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In Parshat Lech Lecha, Avraham follows Hashem into the land of Canaan. Shortly afterward, we read of the strife between the Avraham's shepherds and Lot's shepherds. Avraham does not want there to be strife in the family, and he suggests to Lot that they separate- Lot should choose one direction and Avraham will go in the opposite direction.

The Pasuk then describes Lot's decision in Chapter 13, verse 10:

"וישא לוט את עיניו וירא את כל ככר הירדן כי כלה משקה לפני שחת ה' את סדם ואת עמרה כגן ה' כארץ מצרים באכה צוער."

And Lot raised up his eyes, and saw the entire plain of the Jordan, that it was well watered everywhere, before Hashem destroyed Sedom and Gomorrah, like the garden of Hashem, like the land of Egypt...At this point of the story, it seems out of place to be mentioning the fact that Sedom is going to be destroyed, as the discussion about the destruction of Sedom happens 5 chapters later!

If that is the case, then we have to try to understand why this future-telling fact is added at this point of the story, and what it adds to our experience as readers and learners. The Bechor Shor says a beautiful idea. He explains as he writes that telling us now about the future destruction of Sedom teaches us that Lot checked out the land but failed to check out the inhabitants of the land. Had we not been told now about the future destruction of Sedom, we would not have seen any problem with Lot's decision to choose the well-watered land. However, we are meant at this point of the story to recognize that Lot only looked at the materialism in the land, and was unconcerned with spirituality or morality. This teachers us an important lesson about making decisions in life. We need to consider all variables when making decisions and be true to ourselves. It is not always easy to look deeply into ourselves to check if we are making decisions for the right reasons or if we are overlooking an important factor due to the other more enticing factors. May we all merit in making the correct decisions which will lead us to reaching our ultimate potentials!