At the age of 99 Avraham has a bris. Now that’s sacrifice right? ouch. Anyway, the parsha starts just after his bris, where he is sitting at the entrance to his tent recouperating, and Hashem comes to visit him. This is actually one of the sources for the mitzva of visiting the sick. Just like Hashem visits the sick, so should we.
While Avraham is sitting there, and Hashem is in the middle of his bikkur cholim visit, Avraham sees three men heading towards his tent, as it says “He lifted his eyes and saw: And behold three men were standing before him. He saw, and he ran toward them from the entrance of the tent, and bowed toward the ground.” Our focus is on the next verse: “And he said, “My lord, if it please you that I find favour in your eyes, please pass not from before your servant.”
Who is Avraham talking to here? Is he talking to the three strangers who have happened on his way because he wants to host them and not let them pass on without being refreshed from his food and hospitality? Or is he talking to Hashem? After all, he was in the middle of a conversation with Hashem and obviously has to ask politely for Hashem to wait while he tends to his new guests. If Hashem doesn’t want to wait, and I imagine He is pretty busy – what with running the world and all, then forget the guests, Avraham is in a meeting right now, leave a number and he’ll get back to you.
Our sages weren’t sure. Look at the verse again:
“And he said, “My lord, if it please you that I find favour in your eyes, please pass not from before your servant.”
It could be either he is addressing the main stranger and said “My lord, please don’t pass by without benefiting from my hospitality”, or he could be addressing Hashem and saying “My Lord, if I find favour in Your eyes, please don’t leave while I take care of these guests.”
The verse could be read either way. But there is one thing that comes out crystal clear from this. Why are our sages not sure if Avraham is speaking here to Hashem or to his guests? Because he speaks to them both in the same way. Imagine how you would speak to God if you met Him personally (and you will one day by the way). There would be so much honour and respect and love conveyed in the way you spoke to Him! Avraham spoke that way also to his guests. To his fellow man. So much so, that it’s sometimes hard to tell when he is speaking to the Creator of the Universe and when he is speaking to a person.
Think about how you would speak to Hashem if you met Him face to face. Maybe we can speak that way also to every human being? After all, Avraham Avinu did.
Shabbat Shalom!
