Parashat Lech Lecha - Third Aliyah

Abram and Lot have a great deal of livestock, and the land cannot support them both together. The herdsmen quarrel, and Abram suggests to Lot that they separate, even letting him choose which way to go. Within this very proposal to part, he recalls the closeness between them: “ki anashim achim anachnu” (“for we are kinsmen”; an excerpt from verse 8). How does this closeness lead to separation?

Stopping the quarrel before it reaches them

Or HaChaim notes that Abram speaks of strife between himself and Lot, although until now the text has described a quarrel between the herdsmen. Abram recognizes where things could lead: the strife between the people of the two camps is bound to enter their own relationship as well. Even if Lot were to say he would never quarrel with Abram, the quarrel between the herdsmen already exists.

According to this explanation, Abram acts before the conflict reaches him and Lot. He offers them distance and lets Lot choose first. His words can be read this way: family closeness is too precious to keep living in conditions that breed strife.

What does Lot see in the plain of the Jordan?

Lot looks over the plain of the Jordan and sees “ki chulah mashkeh” (“that all of it was well watered”; an excerpt from verse 10). Ramban explains that the land is watered by the Jordan. Irrigation like this keeps it far from the danger of drought and makes it good pasture. For a man with many herds, this is a clear reason to choose the place.

But alongside the description of the land comes a description of its people: the men of Sodom were very wicked and sinful. Rashi stresses that even so, Lot did not refrain from living among them. Together, the two commentaries sharpen the choice: Lot finds what his herds need, and the wickedness of the inhabitants does not stop him from settling near them.

After the separation, Abram lifts his eyes

After Lot has parted from him, God says to Abram: “sa na einecha ur’eh” (“lift up your eyes and look”; an excerpt from verse 14). Or HaChaim sees meaning in this sequence: God was waiting for Abram to separate from Lot, whom Or HaChaim calls wicked here; immediately after the separation, He speaks to Abram and shows him the land.

Both Lot and Abram lift their eyes in this parashah. Lot chooses the grazing land he sees before him; Abram is invited to look in all four directions and to hear a promise to him and his descendants. The gaze widens to the land and to the generations to come. The aliyah closes with an action: Abram comes to the oaks of Mamre in Hebron and builds an altar there to God.