창세기 18:34의 Halakhah

And this is the intention of our rabbis z”l, when they say, “All who judge a judgement truthfully, it’s as if he is a partner with God in the creation of the world,” because God created the world to continue and the wicked who steal and commit acts of violence ruin the world through their actions. And similarly we find regarding the generation of the flood that the decree of their judgement was sealed only because of theft, as it is written, (Genesis 6:11) “For the earth is filled with violence,” and it says after this, (Genesis 6:13) “I will destroy them with the earth”. What emerges is that the judge who breaks the high arms of the wicked keeps the world going and completes the will of the Creator, blessed is His name, who created it to keep going, and it is as if they become partners with the Holy One ,Blessed Be He, in the creation. Abraham our forefather didn’t know God, and He called him (Isaiah 41:8) “My beloved” because he walked in the ways of justice and guided his children, as it is written, (Genesis 18:19) “For I have known him, to the end that he may command his children and his household after him, that they may keep the way of God, to do righteousness and justice…” And Moses our teacher a”h, master of all prophets, took advice from Yitro with regards to justice, to establish judges to caution Israel and to command them through justice, and God agreed with this. And Joshua afterwards established a covenant with Israel to serve God, he left his last word as justice, as it is written, (Joshua 24:25) “On that day Joshua made a covenant for the people, and there at Shechem he reaffirmed for them laws and justice.” [This is] because justice is the foundation and the great principle in the service of God, and following [Abraham] have each and every judge judged their generation, and bring them back from their evil ways to service of God to go in the way that Abraham paved to do righteousness and justice, and through this were they [i.e. the Jewish people] were saved from their enemies until Samuel the prophet came, God-faithful, (1 Samuel 7:15-16) “who judged Israel all the days of his life. And he went on a circuit year by year to Bethel, Gilgal, and Mizpah. And he judged Israel in all these places.” And our sages tell us that the path he took one year was not the one he took the next, so that he could turn the hearts of the entire nation toward service of God, and to walk in the way of Abraham our forefather a”h, and he anointed David to be the king of Israel, and he too walked in the ways of God from all that was in front of him, as it is written,(2 Samuel 8:15) “And David did justice and righteousness. (1 Chronicles 11:8) “And Joab restored the rest of the city.” And our sages tell us that in the merit of the justice and righteousness of David, Joab restored the rest of the city, and had his child [Solomon] continue after him, the “Yedid Hashem”, who loved to go in the laws of his father David and would ask from God an understanding, listening heart to judge his people, to understand between good and bad, and it was good in God’s eyes, that which he asked regarding this. And He gave him a wise and understanding heart which has never been before, and no one has been like him since, and all of Israel was afraid of him because they saw that the wisdom of God was in his heart to do justice. And also Jehoshaphat, who took the paths of his father and raised his heart in the ways of God, was strengthened in justice, and he appointed judges in every city, and he said to the judges, “See what you do, for you are not judging for man but for God, and with you shall be justice.” Josiah as well, that Scripture testifies about him, “And no king was like him before, who returned to God with all his heart.” And also the King Messiah, who will be revealed speedily in our days, is praised by Scripture regarding justice, and it is written, (Isaiah 11:4) “And he will judge the destitute with justice, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth…” And according to the greatness of his reward will be the punishment for those who void and pervert it, as it is taught, “Destruction comes to the word based on lack of law and on the perversion of law.” And so did David say, (Psalms 119:121) “I have done justice and righteousness, leave me not to my oppressors.” This implies that without justice, he would have been left in the hands off oppressors. And Jerusalem was only destroyed, and Israel only exiled, because of the neglecting of justice, as it is written, (Isaiah 1:21) “She once was full of justice; righteousness used to dwell in her-- but now murderers.”... And God wants it more than all the sacrifices, as it is written, “Doing righteousness and justice is choicier to God than the zevach offerings.” It does not says “than sin and burnt offerings,” but rather “than zevach offerings.”

