<p><span style="font-family: times new roman, times; font-size: large;" _mce_style="font-family: times new roman, times; font-size: large;"><strong>This week's shtikle is dedicated&nbsp;<em>le'ilui nishmas</em>&nbsp;my brother Efrayim Yechezkel ben Avi Mori Reuven Pinchas, whose&nbsp;46^th&nbsp;<em>yahrtzeit&nbsp;</em>is Shabbos, the 18th of Cheshvan.</strong></span></p> <p><span style="font-family: times new roman, times; font-size: large;" _mce_style="font-family: times new roman, times; font-size: large;"><strong>As well, this Tuesday, the&nbsp;21^st&nbsp;of Chesvan, is the 23^rd&nbsp;<em>yahrtzeit</em>&nbsp;of my great uncle, Rabbi&nbsp;Lord&nbsp;Immanuel Jakobovits. The shtikle is dedicated&nbsp;<em>le'iluy nishmaso</em>, Yisroel ben Yoel.</strong></span></p> <p><span style="font-family: times new roman, times; font-size: large;" _mce_style="font-family: times new roman, times; font-size: large;">As the evil city of Sedom is destroyed, Lot and his family are escaping the mayhem when his wife disobeys her orders and looks back at the carnage. She is instantly turned (<a href="https://www.sefaria.org/Genesis.19.26" _mce_href="https://www.sefaria.org/Genesis.19.26">19:26</a>) into a pillar of salt.</span></p> <p><span style="font-family: times new roman, times; font-size: large;" _mce_style="font-family: times new roman, times; font-size: large;">Why salt? David Farkas offered the following explanation in <a href="https://www.lulu.com/shop/david-farkas/the-searcher-and-the-seeker/hardcover/product-1kmnvnm2.html?q=david+farkas&amp;page=1&amp;pageSize=4" _mce_href="https://www.lulu.com/shop/david-farkas/the-searcher-and-the-seeker/hardcover/product-1kmnvnm2.html?q=david+farkas&amp;page=1&amp;pageSize=4">HaDoresh veHamevakesh</a>, in the name of R' Moshe Eisemann of Ner Yisroel.</span></p> <p><span style="font-family: times new roman, times; font-size: large;" _mce_style="font-family: times new roman, times; font-size: large;">The reason why salt was chosen, is because salt is a retardant, used to curtail growth. Marauding armies would thus sow their enemy’s lands with salt to prevent it from being farmed, and even today we use it for pickling, to prevent the growth of decay. The reason why Lot and his family were commanded not to look behind them is because they had become part of the Sedom culture. It was only in the merit of Avraham that they were saved. For their own merit, they needed to show that fleeing the city was a complete divorce from that evil society. They needed to move on and to grow to become new people. If they were to look back, it would show that they simply were not ready to leave their previous life. When Lot's wife looked back, she showed just that. She was unable to grow. As the saying would go, "You could take Lot's wife out of Sedom, but you just couldn't take the Sedom out of Lot's wife." This was most accurately symbolized by her transformation into a pillar of salt.</span></p> <p><span style="font-family: times new roman, times; font-size: large;" _mce_style="font-family: times new roman, times; font-size: large;"> Have a good Shabbos.</span><br> <br></p>