Комментарий к Берешит 18:4

יקח נא LET BE FETCHED, I PRAY THEE — This implies bringing by a messenger: therefore did the Holy One, blessed be He, recompense his (Abraham’s) children by a messenger when they required water, as it is said, (Numbers 20:11) “And Moses lifted up his hand and smote the rock etc.” (Bava Metzia 86b)

יקח נא מעט מים. "Let a little water be brought." Perhaps the reason Abraham spoke about a "little" water was to indicate that it was not much of an effort to procure it. He certainly was not miserly. Apparently, he did not want to depart from his custom to ask guests to wash their feet to remove the dust that most of them worshipped (Baba Metzia 86). [The author felt the need to justify the custom seeing Abraham was already aware that his guests were angels and not given to worship the dust. Abraham may not have wanted his servants to realise that his guests were angels. Ed.]

יקח נא מעט מים, the reason why he mentioned “a little,” is in order to understate his generosity, something that is expected of any person who claims to possess a certain minimum of good character traits. When referring to the water,” Avraham used the passive form of yukach, meaning the water would be supplied by someone other than himself, whereas when he spoke about the bread he would supply, he said: “I will take a piece of bread, etc.”

יוקח נא מעט מים ורחצו רגליכם, ”let a little water be brought so that you can wash your feet.” He recognized from their appearance that they were travelers passing by and had no intention to spend the night with him. This is why he only invited them for lunch and for enjoying the shade of the tree. After that, he was willing to allow them to continue on their journey without detaining them further.

Through an intermediary. Rashi is not telling us that יוקח means through an intermediary, as that is obvious. Otherwise it should say אקחה (I will bring)! Rather, Rashi is telling us that Hashem rewarded his descendants through a messenger. (Ra)

והשענו תחת העץ. This teaches that there was only a single tree at that location. Why did G’d reveal Himself in the shape of a tree? This was because He told him that he would sire a son after having become old, similar to a tree of which it is written that even “an old tree still has hope of producing new branches even if it has been cut down, it will renew itself, its shoots will not cease, if its roots are old in the earth and its stump dies in the ground. At the scent of water it will bud and produce branches like a sapling.”(Job 14,7-9) Furthermore, the righteous have been compared to trees, as we know from Psalms 1,3 והיה כעץ שתול על פלגי מים, “he will be as a tree planted besides streams of water,” (quoted by Rabbeinu Bachya in the name of Rabbeinu Chananel in his commentary on Genesis 18,1).

ורחצו רגליכם, “and wash your feet.” This all occurred during the season of the desert winds, known as sharaf, as explained by Rashi. According to Rashi, G-d had made the day especially hot, so that the feet of travelers would be soaked in sand and sweat.

ורחצו רגליכם AND WASH YOUR FEET — He thought they were Arabians who worship the dust of their feet, and he was particular not to have the object of idolatrous worship brought into his house (Bava Metzia 86b). Lot, however, who was not particular about this, mentioned “lodging” (i.e. entering the house) before “washing” the feet, as it is said (Genesis 19:2) “[And he said to the angels] tarry here all night and wash your feet.”

ורחצו, an imperative, seeing that the letter ר has the vowel patach. If this had been a form of the future constructed with the introductory letter ו, the letter ר should have the vowel kametz under it. Examples are: Exodus 40,31 ורחצו ממנו. Avraham meant to tell his guests to allow themselves to have their feet washed by one of his servants.

And God rewarded his descendants through a messenger. But Avraham brought the bread himself, as it says: “I will get bread.” Hashem, too, gave it Himself to Avraham’s descendants, and showered upon them manna. (Maharshal)

Abraham may have hinted to the angels that the water he spoke about was a reference to the Torah. Torah is multi-faceted; it speaks to us as פשט, plain meaning of the words, and it also contains messages on a far deeper level. Abraham faced heavenly beings in human guise, i.e. G'd had made a body for them through solidifying something normally ethereal. When an angel assumes human form his "body" is compared to the "foot". This is a concept familiar to students of the Kabbalah (Zohar 1,58). Abraham hinted to the angels that they should take a little of the plain meaning of the Torah i.e. "water," seeing that they were presently in human form. They could then rest under the "the Tree," i.e. hyperbole for Torah which is known as עץ החיים. He referred to it as העץ, though it had not previously featured in our story. He also told them to take פת לחם, a reference to the inner meanings of Torah, something he alluded to when speaking about their לבכם, inner organs. He invited the angels to enjoy the inner aspects of Torah. [This is not so strange-sounding, seeing angels had never been given the Torah. Ed.] The reason he did not merely say פת but פת לחם, was a hint that this bread had inner properties, i.e. its numerical value being 78, or three times the numerical value (26) of the four-lettered Holy Name. This was an allusion to eternal life, i.e. past, present and future.

תחת העץ UNDER THE TREE — beneath the terebinth (Genesis Rabbah 48:11).

As it is said: “And Moshe raised his hand...” The verse Rashi cites, from Bamidbar 20:11, is perplexing: it speaks of punishment [for Moshe’s striking the stone]. Whereas the Gemara in Bava Metzia 86b cites a verse regarding the blessing of Miriam’s Well (Shemos 17:6) “You shall strike the rock,” as Rashi explains there. Also Bereishis Rabbah (48:10) brings a verse of blessing (Bamidbar 21:17): “Ascend, O well; sing to it.” Furthermore, why did Rashi even bring this Midrashic explanation, which is not needed for the plain meaning of the verse? (Nachalas Yaakov)

However, Lot, who was not particular, invited them to lodge before... Rashi is answering the question: Why is it written differently here than it is concerning Lot? Here it mentions washing before lodging, but about Lot (19:2) it mentions lodging first. Perforce, [the washing was] because of idolatry, about which Avraham was particular, and Lot was not. Thus Rashi offers this explanation. Question: Perhaps Lot, too, was particular—and he mentioned lodging first because they did not appear to him as Arabs? (Nachalas Yaakov)

Under the tree (אילן). As opposed to a piece of lumber (עץ), as in (Devarim 19:5): ונשל הברזל מן העץ [which refers to a wooden axe handle]. Rashi explained that here it means “tree” because the verse cannot be saying [that Avraham was inviting the angels to rest] under a piece of lumber. And so Onkelos translates it here as אילנא (tree) rather than as אעא (lumber, wood).