And thus the utensil, the knife, with which food is cut into pieces is called a ma’akhelet because it annihilates and destroys, as in the expression, “you shall consume (ve-‘akhalta) all the peoples.”³Dt. 7:16: “You shall destroy all the peoples” (NJSB). Ma’akhelet is the term for the knife with which Abraham prepares to slaughter Isaac in Gen 22:10. And the verse which uses va-yokhlu (“they ate”) to refer to what the ministering angels were doing teaches this,⁴Gen 18:8, in the story of the angels visiting Abraham at Mamre. as our sages z”l taught in a midrash about the three calves that Abraham brought to them. “One after another each one went up and disappeared (kalah) off the table, and Abraham when he realized this, brought some more meat almost continually time after time, like a person who kept increasing the number of whole burnt offerings he sacrificed on the altar.”⁵Gen. R. 48:16. And likewise about Adam it is written, “She also gave some to her husband, and he ate (va-yokhal).”⁶Gen 3:6The word va-yokhal (“and he ate”) proclaims his sin both by his deed and by his thought. By his deed: that is that he caused the tree to lose its fruit, and ate it despite his being warned not to: “for as soon as you eat of it, you will die.”⁷Gen 2:17. His thought: that is that he destroyed, cut off, and made like the branch of the tree was a thing in and of itself, and if so, everything suffers destruction and annihilation, in both physical and intellectual things.⁸R. Bahya alludes here to the kabbalistic idea that the sin of Adam also involved “the cutting of the shoots,” the intellectual error of mistaking the part for the whole of creation. This had profound cosmic implications, since by eating the fruit of the tree of knowledge, Adam not only physically separated the fruit from the tree, he intellectually “separated” it from its heavenly image above, its source of power and energy. This intellectual separation cuts the divine “pipeline” connecting the lower and upper worlds, effectively blocking the empowering flow of divine energy between the two worlds. It is precisely this state of affairs, the consequence of Adam’s sin, that the table blessings R. Bahya discusses in the First Gate is intended to repair. And so when you are found saying the word va-yokhal, it includes the destruction (hashhatah) of both something below and the destruction of something above, as it is written, “your people have gone bad (shihet),”⁹Ex 32:7. This is from the story of the Golden Calf. God is speaking to Moses, and instead of referring to the Israelites as “My people” as He usually does, God calls them “your – i.e., Moses’ – people,” much as parents often pass the buck to one another when their children have misbehaved (as does Moses, too, replying to God in Ex 32:11). I think R. Bahya’s point is that there is both a lower and upper “people “(“your [Moses’] people” vs. “My [God’s] people” that have “gone bad.” and likewise Jeroboam was called a mashhit – “destroyer” – because he destroyed and cut short the shoots.¹⁰See note 8 above. R. Bahya alludes to the midrash in b. Berakhot 35b: “‘He is a companion to vandals (ish mashhit) (Prov. 28:24).’ This refers to Jeroboam the son of Nebat who ruined (she-hishhit) Israel for their Father in Heaven,” by building two golden calves and ordering the Israelites to worship them (I Kings 12:28-32).

One does not look directly at the face of someone eating at the table, nor at the plate, nor at the portion set before him, so as not to embarrass anyone. The table server does not eat in the presence of the diners, but they give him some of each dish out of kindness, so that his heart won’t be ashamed. A host who has eaten before his guest – he’s a disgrace! When two are sitting at the table, the older gets to reach for the food first, then the younger. And whoever extends their hand before someone older than them – he’s a glutton! One leaves a “corner” of food uneaten in a kettle but not in a pot.