Comentario sobre Génesis 18:2

והנה שלשה אנשים AND BEHOLD THREE MEN — one to announce to Sarah the birth of a son, one to overthrow Sodom, and one to cure Abraham, for one angel does not carry out two commissions (Genesis Rabbah 50:2). You may know that this is so because throughout this section it (Scripture) mentions them in the plural — “and they ate” (Genesis 18:8), “and they said unto him” (Genesis 18:9) — whilst in the case of the announcement it states, (Genesis 18:10) “And he said, I will certainly return unto thee”, and with regard to the overthrow of Sodom it says (Genesis 19:22) “For “I” cannot do anything” and (Genesis 19:21) “that “I” will not overthrow [the city]”. Raphael who healed Abraham went thence to rescue Lot; that explains what is stated (Genesis 19:17) “And it came to pass when they had brought them forth, that he said, Escape for thy life”, for you learn from this that only one of these acted as Deliverer

וישא עיניו, he concentrated on seeing more clearly.

וישא עיניו וידא. When he raised his eyes he saw, etc. Why did the Torah add the word והנה?" Besides, why did the Torah add that the three men נצבים, "were standing?" This is no more than normal! What does the addition of that word add to our understanding? Furthermore, what is the meaning of the word עליו, "upon him?" The meaning of that word cannot be that they were merely close to Abraham! If that were the case, why did Abraham have to run towards them? Another difficulty in the paragraph is the repetition of the word וירא! Why does the Torah portray Abraham as bowing down to these men before he knew who they were, i.e. angels and not Arabs?

וישא את עיניו, the first thing Avraham saw after he had gone to sleep were three men standing next to him, נצבים עליו, apparently ready to be of service to him. The meaning of the expression נצבים עליו is similar to Samuel I 22,7 ויאמר שאול לעבדיו הנצבים עליו, “Saul said to the people standing next to him (in attendance) etc.” The same expression is also used in this context in Ruth 2,6 הנצב על הקוצרים, “who was standing next to the reapers;” we also find this expression in Kings I 5,30 "משרי הנצבים, and in numerous other places in Scripture. These three men beheld by Avraham were standing at his disposal. They did not move, but indicated that they were expecting instructions from him. When he realised this he ran toward them. This explains why the word וירא, “he saw” appears twice in this verse in close succession.

One to foretell to Sarah... Rashi is answering the question: Why did Hashem bring three “men,” instead of one angel? He answers: Hashem anyway needed to bring three angels. One to foretell to Sarah...

STOOD OVER HIM. The purport thereof is that they were standing opposite Abraham and looking at him, the expression being similar to: that stood over the reapers;⁶⁹Ruth 2:6. the chief officers that stood over the work.⁷⁰I Kings 5:30. And due to the fact that he [Abraham] was sitting and they were standing and looking at him, the verse says, “over him.” This is also the meaning of the expression, And he saw, and ran to meet them, for as he saw them standing opposite him and not continuing their journey, he ran to meet them in order to bring them to his house.
The sense of the expression, From the tent door, is that Abraham was still sitting there after the vision of the Shechinah had departed from him.
It is possible that the expression “over him” refers to the tent, i.e., that they were near it on the side which was not opposite the door, and there they stood and did not approach Abraham, just as in the verse, encamping ‘al’ (on) the sea.⁷¹Exodus 14:9. Meaning “encamping alongside the sea.” Here too alav means “standing alongside him.”

