Avrohom's nephew, Lot, was still living in Sdom, and he had learned a thing or two about doing good deeds, thanks to his uncle, Avrohom. One day, as Lot was sitting by the gate of Sdom, he noticed two men passing by his house. (They were Rafael and Gavriel, two of the angels who had visited Avrohom! Gavriel is the strength of HaShem,and it was his mission to destroy Sdom. Rafael is the healer of HaShem, and it was his mission to save Lot and his family.)
When he saw the weary-looking travelers, Lot decided to do a mitzvah.
"Please, gentlemen, come to my house for a meal. Stay the night and rest before you continue on your way, " Lot said to the strangers.
Now this was absolutely unheard of in the city of Sdom. Who ever invited guests? It was even against the law!
But the angels accepted Lot's offer, and Lot secretly led them through the back alleys to his home. There, he served them a meal and even some matza (it was Passover). As they ate, Lot said to his wife, "Please bring our guests some salt to make their food more tasty."
Aha! That gave his wife an idea. She was angry that Lot had invited guests and had been looking for an excuse to go tell the neighbors so that the police could be notified.
"I'll go borrow some salt from the neighbors!" she said, as she dashed out the door. She went from door to door, asking everyone, "Could I please borrow some salt for our houseguests?"
It was all downhill from there. Word spread quickly, and soon the whole city knew about Lot's guests. All of the people of Sdom stampeded down the street and banged on Lot s door. But no matter how hard they pounded, Lot would not let them in to harm his guests.
Lot was frightened, but his guests were not - after all, they were angels of HaShem. They caused all of the wicked people outside Lot's house to become blind. Then they could no longer find the door, and eventually they gave up trying.