¹⁵Derekh Eretz Rabba, 6. Corner in the Hebrew is “pe’ah.” Just as farmers are commanded to leave the corners (pe’ot) of their fields un-harvested for the poor to glean (in Lev. 19:9), so one should not scrape clean food served a cooking pot, but rather should leave leftovers for the servers to eat. On the other hand, it is okay not to leave leftovers from food served in a different kind of cooking pot. Chavel suggests that the difference between the “kettle” (lit., “something made in an ‘ilpas – one type of cooking pot”) and the “pot” (lit., something made in a kedrah – another type of cooking pot) is their size, and that one is only required to leave a “corner” of leftovers for the server from the bigger stew pot (ilpas), not the smaller cooking pot (kedrah). In other words, unlike the saying “That’s like the pot calling the kettle black,” what I’ve translated here as “kettle” and “pot” are significantly different types of cooking utensils. It happened to Rabbi Yehoshua when he was a guest at a widow’s home, that she brought him a stew pot, and he did not leave a “corner.” She brought him a second one, and he did not leave a “corner. The third time she ruined the dish with salt. He withdrew his hand and ate only bread. She said to him, “Why did you take so much bread when you took so little of the pounded beans?” Hence, Rabbi Yehoshua said, “Nobody has ever gotten the best of me except a woman who was a widow, a little boy, and a little girl.” For it happened to Rabbi Yehoshua when he was walking on a path through a field, that he found a girl who was sitting in the field. She said to him, “Why are you walking in the field?” He said, “I’m walking on a path.” She said, “If this is a path, it’s only because robbers like you have trampled it into one.” And again, it happened to Rabbi Yehoshua when he was walking on a path through a field, that he found a little boy sitting where the path split in two. He said to the boy, “My son, which path will take me into the city?” He said to him, “There are two paths in front of you: the one long and short; the other short and long.” Rabbi Yehoshua took the short and long path. When he got to the wall of the city, he saw gardens and orchards surrounding the city. R. Yehoshua turned back and saw the little boy sitting where he had been before. He said to him, “My son, didn’t I ask you which path would take me into the city?” He replied, “You’re the old sage; aren’t you wise enough to figure it out?” At that, Rabbi Yehoshua went to kiss him on his head and said, “Happy are you, O Israel, for all of you are wise, from your oldest to your youngest!¹⁶All these stories about Rabbi Yehoshua are taken almost verbatim from Derekh Eretz Rabba 6.”

If the host himself wants to serve his guests, he may, even if the host is a talmid hakham. The reason is from this:³⁵Rabbi Yitzchok Etshalom, on his Rambam website, explains clearly the Gemara that R. Bahya cites in this way:
The essential question, as presented in the Gemara (BT Kiddushin 32a-b), is whether the honor due the sage is his own (like the father’s), or if it is the *K’vod haTorah* (Honor of the Torah), which he embodies. The Gemara posits that even though the father (and, presumably, the mother), may be *Mochel* [that is, “waive”] the honor due him, the teacher may not. A challenge is brought from the fact that God Himself was “*Mochel*” His Honor, by “walking” in front of the camp of Bnei Yisrael in the desert (inappropriate for one due honor) – and God is seen here as the model for the teacher. The Gemara defeats this challenge by distinguishing – it is God’s world and it is God’s honor – if He wishes to be *Mochel* – that is “up to Him”. But the scholar isn’t just representing his own self; it is God’s Torah which is the source of his honor. The Gemara refutes this distinction by pointing to an alternate reading of the first verse of Psalms, which indicates that after learning Torah, the Torah becomes the “property” of the student/scholar. That is the final result of the *sugya* (section) in the Gemara. http://www.torah.org/learning/rambam/talmudtorah/tt5.11.html, consulted 3/11/10. If a teacher has waived the honor due him, his waiver of honor is waived, as it is said, “The Lord went before them by day.”³⁶That is, God Himself waived His own honor by walking in front of the Israelites. It would have been more appropriate for the honored person to be proceeded by someone lesser in rank (like when King Ahashverous honors Mordechai by having Haman lead him around the city on horseback). That contradicts this! Or does it? It is the Holy One Blessed be He’s world, and if He wants to waive His honor, it is up to Him.³⁷Here the Gemara goes on to object that if the teacher’s honor depends his knowledge of Torah, and Torah comes from God, that it is not the teacher’s honor that he’s waiving, but God’s. However, the Gemara then goes on to refute this objection with the proof text from Psalm 1:2, where R. Bahya resumes his paraphrase of the sugya, having omitted the objection itself. And it goes on to say that it is the teacher’s torah (and honor) once he has learned it, as it is said, “he studies his torah day and night.”