(2-3) Wenn das Wort אדני im dritten Vers חול, also die Anrede "meine Herren" bedeutet, dann wäre das וירא des ersten Verses nur die allgemeine Einleitung; es hieße: Gott erschien ihm, als er gerade vor seinem Zelte in der Glut der Sonne saß und nach Wanderern ausspähte, die ihm dann auch wurden und an welchen er Gastfreundschaft übte. Die Gotteserscheinung selbst wäre dann erst nach dem Abschied, Raw Hirsch on Genesis 18: 20, eingetreten. Ist dieses Wort קדש, also Gottesname, wofür sowohl die Punktation, als auch die Anrede im Singular spricht und wie es als הלכה rezipiert, und damit eben jener große Satz von der superlatiden Größe tätiger Menschenliebe selbst der Anschauung Gottes gegenüber als jüdisches Axiom sanktioniert ist, so ist der erste Vers וירא usw. allerdings der erste Moment der Erzählung: Gott erscheint ihm, um ihm eine Offenbarung zu machen, er aber ist gerade im Geiste mit der Erspähung einer Gelegenheit zur Erfüllung der Gastfreundschaft beschäftigt; gleichzeitig mit der Gotteserscheinung erblickt er Menschen, denen er liebreich dienen kann, er eilt ihnen entgegen, und, während er im Herzen seinen Gott, dessen Gebot er ja eben thätig zu erfüllen eilt, bittet, sich nicht zu entziehen, bevor er diese Pflicht erfüllt, spricht er zu den Wanderern יקח נא usw. Vergl. Raw Hirsch on Genesis 18: 22 ואברהם עודנו עומד לפני ד׳.

והנה שלשה אנשים, according to Rashi, these “three men,” were in fact three angels with different tasks to perform. One was Rafael, whose task it was to heal Avraham from the wounds of the circumcision. (this is based on Talmud Baba Metzia 86. He then went on to save Lot.) Of the two angels who proceeded on to Sodom, one was Michael. If it had been so this would contradict the statement of our sages that an angel is assigned only one task at a time. Some Rabbis consider saving Lot as similar in principle to healing Avraham, so that there would be no contradiction.

נצבים עליו STOOD BY, or OVER HIM — before him; only this is a more fitting expression to use of angels

נצבים עלי, facing him. They appeared as if waiting to speak to him when he would be free to turn his attention from the marvelous manifestation he had just observed. People waiting to speak to someone are described as נצבים עליו, as for instance in Genesis 45,1 להתאפק לכל הנצבים עליו.

מפתח האהל, where he had been sitting. He saw himself running towards these men in his vision.

You may be convinced of this because in the entire parshah they are mentioned in the plural form. The Maharshal objects: This “proof” just begs the question. Perhaps one angel can do multiple missions, and it mentions one [and the same] angel concerning each deed. [The answer is:] I heard from my father and teacher that Rashi is saying as follows: [You might ask:] Perhaps [there were three] because three angels were needed for a single mission? And it is not because an angel is incapable of multiple missions. Rashi answers: “You may be convinced...”

We must understand the report of the Torah in terms of what transpired later, i.e. that the men were indeed angels who appeared in human garb in order to partake of Abraham's hospitality for reasons known to us. The words וירא והנה simply mean that Abraham saw that they were apparently men, something which later on proved to have been an error on his part. He had judged the outward appearance. Had the Torah not added the word והנה, the report would have been a lie.

Man möge jedoch der einen oder der anderen Auffassung huldigen, jedenfalls ist die Tatsache, dass Gott sich dem Abraham offenbarte, während er in Menschen erquickender Gastfreiheit tätig war, oder, dass Abraham zu solcher Tätigkeit schritt, in dem Augenblick, als sich ihm Gott offenbarte, diese Tatsache ist von außerordentlicher Tragweite hinsichtlich des wahren Wesens jüdischer Prophetie. Wie ist man nicht geneigt, Prophetie, unsere Prophetie, mit in die Kategorie des Schwärmens, Augurwesens, der Ekstase, der Clairvoyance etc. etc. zu werfen. Zuletzt ist die Ekstase nur eine Vorstufe der Prophetie und Prophetie nur ein höherer Zustand der Ekstase. Selbst jüdisch-philosophische Schriften sind nicht frei von der Vorstellung, zur Prophetie, zur Gottesoffenbarung führe sogenanntes התבודדות, räumliche und geistige Abstraktion, Vereinsamung des Menschen und des Gedankens. Und doch, welche Kluft liegt zwischen allem dem und der wirklichen wahrhaftigen Prophetie. Nicht der abstrakte Gedanke, das frisch pulsierende, Gott treue Leben gewinnt die Gottesnähe. Nicht Produkt einer krankhaften Phantasie, eines gereizten Zustandes ist unsere Prophetie, dem gesunden, schaffenden, heiter wachen Leben gehört sie an, wie dies ja auch die Weisen ausgesprochen: nicht Schlaffheit und Trübsinn, auch nicht Ausgelassenheit und Leichtsinn, so wenig wie Tändelei, sind der Zustand, in welchem der Gottesgeist auf den Menschen kommt, sondern Mizwafreude, die in treuer, Gott dienender Tat zu gewinnende Freude, אין השכינה שורה לא מתוך עצלות ולא מתוך עצבות ולא מתוך שחוק ולא מתוך קלות ראש ולא מתוך שיחה ורברים בטלים אלא מתוך שמחה של מצוה Und wenn das Gotteswort eine Stufe der Probhetie mit .(.Sabbat 30b) פה אל פה אדבר בו ומראה ולא בחידות bezeichnet, und eine andere mit במראה אליו אתודע בחלום אדבר בו so ist auch in dieser letzteren der Traum nur ein ,(B. M. 12, 6. 8 .4) Medium der Gottesmitteilung an den Menschen, und ist weit entfernt von dem Zustand visionärer, verzückter Menschen; denn Gott wählt zu seinem Organ nur einen starken, reichen, weisen und bescheidenen Menschen אין הב"ה משרה שכינתו אלא על גבור ועשיר וחכם ועניו Wir sehen, die völligste, allem Visionären fernliegende .(.Nedarim 38 a), praktische Klarheit ist der Zustand, in welchem Abraham hier נביא wird.

