon his own children voluntarily.
(כו) ותבט אשתו מאחריו, אשתו שהיתה מאחרי לוט הביטה אחריה כי היתה קטנת אמונה והביטה אם נהפכה העיר ואם לא ואע"פ ששמעה אזהרת המלאך ללוט. ונכתוב זה הפסוק אחר ויהפוך, כי כל יושבי הערים כן היו מקצתם נציב מלח ומקצתם נציב גפרית, ואע"פ שלא נזכר מלח בהמטרה, עם הגפרית היה מלח, כי כן אמר הכתוב גפרית ומלח שריפה כל ארצה (דברים ל') ואמר כמהפכת סדום וגו'.
(כז) נציב מלח, כמו תל מלח ואמר נציב לומר כי כמו שהיתה ניצבה עומדת כשהביטה אחריה כן שבה מלח בקומתה:
Lot’s wife who had been walking behind him turned around, seeing that she had little faith in such miracles as she had been warned would occur; This, in spite of the fact that she had personally overheard the angel warning Lot that no one was to turn around on pain of their becoming a victim of this destruction. Even though salt has not been mentioned as having been part of the lethal rain, the Torah speaking of sulfur and fire, it appears that the people themselves were turned into pillars composed partly of sulfur and partly of salt.
ותהי נציב מלח בְּמֶלַח חָטְאָה וּבְמֶלַח לָקְתָה; אָמַר לָהּ תְּנִי מְעַט מֶלַח לָאוֹרְחִים הֲלָלוּ, אָמְרָה לוֹ אַף הַמִּנְהָג הָרַע הַזֶּה אַתָּה בָא לְהַנְהִיג בַּמָּקוֹם הַזֶּה (בראשית רבה):
AND SHE BECAME A PILLAR OF SALT — By salt had she sinned and by salt was she punished. Lot said to her once: “Give a little salt to these strangers” and she answered him, “Do you mean to introduce this bad custom, also, into our city?” (Gen. Rabbah 51).
(ה) ותבט אשתו מאחריו ר' יצחק אמר שחטאה במלח באותו הלילה שבאו המלאכים אל לוט מה היא עושה הולכת אל כל שכינותיה ואומרת להן תנו לי מלח שיש לנו אורחים והיא מכוונת שיכירו בהן אנשי העיר על כן ותהי נציב מלח:
is wife looked behind her - Rabbi Isaac said, for she sinned with salt. That night when the angels came to Lot, what was she doing? Going to all her neighbors and saying to them, give e salt, because we have guests. And her intention was that the men of the city would come to know of them. Therefore "she became a pillar of salt."
Why did Lot's wife look back? Sometimes what is behind us seems more comforting than that which lies ahead. Change may appear distasteful; it involves learning new tasks, adjusting to a new way of doing things. The landscape that stretches out before us may appear foreign and frightening, compared to the one that is already familiar.
What would we have done in this situation? Would we have been prepared to forge ahead and look to distant horizons, or would we also have felt a pull from the familiar and turned around to get one final glance?
It is undeniably important to remain conscious of our past. But we must not get mired in it. If we insist on continually looking back, we may become like Lot's wife: a stationary, immobile pillar of salt. If instead, we can bring ourselves to move forward and openly embrace new opportunities, we will be well-equipped to face our future.