³⁸Ps. 1:2, taking the “his” of “his torah” (be-torato) to refer to the subject of the verb “studies” (ye-he-geh), that is, the man who studies, not God. And they also said, if a nasi (political authority) has waived his honor, his waiver of honor is waived.³⁹B. Kiddushin 32b. It happened to Rabbi Eliezer and Rabbi Yehoshua when they were reclining in the banquet hall of the son of Rabban Gamaliel the Elder, that Rabban Gamaliel was serving them something to drink. He gave a cup to Rabbi Eliezer, who refused it, and to Rabbi Yehoshua, who accepted it. Rabbi Eliezer said to him, “What is this, Rabbi Yehoshua? We are sitting, but Rabban Gamaliel the son of Rabbi is standing and serving us something to drink!” He replied, “We have precedent for the greater acting as a table server. Abraham was the greatest of his generation, and it is written about him, “And he stood over them under the tree and they ate.”⁴⁰Gen 18:8. Lest you object that they appeared him as heavenly angels, on the contrary, they appeared to him as Arabs. So as for us, why shouldn’t Rabban Gamaliel the son of Rabbi stand and wait upon us?” Rabbi Zadok said to them, “How long are you going to overlook the honor of God and occupy yourself with the honor of mortals? The Holy One Blessed be He causes the winds to blow and raises up rulers, makes the dew fall and makes plants grow from the earth; He sets a table before each and every one. So as for us, why shouldn’t Rabban Gamaliel the son of Rabbi stand and wait upon us?⁴¹In other words, R. Zadok says, we hardly need the precedent of Abraham, a mortal, to wait on his inferiors, when this is what God Himself does for everyone all the time! For anyone familiar with the New Testament, this whole discussion about the appropriateness of a high status host waiting upon his guests at the table calls to mind a scene in the Last Supper in Luke’s Gospel:
A dispute also arose among them [the disciples] as to which of them was to be regarded as the greatest. But he [Jesus] said to them, “The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them; and those in authority over them are called benefactors. But not so with you; rather, the greatest among you must become like the youngest, and the leader like one who serves. For who is greater, the one who is at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one at the table? But I am among you as one who serves.” (Lk 22:24-27)
Yet despite their similarities, the most striking difference between the Jewish and Christian stories is who gets to make the interpretation that the host’s lowering himself to the status of a table server is okay. In the Christian story, Jesus defends his own behavior, while in the Jewish story, the guests defend their host’s right to lower his status to wait on them. Moreover, they justify his behavior with examples from others who willingly lowered their high status to wait on their guests: Abraham to wait upon his mysterious visitors, and God to “wait upon” the whole world! In the Last Supper, Jesus justifies his behavior by his own example. Jesus warrants his practices by his own charisma; the rabbis warrant theirs on the precedents of others, that is, on past traditions and rational argument.

From time immemorial, Judaism has manifested a concern for education bordering on the obsessive. Abraham is described as worthy of divine favor "For I have known him to the end that he may instruct his children and his household after him, that they keep the way of God, to do righteousness and justice" (Genesis 18:19). Loyalty to the traditions of Judaism in adulthood can be assured only if proper training is provided during formative years. As expressed by King Solomon, "Train a child in his way and even when he is old he will not depart from it" (Proverbs 22:6).

Rav Yechiel Michel Tukachinsky, in his classic work Gesher Hachaim (1:41), writes that everyone should write an ethical will in addition to the standard will concerning his assets. As a source for this practice, he cites the celebrated pasuk (Bereishit 18:19) that states that Hashem considered Avraham special “because he commands his children and his household after him that they keep the way of Hashem, doing charity and justice.” Moreover, the Ralbag (I Melachim 2:46) writes that everyone should learn from the example set by Moshe Rabbeinu, Yehoshua, and David Hamelech (we may add Yosef Hatzadik to the list), all of whom presented ethical wills before they died. There is a long tradition among great rabbis, including the Vilna Gaon, Rav Aryeh Levine, and Rav Shlomo Wolbe, to follow the example set by these biblical figures.

