Vayeira

‎When Hashem sent angels to rescue Lot from the impending destruction of Sodom, one of the things they warned him was, המלט על נפשך אל תביט אחריך, Flee for your life! Do not look behind you. Since Lot’s wife didn't listen, she was immediately ‎turned into a pillar of salt. Rashi explains this punishment as midah k’neged midah. She sinned with salt so she was punished with salt. When Lot asked her for some salt for the guests she answered, "do you want to bring this bad trait of feeding guests into this place?"

To her & the rest of the Sodomites, ‎feeding guests was one of the worst things you could do.  There is a custom to wash your hands after you finish eating.  One of the reasons given is that one washes off the מלח סדומית , the salt from Sodom so that it doesn't blind your eyes. Why, however, in a place where there is no ‎מלח סדום, do we still wash our hands after the meal? Answers the ואני תפילתי that so bad was Sodom’s unwillingness to have guests that מלח סדום became a symbol of stinginess for these kind of people; they themselves were wealthy & satisfied, yet blind to the needs of others. 

Our rabbis wanted to teach us not to forget the needs of others particularly when we are content. Therefore, they started the practice of washing the מלח סדומית off our hands when we are satisfied after a meal, symbolizing washing away that stinginess.  

There is a story told about the Chofetz Chaim that emphasizes this point.  A young boy of fourteen named Leib, who was in yeshiva in Russia, was going home to visit his parents. However, the only train that went there left Thursday afternoon bringing him home right before Shabbos. However, the train didn't come until Thursday night & there was no way to make it home for Shabbos, so he asked the conductor where the train stopped along the way to see if there was a Jewish town to stay in for Shabbos. 

He was ecstatic to learn that the train would stop in a town very close to Radin, for his great uncle, the Chofetz Chaim, lived there.  He would go there for Shabbos. When he got to the house of the Chofetz Chaim he was welcomed warmly by the rebbetzin who told him that although the Chofetz Chaim already had gone to shul, he goes early & that he, Leib, must be tired from the journey. The rebbetzin encouraged Leib to lie down for a few minutes before shul. 

‎Leib who hadn't slept the night before was grateful for the offer & lay down on the couch. When he woke up, he saw the Chofetz Chaim, who welcomed his guest, sitting at the table learning.  He told him to wash his hands & daven after which they sat down to the meal. After the meal, they went to sleep, but Leib couldn't fall back asleep. He went into the kitchen to look at the clock but couldn't understand how the time could be correct.  They had just finished the meal, yet the clock said that it was four in the morning!? 

In the morning, Leib asked the rebbitzin if that clock was the right time. When she said it was, he asked how could it be that we finished the meal last night at four in the morning? She explained that when the Chofetz Chaim came home from shul, you were fast asleep. I wanted to wake you for kiddush but the Rav wouldn't allow it. He said to wait until you awoke, for you were exhausted from your trip.  

He would wait to make kiddush when you awakened. However, since you slept so long, he told me & my son to eat but that he would wait for you. He didn't eat with us & said when you got up, he would wake me up, too, so we could all eat together ‎in your honor. Even though you slept for many hours, the rav wouldn't start to eat without his honored guest. 

Imagine coming home from shul Friday night to an unexpected guest & then waiting hours to eat, not even mentioning a word or complaint. Had Leib not seen the clock, he never even would have known what the Chofetz Chaim did for him. This was the total opposite of Lot’s wife & the people of Sodom who wouldn't even give a little salt to guests. We have to remember to look out for the needs of others & especially when we have it good & others don't, to be careful to reach out to them & help in any way that we can!