Lots Illicit Relationship and the Failed Final Redemption

One of the most enigmatic and perplexing episodes in the entire Torah is the story of Lot and his daughters. In Genesis 19:33-35, the Pessukim describe the twisted turn of events where Sodom is destroyed and the only people to escape alive are Lot and his daughters. His daughters are convinced that they are the sole survivors of humanity and the only way to continue the human race is to conceive from their father and perpetuate mankind. 

They ply their father with wine and subsequently conceive, night after night, naming their sons Ammon and Moav, implicitly and explicitly implying their incestual act. The commentaries are replete with details and analysis of this outlandish event. Generally, our sages view their act as heroic, as they genuinely thought they were doing the right thing. 

But Lot? He is a complex character in general, where some sources describe his righteous nature, after all, he was spared from the destruction of Sodom. On the other hand, many sources paint his major character flaws, his willingness to sacrifice his daughters to the angry mob in Sodom, the fact that he secretly lusted after his daughters and was partially aware and complicit with these immoral acts. 

Before we dive into all of these details, I’d like to ask an even more fundamental question. Why is the Torah telling us about all of this to begin with? The Torah is not merely a series of interesting stories and racy tales. Each of these episodes has layers of depth and cosmic significance. What profound lesson is the Torah trying to convey through this strange narrative?

To begin to understand this, let’s focus on one side question which might be the key to understanding the entire teaching. Where did the daughters get the wine? They were fleeing fire and brimstone in Sodom, unlikely they were grabbing bottles of merlot on their way out. The Midrash in Bereshis Rabbah 51:8 asks this question and gives two answers. The first answer is that the Sodomites stored their wine in caves in the surrounding areas. That’s a cute side point, but it’s really the second answer that interests me:

אָמַר רַבִּי יְהוּדָה בַּר סִימוֹן נַעֲשָׂה לָהֶם מֵעֵין דּוּגְמָא שֶׁל עוֹלָם הַבָּא, הֵיךְ מָה דְאַתְּ אָמַר (יואל ד, יח): וְהָיָה בַיּוֹם הַהוּא יִטְּפוּ הֶהָרִים עָסִיס.

Rabbi Yehudah bar Simon said:

“They were given something resembling a reflection of the World to Come — as it says (Yoel 4:18): ‘And it shall be on that day that the mountains shall drip with sweet wine.’”

What does Rabbi Yehuda mean by this? What did the wine that led to drunken incest have to do with the World to Come and the Messianic Era? What is this Passuk in Yoel alluding to that can help shed light on the true perspective of what was really going on with Lot and his daughters?

In Bereshis Rabbah 50:10, the end picture is revealed as in fact, the Moshiach is born from this illicit relationship. From Moav comes Ruth and Dovid Hamelech. From Ammon comes Shlomo’s wife Naamah, giving birth to the next in line for the monarchy, Rehoboam. 

We are taught a lot about Ruth, her resilience and faith to convert to Judaism even in the most challenging times. But who is Naamah and what is her role here?

The first time we are introduced to a woman named Naamah is in Genesis 4:22 where she is described as the sister of Tuval Kayin. The Midrash in Bereshis Rabba 23:3 informs us that she actually becomes Noach’s wife. The second time we see Naamah in Tanach is in Kings I 14:21 where the Passuk describes that Naamah comes from the Ammonites and she was one of the foreign women who converted to marry Shlomo Hamelech. 

But the real depth of her existence and connection to the Final Redemption is explained in the powerful words of Rav Tzadok Hacohen in Dover Tzedek 4:126:

Shlomo Hamelech, who was called by the Name of the Holy One, blessed be He, and whose inner mysteries were of the inner light, truly existed in the secret of His Name, in the mystery of “He and His Name are one” as mentioned above… Through this surrounding light, all foreign wisdom was made known to him — for he immersed his mind and heart in external sciences — yet the hidden root that opposed them was that surrounding light, which could never cause him to sin, Heaven forbid, because his root came from a holy place…

 But when he extended himself toward foreign wisdoms and sought to rule over them — for the Name of Hashem is present even within the worlds of chaos and externals, though there it is hidden and concealed — he sought to reign over those realms as well… This signet was the very strength of Shlomo, and by it he returned to his kingship, as it is stated in the relevant section.

And in the Aggadah — as brought in Sefer Emek HaMelech — there is the story of how it returned to him through Na’amah the Ammonitess, who took it for him in his poverty.

