In our Parasha Vayera, we find a profound lesson about selfless kindness.

Abraham, our patriarch, had just undergone circumcision and was being visited by God in his tent, a spiritual moment like no other.

However, seeing three unknown travelers in the distance in the desert, he does not hesitate to apologize to God and leave the divine visit to run to them and offer them water, food, and rest.

This act of kindness toward complete strangers is praised in the Torah, and Abraham becomes the model of “Chesed,” a pure selfless kindness.

Later in the same Parasha, the angels sent to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah arrive in the city and meet Lot, Abraham’s nephew.

Lot welcomes them into his home and, knowing the risk he runs by showing hospitality in a city where kindness (Chesed) is forbidden, also offers them shelter and protection.

However, unlike Abraham, the Torah does not single out Lot’s act of kindness with the same recognition.

The sages explain that there is a fundamental difference in the intention behind both acts. When Abraham approached the three visitors, he did not know that they were angels. To him, they were simply unknown travelers in need of help.

His kindness was completely genuine, with no interest in who they were. Lot, on the other hand, knew that his visitors were angels, spiritual beings, and his act of hospitality was a recognition of their status.

The lesson we draw from this is clear: true kindness is that which is extended without distinction, no matter who the recipient is.

Abraham shows us that hospitality and generosity should not be reserved only for those we know or respect, but that we should act with kindness towards everyone, even those who are strangers to us.

As descendants of Abraham, we should try to develop kindness and generosity. In fact, it is one of the qualities we inherit from our patriarch.

Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Refael Cohen