Rav Hershel Schachter rules that we should follow Rav Shlomo Zalman's approach. Rav J. David Bleich (Tradition Summer 2001 - vol. 35 no. 2:,61-62) notes that the same rule applies to a child conceived through in vitro fertilization. Parents for whom this is relevant should discretely inform the mohel, as he is unlikely to inquire as to how the baby was conceived. Rav Bleich writes that in order to protect the family's privacy, parents may tell people that the brit will not take place on Shabbat because the baby was a caesarean-section birth or jaundiced. One may tell a "white lie" in such circumstances because Halachah sometimes permits lying for the sake of maintaining peace.¹³²See Rashi to Breishit 18:13 and Rav Daniel Feldman’s The Right and the Good, pp. 75-94. We should note, however, that Rav Ovadia Yosef (see Yalkut Yosef, Kitzur Shulchan Aruch p. 904) rules that one may perform a brit on Shabbat on a baby that was conceived by artificial insemination or in vitro fertilization. He either agrees with Rav Shlomo Zalman’s first interpretation of Rabbeinu Chananel or he does not believe that Rabbeinu Chananel’s approach constitutes normative Halachah. The fact that the Rambam and other Rishonim do not articulate a similar approach leads one to this conclusion.

(Hay) ”Before the soul descends, it is made to swear, ‘Be righteous and do not be evil. But even if the whole world tells you that you are righteous, you should be like an evildoer in your [own] eyes.’” And this is a statement of the Talmud in Niddah 30b in the chapter [entitled] HaMapelet. And this ostensibly contradicts that which they said in Avot 2:13, “Do not be evil in front of yourself (bifnei atsmecha, which can also be understood as, in the face of your essence).” And it appears to me [that this can be explained by noting what is written] in Ps. 62:10, “Men are mere vanity; mortals, deception; placed on a scale all together, they weigh less than vanity.” And [it is written] in the Yalkut (Yalkut Shimoni on Torah 645), “The deceptions and vanities that Israel does are worthwhile – as they are men, the sons of Avraham, who was the greatest man among the giants – to be raised upon the scales, in the month of Tishrei,⁸²The month in which the High Holidays fall and which is traditionally associated with yearly judgement. the sign of which is Scales (Libra) – to be raised together above the vanity.” And this requires elucidation, as there is nothing worse than the sin of deceptions and vanities. And it appears [that it can be explained according to that] which is [found] in the Midrash (Bereishit Rabbah 48: 10):
“Let a little water be taken” (Gen. 18:4) – Rabbi Eliezer said in the name of Rabbi Simai, “The Holy One, blessed be He, said to Avraham, ‘You said “Let a little water be taken” – by your life, I will repay your children’; this is that which is written (Num. 23:17), ‘Then Israel sang, “Spring up, O well; sing to it, etc.”’⁸³Traditionally understand as a reference to a well that accompanied the Jews throughout their sojourning in the wilderness. See Rashi ad loc. ‘You said “wash your feet” – by your life, I will repay your children in the wilderness, in their settlement (in Israel) and in the future to come.’ In the wilderness, from where [do we know it]? As it is stated (Ezek. 16:9), ‘I will wash you in water.’ In their settlement, from where [do we know it]? As it is stated (Isaiah 1:16), ‘Wash yourselves, purify yourselves.’ In the future to come, from where [do we know it]? As it is stated (Isaiah 4:4), ‘When the Lord washes the, etc.’”
And ostensibly these repayments are not equal to one another. As in the wilderness, it is well stated – “I will wash you”; and also in the future to come, “When the Lord washes, etc.” – and its understanding is that the Holy One, blessed be He, Himself, washes [them]. But this is not the case in the settlement, about which it is written, “Wash yourselves.” How is this a repayment of reward, if they are washing themselves – without ‘His bounties?’ And in my humble opinion, it appears that [it can be explained according to that] which is [found] in Midrash Shir HaShirim Rabbah 1:6:3:
[“Don’t stare at me because I am swarthy” (Song 1:6)] – Rabbi Yitschak said, “[There is] a story about a townsman who had a black maidservant who went down to fill water from the spring with her companion. She said to her companion, ‘Tomorrow my master will divorce his wife and take me for a wife.’ [The companion responded] to her, ‘Why?’ ‘Because he saw that her hands were charred.’ She said to her, ‘There is no [greater] fool in the world [than you]. Let your ears hear what your mouth is saying: If you say that he wants to divorce his wife who is so beloved to him because he saw that her hands were charred for a short time, it is all the more so with you – as you are totally charred, black from your mother’s innards.’ [‘As the sun has tanned me, etc.’ (Song 1:6) ] – To what are we (i.e. Israel) similar? To the son of a king who went out to the wilderness of a city and the sun beat down upon his head and his face darkened. But when he returned to the city and washed with a little water and went to the bathhouse, he regained his beauty. And behold he is as he was, etc. But you (the other nations) are tanned from the innards of your mothers, etc. [See there.]