נצבים, interrupting their walk by assuming a position which invited enquiries by anyone seeing them. Our author quotes Exodus 34,2 ונצבת לי, as a similar use of this verse; i.e. Moses is invited by G-d to stop climbing the mountain and wait until He gives him the inscribed set of the second Tablets. וירץ לקראתם, “he ran toward them, having understood that this was the reason why these men had suddenly halted for a purpose.

וירא AND HE SAW — What does the repetition of this word וירא imply? The first time it has its ordinary meaning (“he looked”), the second that of understanding: he saw that they were standing in one spot, and so understood that they had no desire to cause him any trouble. Although they knew that he would go to meet them they nevertheless remained where they were out of respect to him and to show him that they wished to spare him trouble; he, therefore, took the initiative and ran towards them. In the Treatise Bava Metzia 86b we have the following: It is written, “they were standing by him” and it is also written “He ran towards them” — how can these apparently contradictory statements be reconciled? But the explanation is, that at first they stood by him and when they perceived that he was loosening and re-binding his bandages, they retired from him; he therefore immediately ran towards them.

וירץ לקראתם, before they could open a dialogue with him.

וישתחו ארצה, they appeared to him to be men of great stature. He then addressed them with the words reported in the Torah. Our sages (Bereshit Rabbah 50,2) say that Avraham was so familiar with the sight of angels that their sudden appearance did not cause him to become disoriented, frightened and he perceived them essentially as אנשים, men. On the other hand, Lot, whose spiritual powers were quite minor, perceived the men as being angels, מלאכים, seeing that he had had little experience with such phenomena. (compare 19,1) Manoach’s wife had already told her husband that the face of the man who had told her that she would have a son was like that of an angel of G’d. (Judges 13,6)

