מדרש אויף בראשית 18:3

(Fol. 35b) All the Divine names found in the Torah in connection with Abraham, are holy, except that of (Gen. 18, 3) And he said, my Lord, if now I have found favor in Thy sight, [which was addressed to an angel]. Chanina, the nephew of R. Joshua, and R. Elazar b. Azaria in the name of Elazar the Modite, say that even this name, too, is holy. In accordance with whose opinion will be that which was said in the name of R. Juda b. Rab that hospitality is considered greater than the reception of the glory of the Shechina? It is in accordance with these two. Furthermore, all the names found in connection with Lot, are common, except (Ib. 19, 18-19) Oh, not so, my Lord; Thy servant hath found grace in Thy eyes, and Thou hast magnified Thy kindness, etc., and who but God can save? Again, all names in connection with Nab'oth are holy; those in connection with Micha (Jud. 17) are common. R. Elazar, however, said that the names with Nab'oth are holy, but those with Micha are partly holy and partly common, namely of Aleph, Lamed (Lord) is a common and of Yud, Hay (God) is holy, except (Ib. 18, 31) which, though beginning with Aleph-Lamed is nevertheless holy. All the names in connection with the Vale of Benjamin (Ib. 20) are according to R. Eliezer, common, and according to R. Joshua, they are holy. R. Eliezer said to him. The passage He promiseth and doth not fulfil [How can it be holy when He has not fulfilled His promise?] Said R. Joshua: "He has fulfilled His promise, but the people there did not understand what was said to them"; a proof to this you find in the fact that after they had comprehended it, they conquered, as it reads (Ib. 20, 28) And Phineas, the son of Elazar, … the son of Aaron, stood, etc. The name Shlomah wherever mentioned in Solomon's Songs is holy (Son. 1, 1) A song to whom peace belongs; except (Ib. 8, 12) My vineyard, which is mine, is before me; Thou, O Solomon, shalt have the thousands. According to others, the following (Ib. 3, 7) Behold, it is the litter of Solomon, is also common. Wherever in Daniel the word king is mentioned, it is common except (Dan. 2, 37) Thou, O king, art a king of kings, unto whom the God of heaven hath given the kingdom, the power, and the strength, and the glory. According to others also (Ib. 4, 16) My Lord … . for those who hate thee; for, to whom did Daniel address this? Surely not to Nebuchadnezzar, because by so doing he would curse Israel who hated him; hence he must have addressed it to God. The first Tanna, however, maintains that enemies exist only to Israel, but other nations have no enemies.

That which the verse said: “With the pious, act piously, with a wholehearted man, act wholeheartedly, with the pure, act purely, and with the crooked, act deviously” (Psalms 18:26–27). Rabbi Yehuda and Rabbi Neḥemya, Rabbi Yehuda interpreted the verse regarding Abraham our patriarch. Because he came with piety, the Holy One blessed be He engaged with him with piety. When he came uprightly, the Holy One blessed be He engaged with him uprightly. When he came indirectly, the Holy One blessed be He engaged with him indirectly. When he came to clarify his affairs, the Holy One blessed be He clarified his affairs. When did he come with piety? It was when he said: “Please do not pass from upon Your servant” (Genesis 18:3).⁷Abraham interrupted his communion with God in order to welcome guests, which was beyond the call of duty. What is written there? “Abraham was still standing before the Lord” (Genesis 18:22). Rabbi Simon said: A scribal emendation; the Divine Presence was awaiting him.⁸The verse should have stated that the Lord was still standing before Abraham, in that the Divine Presence waited for Abraham to return. However, the verse is phrased as it is in order to preserve the honor of God, as a scribe might emend a text for such purposes (Etz Yosef). When did he come wholeheartedly? It was when he said: “Perhaps the fifty righteous people will lack five” (Genesis 18:28). What is written? “He said: I will not destroy if I find there forty-five” (Genesis 18:28). When did he come indirectly? “I go childless” (Genesis 15:2). What is written there? “This one will not inherit you; [rather, one who shall emerge from your loins, he shall inherit you]” (Genesis 15:4). When did he come to clarify his affairs? It was when he said: “How will I know that I will inherit it?” (Genesis 15:8). What is written there? “Know that your descendants will be strangers [in a land that is not theirs, and they shall be enslaved to them; and they shall oppress them for four hundred years]” (Genesis 15:13).
Rabbi Neḥemya interpreted the verse regarding Moses. When he came with piety, the Holy One blessed be He engaged with him with piety. When he came uprightly, the Holy One blessed be He engaged with him uprightly. When he came indirectly, the Holy One blessed be He engaged with him indirectly. When he came to clarify his affairs, the Holy One blessed be He clarified his affairs. When did he come with piety? It was when he said: “Show me, please, Your glory” (Exodus 33:18). What is written there? “He said: “I will pass My goodness before you” (Exodus 33:19). When did he come uprightly? It was when he said: “Why will the bush not burn?” (Exodus 3:3). He said to him: ‘It is because My glory is present within it.’ When did he come indirectly? It was when he said: “They will say to me: What is His name; what shall I say to them?” (Exodus 3:13). What did He say to him? ‘This is My provisional name: “I will be what I will be”’ (Exodus 3:14). When did he come to clarify his affairs? It was when He said to him: “Now go and I will send you to Pharaoh” (Exodus 3:10), he said to him: “Please…send by means of whom You will send” (Exodus 4:13), [and:] “Since I came to Pharaoh [to speak in Your name he has harmed this people and You have not saved Your people]” (Exodus 5:23). What is written there? “Now you will see [what I will do to Pharaoh; for with a powerful hand he will send them forth and with a powerful hand he will drive them from his land]” (Exodus 6:1).