And with this it is understood: In the merit of Avraham, his descendants were pure and clean like him. As the father gives over to the child his appearance, his beauty, etc.⁸⁴Mishnah, Eduyot 2:9. And even if their form was damaged afterwards through sins, behold this is like the tanning of the skin, which only covers the fine appearance for a short time. But after a little washing, it returns to its fineness – to its original essence (etsem). And this was the promise of the Holy One, blessed be He, to Avraham – “Wash yourselves,” the explanation of which is that they will be able to wash and remove the dung from upon them, like that townswoman who returns to her beauty. And it appears that this is the intention of the lamenter (Lam. 4:7-8), “Her elect were purer than snow […]; their etsem ruddier than corals. Now their faces are blacker than soot.” And [this is] meaning that their essence (etsem) was beautiful and pleasant – their ‘stump is a holy seed.’ And this is [the meaning of] “their etsem ruddier than corals.” However “Now their faces are blacker than soot” – meaning their external appearance.

It is a general rule of healthy practice that before eating, you should engage in some strenuous activity, whether walking or working, so that your body is warmed up, and then you should eat. As the verse says, “By the sweat of your brow you shall eat bread,”³Bereishit 3:19. and “She does not eat the bread of laziness.”⁴Mishlei 31:27. You should loosen your belt before eating. This is hinted at in the verse אקחה פת לחם (“I will take a morsel of bread”⁵Bereishit 18:5.): the word אקחה in reverse is an acronym for התר חגורה קודם אכילה (“loosen the belt before eating”), and פת לחם is an acronym for פן תבוא לידי חולי מעיים (“lest you cause yourself digestive disorders”). While eating, you should sit in your place or recline on your left side. After eating, don’t move about excessively, because that will cause the food to descend from the stomach before it has been fully digested, which can be harmful; rather one should walk a little and rest. But you should not go on a long walk or engage in strenuous activity after the meal. Nor should you sleep till at least two hours have elapsed after the meal, so that the fumes will not ascend to the head and cause damage. Likewise, bathing, bloodletting and sexual intercourse are not beneficial after a meal.

It is a positive commandment to give charity to poor Jewish people, as it is said "Open your hand to him."¹Deuteronomy 15:8. And it is said: "That your brother may live with you."²Leviticus 25:36. Anyone who sees a poor person seeking help and ignores him, and does not give him charity, transgresses a prohibitive commandment, as it is said: "Do not harden your heart nor shut your hand from your brother in need."³Numbers 15:7. [Giving] charity is a characteristic of the descendants of Abraham, as it is said: "For I have a special love for him because he commands his children and his household after him [to preserve the way of Hashem] doing charity and justice."⁴Genesis 18:19. And the throne of Israel will be established and the religion of truth confirmed only through charity, as it is said: "Through charity will you be reestablished."⁵Isaiah 54:14. Greater is he who performs acts of charity than [one who brings] all the sacrifices, as it is said: "Performing acts of charity and justice is more desirable to Hashem than sacrifices."⁶Proverbs 21:3. The Jewish people will be redeemed only through [the merit of] charity, as it is said: "Zion will be redeemed through justice and its captives through acts of charity."⁷Isaiah 1:27. A person never becomes poor through giving charity, nor will any evil or harm befall him because of his giving charity, as it is said: Through acts of charity, there will be peace."⁸Isaiah 32:17. Whoever is merciful with others will be treated with mercy [from Heaven], as it is said: "He [God] will show you mercy; and have compassion upon you and multiply you."⁹Deuteronomy 13:18. Anyone who is cruel, causes his lineage to be suspect.¹⁰The descendants of Abraham are known for their kindness and generosity. One who does not possess this attitude causes his lineage to be doubtful. The Holy One blessed is He, is near to the cry of the poor, as it is said: "He will hear the cry of the poor."¹¹Job 34:28. Therefore one must beware of their anguished cry, for a covenant was made with them, as it is said: "When he cries out to me I will listen, for I am compassionate."¹²Exodus 22:26. The Jerusalem Talmud says: The door that doesn't open for the poor will open for the doctor. A person should consider, that he continually requests his sustenance from the Holy One blessed is He; and just as he requests that the Holy One blessed is He, listen to his cry and prayer, so should he listen to the cry of the poor. A person should also consider that [fortune] is a wheel that revolves in the world, and in the end he or his children or his children's children might [have to] accept charity. Let no man think: "Why should I diminish my wealth by giving it to the poor?" For he should know that the money is not his, but rather [it was given to him as] a trust, with which to do the will of the One Who entrusted the funds to him. And this [charity giving] will be his real share from all his toils in this world, As it is written:¹³Isaiah 58:8. "Your acts of charity shall preceed you [into the World to Come]. Charity voids evil decrees and prolongs life.

