Vayeira 19:2 · EXTRA

Supplementary classical material; Torah Temimah lists no citation under this passuk.

The Complete Passuk

וַיֹּ֜אמֶר הִנֶּ֣ה נָּא־אֲדֹנַ֗י ס֣וּרוּ נָ֠א אֶל־בֵּ֨ית עַבְדְּכֶ֤ם וְלִ֙ינוּ֙ וְרַחֲצ֣וּ רַגְלֵיכֶ֔ם וְהִשְׁכַּמְתֶּ֖ם וַהֲלַכְתֶּ֣ם לְדַרְכְּכֶ֑ם וַיֹּאמְר֣וּ לֹּ֔א כִּ֥י בָרְח֖וֹב נָלִֽין׃

And he said, “Behold now, my lords, turn aside please to your servant’s house and lodge and wash your feet; then you may rise early and go on your way.” And they said, “No, for we will lodge in the street.”

Source Citation

Core Text of Chazal

Core Text

סוּרוּ נָא. עַקְּמוּ אֶת הַדֶּרֶךְ לְבֵיתִי דֶּרֶךְ עֲקַלָּתוֹן שֶׁלֹּא יַכִּירוּ שֶׁאַתֶּם נִכְנָסִין שָׁם. וְלִינוּ וְרַחֲצוּ רַגְלֵיכֶם — וְכִי דַרְכָּן שֶׁל בְּנֵי אָדָם לָלוּן תְּחִלָּה וְאַחַר כָּךְ רוֹחֵץ? אֶלָּא כָּךְ אָמַר לוֹט: מוּטָב שֶׁיִּתְעַכְּבוּ כָּאן בַּאֲבַק רַגְלֵיהֶם שֶׁיִּהְיוּ נִרְאִין כְּמוֹ שֶׁבָּאוּ עַכְשָׁו.

English: “Turn aside please.” Make a circuitous route to my house so that people will not notice you entering. “Lodge and wash your feet” — is it usual to lodge first and wash afterward? Rather Lot said: better they remain with the dust of the road on their feet so they will appear as if they have just arrived.

On the daf / in context: Lot’s hospitality is cautious: he invites the angels while trying to hide the act from the people of Sedom, reversing Avraham’s order of washing before lodging for tactical reasons.

Type of Learning

Derash on the verse (Rashi / Midrash) — not a formal named middah of the 13. The inverted sequence of lodging and washing is read as deliberate concealment.

What Is Learned

Even under hostile conditions Lot practiced hospitality, yet he had to conceal it; the contrast with Avraham’s open invitation highlights the moral climate of Sedom.