Excessive preoccupation with wealth effectively strips a person of his humanity, reducing him from a noble, Godly, spiritual being to a bank account number or portfolio.
The Torah in Parashat Lekh-Lekha tells the story of Lot, Avraham’s nephew, who chooses to live in the wicked city of Sedom and is then captured when the city falls into the hands of the four Eastern empires. Upon hearing of his nephew’s capture, Avraham assembles a small army and wages war against the five kings, rescuing the population of Sedom, including Lot.
It is worth noting how the Torah depicts Lot in the narrative of Sedom’s capture and subsequent rescue. In describing the fall of Sedom, the Torah writes, “They [the four kings] took all the property of Sedom and Amora, and all their food, and set off. They took Lot, Avram’s nephew, and his property, and they set off…” (14:11:12). These two verses seem to be deliberately written in identical fashion: the four kings took all the property of Sedom and went, and they also took Lot and went. The identical structure of these verses sets up a clear parallel between the property of Sedom, and Lot. In other words, Lot is treated by the narrative as nothing more than part of the booty, one object among many that was looted by the triumphant four kings. This parallel returns later in the narrative, when we read of Lot’s rescue, which is described as parallel to the rescue of the property of Sedom: “He [Avraham] restored all the property, and he also restored Lot, his kin, and his property…” (14:16).
This structure alludes to Lot’s “objectification,” his transformation from a thinking, active individual to a piece of property. In this narrative, Lot is nothing more than an article of value that kings fight over and that changes hands during warfare.
Dr. Tzvi Shimon of Bar-Ilan University notes that this depiction of Lot should be understood off the backdrop of Lot’s fateful decision to settle in Sedom in the first place. When Avraham realized the need for him and his nephew to part ways, and offered Lot the choice of where to settle, Lot chose the region of Sedom because of its agricultural qualities, and because it resembled Egypt, the country where Lot and Avraham had briefly sojourned and amassed great wealth (13:10). In that context, the Torah notes the corruption that characterized the population of Sedom (13:13), likely emphasizing the point that Lot chose the material benefits of Sedom at the expense of moral standards. The Torah subtly criticizes Lot’s decision, which prioritized material potential over idealistic concerns (a critique elaborated upon by Chazal, as Rashi cites to 13:11).
Dr. Shimon notes the significance of this progression from Lot’s ill-advised choice of residence and his subsequent “objectification”:
The story of the war of the four kings against the five (chapter 14) shows us the bitter fruit of materialism. Lot, who was led primarily by materialist considerations, after parting ways with Abraham is presented in materialist terms, as an object that is moved around. This depiction serves to underscore the outcome of a materialist world view; a person who is led by material considerations ultimately becomes no more than a material object, one more item in a list of booty.
Excessive preoccupation with wealth effectively strips a person of his humanity, reducing him from a noble, Godly, spiritual being to a bank account number or portfolio. Once Lot chose to betray his uncle’s teachings and ideals and associate with the people of Sedom to enjoy the city’s material’s benefits, he lowered himself from a human being to an asset, a piece of property.
The Torah draws a stark contrast in this regard between Lot and Avraham. In direct contradistinction to Lot, Avraham refuses to take even “a thread or shoelace” from the property of Sedom that he courageously rescued (14:23), in order not to have any material association with the city. Although Avraham was very wealthy, and was not adverse to material prosperity per se, he favored morals and ideals over wealth, and turned down an opportunity to augment his fortunes when it necessitated associating with the sinful city of Sedom.
The Torah’s contrast between Avraham and Lot thus teaches the proper perspective on material success, demonstrating that while wealth in itself is perfectly legitimate, it must not come at the expense of our religious and ethical values.