From:                                   JoshHoff@aol.com

Sent:                                    Friday, November 14, 2008 4:02 AM

To:                                        JoshHoff@aol.com

Cc:                                        TorahWorld@gmail.com

Subject:                                Netvort:parshas Vayeira,6769

 

                                                                      Friends
                   By Rabbi Joshua ( bonhomically known as The Hoffer) Hoffman

 

At the beginning of parshas Vayera, the Torah tells us, " God appeared to him" ( Bereisjis,18:1).In the following verses, we are told that three men approached Avraham's tent, and he offered them hospitality. There is a. difference of opinion among the commentators whether the first verse is connected to those that follow,as the Rashbam explains, or  is an independent statement,as the Ramban explains. Those who maintain that it is connected  explain that God appeared to Avraham through the medium of the three men, who were actually angels of God, while those who view it as an independent statement explain that this verse  and merely tells us that God appeared to Avraham, without telling us the content of that vision, or the message that was delivered. There is no 'vayomer,'or' 'and he said,'following the 'vayeira,'or 'he appeared,' here,as there has been until now in the Torah.What,then, was the purpose of the visit, if there was no verbal message delivered? Rashi says that  Avraham  was convalescing from his bris milah, and God was performing the mitzvah of bikkue cholim, or visiting the sick The verse is then connected to the previous parsha, which describes Avraham's bris milah, and this explains why the verse does not mention Avraham's name, and merely says that God appeared 'eilav,'or 'to him,' meaning to Avraham, who was just mentioned at the end of parshas Lech Lecha..

 


Rav Yosef Dov Soloveitchik, zt'l, in his posthumously published volume of essays on Avraham entitled Abraham's Journey, further develops the opiion that the first verse in the parsha  is an independent statement and also refers back to the previous parsha. He says that  following the  bris milah described at the end of Lech Lecha, God was now a friend of Avraham, and, as a friend, enjoyed his company, and simply wanted to  be near him at this time of his life, when he had just undergone major surgery and experienced an important elevation in his status. This relationship of friendship, says Rav Soloveitchik, only began at the end of parshas Lech Lecha, after God made a bris, or covenant with Avraham,and,as a sign of this covenant, Avraham was circumcised.. Rav Soloveitchik goes on to explain very beautifully how a friend does not need to say anything when he pays a visit,and that merely being there is in itself a powerful message of friendship that goes beyond words.. I would like to expand on Rav Soloveithcik's explanation, and show why it was specifically in relation to the events described here that God displayed His friendship with Avraham.

 


Why does a friend want to be in the presence of someone with whom he shares his friendship? Through knowing the person, he comes to know what his essence is, and learns to appreciate it. Being in the presence of this person whose life represents a certain kind of ideal, or focus in life, gives his friend a certain amount of pleasure. The essence of Avraham  was the trait of chesed, or kindness.  Rashi in the beginning of the parsha cites the midrash which says  that the day was so hot that no travelers were on the road, and Avraham was sitting at the opening of his tent  hoping that someone would come by whom he could help.Rav Dessler, in his Michtav Me Eliahu, explains that Avraham did chesed because he loved to, and not just because he felt an obligation to fill somebody's needs.  Thus, his very essence consisted in doing chesed, and that was the trait of Avraham which God understood and for which He wanted to be in Avraham's proximity, as a devoted friend,when that trait came out in its fullest degree.

 

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