Kommentar zu Bereschit 18:7

בן בקר רך וטוב A CALF, TENDER AND GOOD — There were three calves so that he might give them to eat three tongues together with mustard condiment (Bava Metzia 86b).

AND ABRAHAM RAN UNTO THE HERD. The purport thereof is to tell us of his great desire to bestow kindness. This great man had three hundred and eighteen men⁸⁸Above, 14:14. in his house, each one a swordsman, and he was very old and weakened by his circumcision, yet he went personally to Sarah’s tent to urge her in the making of the bread, and afterwards he ran to the place of the herd to chose a calf, tender and good, to prepare for his guests, and he did not have all these done by means of one of his servants who stood ready to serve him.

THEN ABRAHAM RAN TO THE HERD. Since he told them (v.5) "a morsel of bread," a small quantity, since their journey required them to go, he had to run and hurry, since he said to them a little and he did much. All this was written to recount Abraham's importance [magnanimity].

ואל הבקר רץ אברהם, the term רץ is a variant of the term וימהר, he hastened. The Torah wished to give us an impression of the speed with which a man of 99 years old performed the task of entertaining unexpected guests, preparing a virtual feast for them.

ואל הבקר רץ אברהם, “meanwhile Avraham had run to the cattle (pens)” From the triple description בקר (1), רך (2) וטוב,(3), we learn that he took 3 calves and served each guest a whole tongue with mustard. Why would he serve them 3 tongues? These could be prepared in a hurry, and Avraham did not want to delay his guests for longer than necessary.

ואל הבקר רץ אברהם, “while Avraham himself ran to the cattle, etc.” He could easily have sent one of his numerous servants to go to the stables and to select the animals for slaughter. After all, we know that he had a minimum of 318 male servants (14,14). He refrained from doing so, however, and went himself, and with accelerated gait, in order to honor his guests. All this in spite of the fact that he was both aged and weakened by the circumcision. The Torah reports all this to round out the picture of Avraham as a generous person.

There were three calves. You might ask: How does Rashi know there were three calves; perhaps there was only one? The answer is: Rashi inferred this since it is written בן בקר, which means of a tender of age, why then does Scripture write רך [an apparent redundancy]? Furthermore, why does it say וטוב and not simply טוב? Perforce, there were three: בן בקר is one, רך is two, and וטוב is three. The Re’m explains that it should say רך טוב. Since it says וטוב, it must have been written for a homiletical exposition. And since טוב is meant to be expounded, so too is רך meant to be expounded. This is based on the Gemara in Bava Metzia 86b.

בן בקר רך, “a calf which is soft and can be cooked quickly.” Rashi here comments that the reason why he insisted on slaughtering three calves, [surely more than they could consume even if they had not been in hurry, Ed.] was because he wanted to serve them only the best part of animal, i.e. the tongue (seasoned with mustard). (Based on Talmud Eyruvin 28) In earlier eras tongue was not served with pepper, as pepper was not universally available.

אל הנער TO THE YOUNG MAN — This was Ishmael whom he bade to do this in order to train him to the performance of religious duties (in this case the duty of hospitality) (Genesis Rabbah 48:13).

בן בקר, male and young, so that it would be both tender and tasty. The word טוב refers to it being juicy, fat; we find this expression used in that sense also in Jeremiah 44,17 ונשבע לחם ונהיה טובים, “we had plenty of bread and were fat.”

So that he might feed them three tongues together with mustard. You might ask: How does Rashi know he served them tongues? The answer is: Because it explains why Avraham slaughtered three calves for three people, which seems a waste of money. And we cannot simply say it was to honor them, as even [the slaughtering of] one calf is a great honor. Furthermore, the slaughtering of three calves makes them look as if they were gluttons, which is not an honor but a disgrace. Thus Rashi explains that Avraham wished to feed them three tongues. We need not ask: Why were three [tongues needed, when two have enough meat]? For the answer is: The flavor of tongue is uneven. The middle is better, and the bottom is fattier. Avraham wanted to feed them three, so each could eat what he wished or what the others ate. [Furthermore,] Avraham otherwise would have had to cut the tongues, and the [irregular] pieces would not be fit to be received by such important guests. Rashi mentions mustard because, as he explains on Bava Metzia 86b, [tongue with mustard] is a delicacy of kings and ministers. (Gur Aryeh) Three calves were needed in order to serve them similar portions, so as not to cause jealousy at the meal: Avraham held them all equal in honor. (Akeidah)

אל הנער; to the servant. According to an allegorical interpretation [based on the definitive article ה seeing that Avraham had many servants, Ed.] this is a reference to Ishmael.

This refers to Yishmael, to train him in mitzvos. Rashi inferred this since it is written הנער, meaning the abovementioned lad: Yishmael. But it seems to me that [Rashi knew this] because Avraham ran to the cattle himself. If so, why did he let someone else complete the mitzvah? Therefore Rashi explains that [the someone else] was his son, [and Avraham did this] to train him. (R. Yaakov Kenizal) [Furthermore,] Rashi is answering the question: Why was Avraham not punished for giving it to the lad, as he was for having the water brought [through an intermediary]? Thus Rashi explains, “This refers to Yishmael...” and it was an act worthy of reward. (Devek Tov)

לעשות אותו, to prepare it and to cook it.