Our story opens with Abraham meeting God, but the immediate description is a bit not what we expected. “He lifted up his eyes and behold! three men stood before him.”

We are told through our tradition that these were not mere mortals, but angels, each sent on a specific divine mission. Whether Abraham knew or not that these were angels is a subject of debate within the sources. What is not in debate is what happened next; He immediately jumps to his feet, invites them to his home, feeds and waters them with great respect.

Abraham, unlike the figures who came before us in the narrative of the Torah, became the patriarch not only of Judaism but of various religious traditions and of countless currents of monotheism. What did Abraham understand that the predecessors before him did not understand?

God is not visible; his presence is not often experienced directly – most of us are not prophets and lack reliable experiences in this area. What defined the difference between Abraham and all those who came before him? The previous descriptions of personalities are all those who ultimately failed the test given to them by God, Adam eats the fruit, Cain kills his brother Abel, the generation of the flood attempts to throw God, Noah saves himself but still descends into alcoholism and despair of the ruined world.

More than just failing the test given to them, they refuse to accept responsibility for their actions – Adam blames his wife, Cain is not responsible for his brother, Noah has no influence on his generation except his immediate family.

Avraham stands out as a person who takes responsibility for his world, his tent was open from all four sides to invite guests, to join together for meals – to join others in the worship of God, he is a person who emerges from himself. A road to strangers and takes care of their needs, even during his recovery.

As children of Abraham, our immediate concern is for those around us, to take care of their physical and spiritual needs and to draw them to the service of their Creator – since all human beings were created in the divine image, the way to serve us. The Creator is to be aware and take care of those around us – to practice acts of kindness and spirituality in a finite and material world.

Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Refael Cohen