Chasidut for Genesis 18:2
וַיִּשָּׂ֤א עֵינָיו֙ וַיַּ֔רְא וְהִנֵּה֙ שְׁלֹשָׁ֣ה אֲנָשִׁ֔ים נִצָּבִ֖ים עָלָ֑יו וַיַּ֗רְא וַיָּ֤רָץ לִקְרָאתָם֙ מִפֶּ֣תַח הָאֹ֔הֶל וַיִּשְׁתַּ֖חוּ אָֽרְצָה׃
and he lifted up his eyes and looked, and, lo, three men stood over against him; and when he saw them, he ran to meet them from the tent door, and bowed down to the earth,
Kedushat Levi
Genesis 18,2. “when he looked out, here three men were standing practically on top of him.” The Zohar I, 98, identifies these three “men” as “Avraham, Yitzchok, and Yaakov.” Clearly, we must try and understand what the Zohar meant by this, since the same “Avraham” is reported in the very same verse as running to meet these three “men”.
We have explained earlier that normally Avraham served the Lord from feelings of love, whereas in submitting to the circumcision, he had switched to serving G’d from feelings of יראה, awe, i.e. by totally negating the interests of his earthbound personality. By destroying his foreskin, a symbol of limitations and hindrance to spiritual development, known generally as קליפה, “husk,” in kabbalistic parlance, (compare writings of Ari z’al) he had attained a new and higher level of spirituality. He had now mastered both the ability to serve the Lord on two levels, אהבה (attribute of חסד) and יראה, attribute of גבורה). The latter attribute is the one that his son Yitzchok would symbolize for us in the future.
It is part of our tradition that whenever the attributes of אהבה and יראה, i.e. אש, and מים, “fire and water,” in terms of our terrestrial part of the universe, are present simultaneously, due to the fact that these two attributes are opposites of one another, we require the presence of a third attribute one that harmonizes between these two opposite attributes. This third attribute is known as תפארת, harmony; the third of our patriarchs, Yaakov, is perceived by our sages as having characterized the attribute “harmony.” It follows that at the time of Avraham’s circumcision this third attribute had been present also, i.e. it had a part to play in the performance of that commandment. When the Torah speaks of what Avraham “saw,” it referred to Avraham’s having become aware at that moment that these three attributes, all of which can be part of מצוה performance, had had a part in his having circumcised himself at the command of G’d. The word: נצבים, describes the “presence” of all these three attributes during Avraham’s recovery from the physical effects of the circumcision.
We have explained earlier that normally Avraham served the Lord from feelings of love, whereas in submitting to the circumcision, he had switched to serving G’d from feelings of יראה, awe, i.e. by totally negating the interests of his earthbound personality. By destroying his foreskin, a symbol of limitations and hindrance to spiritual development, known generally as קליפה, “husk,” in kabbalistic parlance, (compare writings of Ari z’al) he had attained a new and higher level of spirituality. He had now mastered both the ability to serve the Lord on two levels, אהבה (attribute of חסד) and יראה, attribute of גבורה). The latter attribute is the one that his son Yitzchok would symbolize for us in the future.
It is part of our tradition that whenever the attributes of אהבה and יראה, i.e. אש, and מים, “fire and water,” in terms of our terrestrial part of the universe, are present simultaneously, due to the fact that these two attributes are opposites of one another, we require the presence of a third attribute one that harmonizes between these two opposite attributes. This third attribute is known as תפארת, harmony; the third of our patriarchs, Yaakov, is perceived by our sages as having characterized the attribute “harmony.” It follows that at the time of Avraham’s circumcision this third attribute had been present also, i.e. it had a part to play in the performance of that commandment. When the Torah speaks of what Avraham “saw,” it referred to Avraham’s having become aware at that moment that these three attributes, all of which can be part of מצוה performance, had had a part in his having circumcised himself at the command of G’d. The word: נצבים, describes the “presence” of all these three attributes during Avraham’s recovery from the physical effects of the circumcision.
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Kedushat Levi
Genesis 18,2. “when he saw, he ran towards them;” Avraham had still been suffering from the pains of his circumcision. A sick or ailing person is usually the recipient of the loving concern of the attribute of Mercy; Avraham, instead of indulging himself was overcome with the attribute of גבורה, overpowering courageous energy, so that he was able to run to meet these men. He was suddenly possessed of the characteristic (the author has “soul,”) that would distinguish his not yet conceived son, Yitzchok. We explained in the previous paragraph that this resulted in his also being endowed with the attribute תפארת, harmony, so that he combined all the three characteristics that distinguished the three patriarchs.
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Kedushat Levi
Genesis 26,28. “we have taken due note of the fact that the Lord has been with you, etc.;” based on what we explained (18,2) in connection with וירא וירץ לקראתם, (page 88) that when a person looks at a righteous person, his own powers of perception are enhanced by the mere fact that he is within the orbit of the tzaddik, our sages (Rosh Hashanah 16) have stated that people must make a point of visiting their Rabbi or other scholars on the festivals. They will benefit spiritually merely by looking at their Rabbi. Avraham at the time had realized that the three strangers who had appeared in front of him suddenly were superior beings as his own powers of perception had been sharpened by their arrival and his facing them. It was this realization that his perceptive powers had been enhanced, that prompted him at the time not only to walk toward these visitors but to run in order to make them welcome.
The repetition by the Torah of the words ראו ראינו is to draw our attention to both Avimelech and his entourage having experienced these enhanced powers of perception. They had become aware that their powers of “seeing” had not only been improved quantitatively but also qualitatively, i.e. they had experienced the awe of feeling in the presence of a spiritually superior being. They realized now that the Presence of the Divine Shechinah rested above the head of Yitzchok.
The repetition by the Torah of the words ראו ראינו is to draw our attention to both Avimelech and his entourage having experienced these enhanced powers of perception. They had become aware that their powers of “seeing” had not only been improved quantitatively but also qualitatively, i.e. they had experienced the awe of feeling in the presence of a spiritually superior being. They realized now that the Presence of the Divine Shechinah rested above the head of Yitzchok.
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