(Fol. 127a) R. Jochanan said: "Great is hospitality even more than early attendance at the place of learning, for the Mishnah teaches us: 'For hospitality and for the attendance at the house of study,' putting the two on a par." The Nehardaen and R. Dimi said that hospitality is a greater virtue even than to visit a place of study, for the Mishnah mentions "Hospitality" first and then "attendance at the place of study." R. Juda, in the name of Rab, said: "Hospitality is a greater virtue than receiving the Shechina, for it is written (Gen. 18, 3.) And he said. My Lord, if now I have found favor in thine eyes, pass not away, I pray Thee." R. Elazar said: "Come and see, that the nature of the Holy One, praised be He! is unlike that of frail man! The nature of a frail man is that an insignificant person would not dare say to a great man 'Stay here until I return,' whereas to the Holy One, praised be He! Abraham said, My Lord, if now I have found favor in thine eyes, pass not away." R. Juda b. Shila, in the name of R. Assi, who spoke in the name of R. Jochanan, said: "The interest on six things man enjoys in this world, while the principal remaineth for him in the world to come, viz., hospitality, visiting the sick, calculation of the efforts of prayer [expecting the granting of his demands], early attendance at the place of learning, rearing children to the study of the Torah, and judging his associate [in doubtful acts] with an inclination in his favor." Is this really so? Are we not taught [in a Mishnah]: "These are the things of which a man enjoys the interest for his reward in this world, while the principal remaineth for him for the world to come? viz., honoring one's father and mother, the practice of loving kindness, making peace between a man and his associate, and above all, the study of the Torah." Are these not the only things? Nay, the six things mentioned before are included with those subsequently enumerated.(Ib. b) Our Rabbis taught: "He who judges his associates [in questionable acts] with an inclination in his favor, will be judged with favor [from above]. It happened once that a man who came from upper Galili hired himself to a master in the southern part, for a term of three years. On the eve of the Day of Atonement when his term expired the workman said to his master: 'Give me my wages so that I may return home and support my wife and children.' The master replied: 'I have no money just now.' 'Then give me my money's worth in grain,' said the man. The master responded: 'I have none.' Again the hired man begged him: 'Give me then my money's worth in land.' 'I have none,' the master answered. 'Give me then the amount in cattle.' he said, but the master again refused saying, 'I have none.' 'Give me my money's worth in furniture,' the man pleaded. 'I have none,' was the reply. The man then put his bundle on his back and went away sorrowfully. After the holiday the master took the wages of the hired man and in addition, three asses, one laden with foodstuffs, the second with liquors and the third with spices and went to the hired man's house in Galili. After they ate and drank together, the master paid him his wages and asked him: 'When I told thee that I had not the money to pay thy wages, what didst thou suspect me of?' The man said: 'I thought perhaps thou hadst come across a bargain and hadst paid out all thy ready money.' 'And when thou asked me to give thee thy money's worth in cattle and I answered thee that I had no cattle, of what didst thou suspect me then?' 'I thought perhaps thou hadst leased it to others and couldst not touch it.' 'And when I said to thee I have no fruit, of what didst thou suspect me then?' 'I thought perhaps thou hadst not yet paid the tithes. 'And when I said to thee that I have no furniture, of what didst thou suspect me then?' 'I thought perhaps thou hadst dedicated all thy possessions unto Heaven,' Then said the master: 'I swear to thee, that such was really the case; I had made a vow to give away all my possessions because my son Hurkanius did not want to study the Torah. Afterwards, when I came to my associates in the South, they released me from my vow. And as thou didst judge me with favor, so may God judge thee favorably."