In Parshat Vayeira, we continue to read about the life of Avraham Avinu and to gain insight into his greatness. Chazal tell us that the quality traits that Avraham Avinu developed in his lifetime have been passed down to his descendents – let us understand what these qualities are and how we can live up to our spiritual potential by following his example.
The Mishnah in Pirkei Avot lists some of the defining and exemplary traits of Avraham Avinu:
Whoever possesses these three qualities belongs to the disciples of Abraham our father: a good eye, a modest spirit, and a humble soul (Avot 5:22)
Among other things, in this week’s parsha, we learn what it really means to possess at least some of these qualities that characterized Avraham Avinu – most specifically we will try to understand what it means to have a good eye - as we find that throughout the parsha, the words of the Torah call attention to who and what Avraham sees. The parsha begins by telling us that Hashem appears to Avraham at the entrance of his tent and relates:
And he lifted his eyes and saw, and behold, three men were standing beside him, and he saw and he ran toward them from the entrance of the tent, and he prostrated himself to the ground (Gen. 18:2)
Many commentators ask an obvious question about the opening lines of the parsha: what made Avraham feel that it was appropriate to leave the presence of the Shechina – even if it was to fulfill a mitzvah? Beyond this, the Torah never tells us what Hashem wanted to tell Avraham before the meeting was “interrupted” by the 3 men – is it possible that Hashem never finished this conversation?
Both of these questions can be answered based on a beautiful insight of the Rashbam. At times, Hashem appears to man in the Divine image through prophetic vision. At other times, however, Hashem appears to man through the form of a messenger – and this is precisely what happened in our parsha. While the reader understands that these 3 men were in fact angels of Hashem that were sent on a very specific Divine mission, Avraham understood that on some level every individual is a messenger of Hashem in this world and must be treated accordingly. With this understanding, the opening words of the parsha - And Hashem appeared to him [Avraham] - refer to three men that Avraham runs to greet. This interpretation of the text may explain why the Torah never does tell us that Avraham left the presence of the shechina.In truth, at least in Avraham’s mind’s eye, he did not depart from Hashem’s presence when he went to greet the messengers, but instead, he was running towards the shechina.
This is perhaps the first level of understanding what it means to have a good eye – to see each other as the messengers of Hashem in this world - and to treat each other accordingly. Avraham demonstrates this ability later in this parsha, in the stirring dialogue in which he insists that he can find enough righteous people among the evildoers of Sedom to save the city – once more we see this inherent and instinctual drive that Avraham had to find the good even amidst virtually all evil.
What we learn from Avraham Avinu is how to be come a true baal chessed (literally someone who masters the trait of kindness) – the first step towards doing so is being able to see the good and positive in those around us. It is when we attune ourselves to the good in those around us that we are not only moved to help those in need, but to go out of our way to seek out those who we can help. Rabbi Frand points out that this idea is conveyed in the Gomorrah (Ketuvot 68a), which tells us: Anyone who shuts his eyes from the obligation of tzedakah is like one who worships idols. “It does not say one who shuts his wallet or his pocket from charity,” Rabbi Frand writes, because the first step in being able to give tzedeka is to seethat others need it. And this is precisely what Avraham does – as he sits at the opening of his tent searching, awaiting the opportunity to see someone in need to whom he could offer his hospitality.
Avraham's ability to literally seek out those in need goes even one step further - demonstrating for us another important aspect of what it means to see the world with a good eye. Rashi explains that the Torah writes, he [Avraham] saw twice in the verse quoted above – once to indicate that he literally saw them, and the other to illustrate that he understood that they were not comfortable to approach him to ask for his hospitality. To see the world with a good eye is not only to notice those who obviously need our help, but to try to understand what it is that need of us - even before they have to ask and even if they are not willing to ask!
The way we view others not only affects the amount of chessed we are willing and ready to do, but it should also impact the way we do it. The Torah tells us with great detail that Avraham ran towards the men and hurried to prepare food for them – his eagerness and excitement to be able to extend his hand to them is obvious from the text. So often when we do favors for others, we do so begrudgingly, or carelessly at best. If only we saw each other through the perspective of Avraham Avinu, we would see the favors we do as greater pleasure for us than for the receiver.
Just as it is often a struggle to see Hashem on a constant and consistent basis, though we trust and know that He is present at all times, so too it can be quite challenging to see godliness in those around us. At these times let us remember that Avraham Avinu was able to see the goodness and godliness in the 3 strangers - all the while with the impression that they were idol-worshippers The words of the mishnah remind us that all the descendants of Avraham Avinu already possess the good eye - we have the ability to see the world from Avraham's most admirable perspective - but it is up to us to open our eyes to see the world in this way. This parsha helps us to do so by modeling for us what it means to see and to live with this point of view. On one level, we learn that to have a good eye is to search to see Hashem in all people we encounter. On another level, we learn that we must open our eyes to notice those who need us and to try to understand what those needs are. Finally, we must remember let this perspective affect not only what acts of kindness we do, but also how we do so. May Hashem open our eyes to the endless opportunities to help each other and give us the strength and means to do so!
SHABBAT SHALOM, Taly