Rephael, who healed Avraham, went from there... Question: Why does Rashi need to mention this here? The answer is: Rashi says this to answer the following questions. One angel cannot do multiple missions, as seen from the fact that the foretelling to Sarah and the overturning of Sedom are written in the singular, as Rashi explained above. If so, where do we find Avraham’s healing written in the singular? Furthermore, why did Hashem not bring four angels, [the fourth] one to rescue Lot? Thus Rashi explains that Rephael who healed Avraham went to rescue Lot, and Lot’s rescue is written in the singular, as Rashi goes on to say. Therefore it is as though a single angel was also mentioned for Avraham’s healing. (Re’m) Furthermore, Rashi is answering the question: Later, concerning the overturning of Sedom, it is written (19:1): “The two angels came to Sedom,” implying that it involved two angels, although one of them had already done his mission [and was incapable of another mission]. Thus Rashi explains: “Rephael who healed Avraham...” to tell us that one of the angels was Rephael. He only rescued Lot and did not assist in overturning Sedom. Rashi explains that Rephael who healed Avraham went to rescue Lot. You might ask: If so, why did this angel say about himself (19:13), “We are going to destroy”? The answer is: His essential mission was to rescue Lot, but to destroy Sedom was an indirect result [of the rescue]. For it says (19:23-4), “When Lot came to Zoar, Adonoy caused to rain upon Sedom...” I.e., rescuing Lot indirectly caused the destruction. Thus it is rightly said that an angel of good does no evil, and vice versa. (Ra) Some versions of Rashi say: “The mission of healing and rescue are one.” Rashi is answering the question: Why three angels? [There are four missions but only three angels, so it seems that an angel can indeed do a second mission if it is in a different place! Therefore,] let the two angels of Avraham’s healing and Sarah’s foretelling go to Sedom. One will overturn Sedom while the other will rescue Lot. Thus Rashi explains that [an angel cannot do a second mission in a different place either. Rather,] rescuing and healing are one [mission; they save endangered life. Therefore, it can be done by the same angel]. But foretelling and rescue are two different missions. Other versions of Rashi do not have this. The reason one angel does not perform multiple missions is to demonstrate that Hashem’s legions are countless; where there is wealth there is no scantiness. The Nachalas Yaakov debated at length, and concluded: It seems clear that Hashem brought three angels so that Avraham would not be aggravated over [lack of] guests, even though one angel can do multiple missions. [You might ask:] If so, why does it state that there were three? Would it matter if there were more, or less? Thus Rashi explains that Scripture informs us that there were three angels to carry out three types of missions.

The word נצבים means that Abraham, who was by now familiar with celestial messengers, realised that these "men" had been sent to him for a specific purpose, for his sake. One of them, for instance, had been charged with the task of healing him. A second one had been sent to inform him that by that time in the following year Sarah would have a son. The third one, whose task appeared to be the destruction of Sodom, nevertheless had detoured in order to afford Abraham an oppportunity to intercede on behalf of the people of Sodom before G'd would carry out His judgment on that city. In other words, his whole presence there was "עליו, on account of him (Abraham)."

מפתח האהל, he began running from the entrance of his tent. When a person is observed to perform any task with speed, with keenness, this reflects that he considers what he is about to do as important. We have another example of such conduct in Exodus 34,8 וימהר משה ויקוד ארצה וישתחו, “Moses hastened to bow down and to prostrate himself.”

Next to him. We need not question: If so, [that “over” is respectful], then [below in v. 8] it should say that he stood next to them, [rather than “over them”]. For the answer is: Since there [in v. 8] he is serving them at the meal, it is proper to write he stood “over” them, as it means he was right next to them, ready to serve them immediately. But in this verse this reason does not apply. It says likewise in Pesachim 103b: “Rav Yeiva was standing over them to serve them during the meal.” (Mahara’i)

The expression אנשים נצבים may allude to the human posture these angels assumed. The word עליו means "on his account," i.e. for his sake, so that he could perform the מצוה of hospitality. Abraham realised that they were angels because the bearing of an angel cannot be disguised. We know this already from the wife of Manoach (Judges 13,2). If that lady realised that she faced an angel, someone of Abraham's stature would certainly be aware of the presence of an angel. After all, Abraham had already encountered angels previously. The word וירא a second time merely confirmed Abraham's original impression seeing that he had been healed and was able to run towards them. An angel has long-distance vision and inasmuch as the cure he performs is of a spiritual nature, he does not need to be physically close to the patient. As soon as Abraham felt cured, he bowed down to the angel in gratitude to G'd.

וישתחו ארצה, seeing that the appearance of these strangers was so awe-inspiring. We have a parallel verse in Judges 13,6 when Manoach’s wife is described as reacting to the angel’s awe-inspiring appearance as such that she did not even dare to enquire his name, etc. Avraham considered these men as emissaries from some king.

And then it says: “He ran to greet them.” Some ask: According to the Aggadah that they were close and then moved away, it should say: “He ran after them”! The answer is: Avraham’s tent had four openings. When they went away, he ran from that opening to one in the north or south, to stop them [from leaving]. That is why it says, “[He ran toward them] to greet them.” Another answer is: Angels have no backside, [but multiple faces]. For it says (Yechezkel 1:12): “They did not turn as they walked.” Although these angels were in the guise of men, they retained their trait of seeing what was either in front or behind them. [Thus, Avraham was actually greeting their faces.] (Toldos Yitzchok)