“And that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house” (Isa. 8:57). More important is the reception of guests than to receive the presence of the Divine Glory,¹Shabbath 127a. for it is said, “and said, etc…. ‛My Lord, pass not away, I pray Thee, from Thy servant’” (Gen. 18:3). Abraham said before the Holy One, blessed be He, “wait for me until I welcome the guests into my home.” And a man is not required to give meat and wine to drink except according to his means.²Tosafoth, Hullin 84a, “Ten.” His bread and water let him give with joy. Far better is a meal of greens with a joyful countenance, than a fatted ox with an angry face. At mealtime let him say to him,³Ketuboth 111b. “My Lord, eat with joy, drink your wine with a glad heart, for the Lord knows that willingly and with an eager spirit I would give you meat, but by my life, I have not what to give you.” Concerning this it is said, “And if thou draw out thy soul to the hungry” (Isa. 58:10).⁴Midrash Rabbah, ed. Horeb, Numbers, Chapter XXI, p. 168. In the morning when he departs give him some bread.⁵Daath Zekenim Baale Tosafoth, Deuteronomy 21:7. Because of the fact that Jonathan did not give bread to David when he departed from him, it developed that the inhabitants of Nob, city of the priests, were slain, and Saul and Jonathan were punished.⁶Sanhedrin 104a. Concerning this it is said, “For a man will transgress for a piece of bread” (Prov. 28:21). And as it is meritorious to be hospitable to the wayfarer, so is it meritorious to accompany them,⁷Sotah 46b. as it is written, “And Abraham went with them to bring them on the way” (Gen. 18:16). Come and see how important it is to feed the wayfarer. (Although) Micah made the idol and placed it so close to the Tabernacle that the smoke of the idol mingled with the smoke of the woodpile on the altar in the Tabernacle, yet the Holy One, blessed be He, said (concerning Micah) “Let him be, because his bread is available to wayfarers.”⁸Sanhedrin 103b.

“And that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house” (Isa. 8:57). More important is the reception of guests than to receive the presence of the Divine Glory,¹Shabbath 127a. for it is said, “and said, etc…. ‛My Lord, pass not away, I pray Thee, from Thy servant’” (Gen. 18:3). Abraham said before the Holy One, blessed be He, “wait for me until I welcome the guests into my home.” And a man is not required to give meat and wine to drink except according to his means.²Tosafoth, Hullin 84a, “Ten.” His bread and water let him give with joy. Far better is a meal of greens with a joyful countenance, than a fatted ox with an angry face. At mealtime let him say to him,³Ketuboth 111b. “My Lord, eat with joy, drink your wine with a glad heart, for the Lord knows that willingly and with an eager spirit I would give you meat, but by my life, I have not what to give you.” Concerning this it is said, “And if thou draw out thy soul to the hungry” (Isa. 58:10).⁴Midrash Rabbah, ed. Horeb, Numbers, Chapter XXI, p. 168. In the morning when he departs give him some bread.⁵Daath Zekenim Baale Tosafoth, Deuteronomy 21:7. Because of the fact that Jonathan did not give bread to David when he departed from him, it developed that the inhabitants of Nob, city of the priests, were slain, and Saul and Jonathan were punished.⁶Sanhedrin 104a. Concerning this it is said, “For a man will transgress for a piece of bread” (Prov. 28:21). And as it is meritorious to be hospitable to the wayfarer, so is it meritorious to accompany them,⁷Sotah 46b. as it is written, “And Abraham went with them to bring them on the way” (Gen. 18:16). Come and see how important it is to feed the wayfarer. (Although) Micah made the idol and placed it so close to the Tabernacle that the smoke of the idol mingled with the smoke of the woodpile on the altar in the Tabernacle, yet the Holy One, blessed be He, said (concerning Micah) “Let him be, because his bread is available to wayfarers.”⁸Sanhedrin 103b.

