וְאֶקְחָ֨ה פַת־לֶ֜חֶם וְסַעֲד֤וּ לִבְּכֶם֙ אַחַ֣ר תַּעֲבֹ֔רוּ כִּֽי־עַל־כֵּ֥ן עֲבַרְתֶּ֖ם עַֽל־עַבְדְּכֶ֑ם וַיֹּ֣אמְר֔וּ כֵּ֥ן תַּעֲשֶׂ֖ה כַּאֲשֶׁ֥ר דִּבַּֽרְתָּ׃
내가 떡을 조금 가져오리니 당신들의 마음을 쾌활케 하신 후에 지나가소서 당신들이 종에게 오셨음이니이다 그들이 가로되 네 말대로 그리하라
Kedushat Levi
Genesis 18,5. “for this is why your journey has brought you to the house of your servant.” On the face of it, this is a very unusual manner of extending an invitation to passing strangers to partake of a meal with the host. The commentators explained that angels are recipients of the largesse provided by G’d for the Jewish people who have performed G’d’s commandments. In other words, it was G’d Himself, Who let the sun out and thus Avraham, personally, was not able to perform his duties as an attentive host due to his not yet having recovered from the effects of the circumcision and from the weather. Under normal circumstances, these men would have been denied his hospitality. He therefore explains that due to his having fulfilled the commandment of circumcision, they would in fact be partaking of a meal provided by G’d Himself. They had been sent to him so that he could take credit for hosting them.
We have to elaborate somewhat on the tradition that Avraham had been observing, voluntarily, all of the commandments that would later on be found in the Torah. The only exception he had made was the commandment of circumcision. In light of the fact that this commandment was the cornerstone of G’d’s covenant with the Jewish people, why would Avraham purposely have neglected to perform this commandment until being told to observe it?
We have to elaborate somewhat on the tradition that Avraham had been observing, voluntarily, all of the commandments that would later on be found in the Torah. The only exception he had made was the commandment of circumcision. In light of the fact that this commandment was the cornerstone of G’d’s covenant with the Jewish people, why would Avraham purposely have neglected to perform this commandment until being told to observe it?
Kedushat Levi
Genesis 18,5. “let me take a piece of bread so that you can refresh yourselves,……he presented it to them and they ate.” The true meaning of this verse has been best explained by the Or Hachayim, according to whom even the highest ranking angel, Michael is on occasion referred to as “High Priest,” whereas on other occasions he is known by another name. [Not in my edition of the אור החיים. Ed.] The point of this is to alert us to the fact that the standing, or even existence, of the angels in the celestial spheres, is affected by the mitzvah performance of the Israelites in the terrestrial part of the universe. When Israel is meticulous in the performance of G’d’s Torah, then the most senior of the angels in the celestial spheres assumes the title: “High Priest.” When Avraham spoke about a פת לחם, instead of merely פת, bread, he alludes to both the written and the oral Torah. The word פת refers to the written Torah, whereas the word לחם refers to the oral Torah. The word לחם in psalms 78,25 i.e. לחם אבירים, is an allusion to the Torah. According to the Talmud Menachot 34, the word פת amongst the Africans means “two.” [The latter half of the word: טוטפת. Ed.] The word is used as an allusion to Torah also in Proverbs 9,5, לכו לחמו בלחמי, “come and partake of My bread.” [Compare Alshich, pages 171-172, my translation of Proverbs. Ed.] When Avraham is now described as serving the angels, we may see in this the reward both for Avraham‘s having performed the circumcision on himself, as well as reward for the angels, their being hosted by a person of Avraham’s standing. [Perhaps the mitzvah of hospitality shown the angels by Lot in the following chapter was a factor in his being saved, whereas his wife was not. Ed.] When Avraham, in verse 8, is described as standing next to the angels while the latter were seated while eating, the “tree” mentioned in that verse may be a reference to the tree described as “tree of life” in Proverbs 3,18, i.e. an allusion to the Torah.