For as soon as that light was taken from him, he became an ordinary man, even foolish, as our Sages said.  And within Na’amah was hidden the Light of Mashiach, for from her it would eventually emerge.

They showed him that even without that clear surrounding light — for all ruach hakodesh (divine inspiration) had departed from him, and he was like one now in exile — still, within that darkness, a great light could be found…

For from that darkness he merited to find his zivug (spiritual match) — Na’amah — and she restored to him that great light. At first, he had thought that he himself was the ultimate perfection, but in exile he realized it was not so; he cried out to Hashem, and was answered through Na’amah.

We can only begin to scratch the surface of the depth that Rav Tzadok is revealing to us. To try to put into simpler terms, Shlomo Hamelech was attempting to bring the world to its final point of unification. He was entering the physical world and attempting to create that bridge that would connect heaven and earth. He married women from non-Jewish nations to endeavor to bring all of humanity to the global recognition of Hashem Echad. He used his incredible wisdom of Torah and the natural world to reveal the hidden light that is within everything, tracing it back to its Ultimate Source. 

But within this brilliant revelation of holiness and perfection, Hashem cast Shlomo into the darkness, as He tends to do to all of us. That brilliant light, just like the primordial Ohr Haganuz was now concealed from Shlomo, he fell lower than he had ever been before, and he had to learn how to climb out of the darkness and challenge. He did this through the merit of his wife Naamah. It was within her, says Rav Tzadok, that contained the hidden light of Moshiach. She herself came from unholy sources, from a nation that was conceived in concealment and immorality. But Naamah didn’t let that stop her. She dived into that darkness to extract the holy sparks. She connected to Shlomo to enable him to survive his own spiritual downfall and the two of them partnered, more than any other spouse of Shlomo, to give birth to the next generation of the line of Dovid Hamelech and ultimately the Melech Moshiach. 

This wasn’t Naamah’s first time around. In the original rendition, Naamah was the wife of Noach as we mentioned above. Their union also had the ability to usher in the Messianic Era. But it was specifically Noach’s separation from his wife and his premature effort to bring the world to Tikkun by forcing Tardeima as we described HERE which was his error. Naamah was given a second chance. She was born again into the nation of Ammon, to find those sparks within herself, convert and unite with Shlomo Hamelech to give birth to Moshiach. 

And perhaps this is the Sod of the famous Passuk in Mishlei 3:17:

דְּרָכֶ֥יהָ דַרְכֵי־נֹ֑עַם וְֽכׇל־נְתִ֖יבוֹתֶ֣יהָ שָׁלֽוֹם׃

Her ways are pleasant ways, And all her paths, peaceful.

The ultimate revelation of Torah on its highest level will be in the unification of the ways of Naamah and the paths of Shlomo. 

And this is what was going on with Lot and his daughters. Hashem in His hidden ways was setting up the situation to give birth to the redemptive process specifically through the murkiest of channels, understanding that the whole process of Moshiach is about redeeming fallen levels and releasing hidden sparks. 

Going back to the Passuk in Yoel 4:18 that was quoted in the Midrash describing why Hashem hid the wine away in the cave for this purpose, the Zohar in Vaeschanan 32:197 comments:

בְּגִין דְּהַהוּא נַחַל אַסְגֵּי חֲבִיבוּתָא בְּעָלְמָא. וְכַד הַהוּא מַעְיָינָא קַדִּישָׁא, יִפּוּק וְיֵיעוּל לְגַבֵּיהּ, כְּדֵין יִתְתָּקַּן וְיִתְיְשַׁר, וְלָא יְהֵא בְּסוּרְחָנֵיהּ כְּקַדְמִיתָא.

For that valley had been greatly filled with desire in the world. And when that holy fountain will go forth and enter into it, then it shall be rectified and made upright, and its defilement shall no longer be as it was before.”

Hashem set up this world where things can look dark and mundane now, but just like with the daughters of Lot, what seemed to be lowly can turn out to be the source of sanctity. Hashem prepared the wine in the cave to create that model of revelation that would ultimately be revealed in the Days of Moshiach. The same holds true for our individual lives and the collective being of Klal Yisrael. That which seems like our greatest struggle and our most difficult moments can in fact give birth to the greatest light and unification of Hashem’s Name. L’Chaim.