There is yet another source which, although in itself not halakhically authoritative, nevertheless lends support to the view that non-Jews are rewarded for the performance of mizvot. Scripture records that following Abraham's circumcision "… the Lord appeared unto him in the terebinth of Mamre" (Gen. 18:1). Apparently troubled by the necessity for a reference to Mamre and by the identification of this historical personage with the geographical site of God's revelation, Rashi makes the following comment: "It was he [Mamre] who gave [Abraham] counsel with regard to circumcision; therefore [God] revealed [Himself] to him in [Mamre's] portion." Rashi's comment is perplexing to say the least. Abraham is the recipient of an explicit divine commandment. He has been ordered to circumcise himself. Can there be any question that Abraham will obey? If so, why does Abraham seek the counsel of Mamre? What advice need he solicit? Siftei Hakhamim, in one of the explanations which he advances, indicates that this advice was sought not after Abraham received the divine command regarding circumcision, but prior to the commandment.⁵⁷Cf., however, Midrash Tanḥuma, Va-Yeira, 3. For an interesting explanation in conformity with Tanḥuma, see Ha-Ma‘ayan, Nisan 5734, p. 34. Abraham, declare the Sages, fulfilled all the precepts of the Torah even though no mizvah had as yet been ordained. In keeping with his regimen of observance, Abraham desired to fulfill the mizvah of circumcision as well and desired to do so without delay. This mizvah, however, presented a unique problem. By virtue of its nature, circumcision is a nonrecurring mizvah; it can be performed only once in a lifetime. Hence, Abraham found himself in a quandry: a mizvah performed as a result of divine command is greater than one performed in the absence of such directive. On the other hand, performance of a mizvah should not be delayed. Abraham's dilemma was whether he should perform the mizvah without delay, even though he had as yet not been commanded to do so, and hence its performance would be in the category of eino meḥuveh ve-'oseh, or whether he should wait until God would command him to do so, in order that he might fulfill the mizvah in the optimum manner as a meḥuveh ve-'oseh. It is with regards to this question, according to Siftei Hakhamim, that Abraham consulted Mamre. Mamre's advice was to delay the circumcision until the commandment was issued. This advice coincided with the divine design and Mamre was suitably rewarded. God visited Abraham "on the plains of Mamre" during his convalescence and this statement was recorded for posterity as part of the eternal Torah.

There is a well-known controversy with regard to whether a minyan consists of ten individuals upon whom public prayer is obligatory, or whether it may be formed by nine adults together with one minor. According to the commentary of Rosh on Berakhot 48a, it would appear that the authorities who permit the inclusion of a minor maintain that in actuality it is the Divine Presence which is included as the tenth member of the minyan.¹²See, however, Ba‘al ha-Ma’or, Berakhot 48a. Attention may be drawn to the biblical narrative concerning Abraham's supplication on behalf of Sodom and Gomorrah. Abraham at first prayed that those cities be spared if fifty righteous inhabitants were found. Rashi explains that in actuality five cities were marked for destruction and Abraham prayed that the cities be spared if ten righteous persons—a minyan—could be found in each. Subsequently Abraham prayed that the cities be spared even in the event that only forty-five righteous persons could be found. Rashi (Gen. 18:28) comments that Abraham recognized that a minyan must be found for each city, but beseeched the Almighty that He include Himself in that number. This would explain why those authorities who sanction the inclusion of a minor as the tenth person require that he hold a written scroll of one of the books of the Pentateuch in his hand. In reality it is the Divine Presence which is symbolized by the scroll of the Law which is included. The presence of a minor is required by virtue of the rabbinic decree which regards him as being already a quasi-member of the minyan because the minor will one day share the religious obligations of the rest of the minyan.