Va Yerah
Rabbi
Bernie Fox
The Three Men who
Visited Avraham
And Hashem appeared to him at Elonai Mamrai and he was sitting at the opening of his tent in the heat of the day. And he lifted his eyes and there were three men standing before him. And he ran towards them from the opening of his tent and he bowed to the ground. (Beresheit 18:1-2)
The opening passages of Parshat VaYerah are the subject of an
intense debate among the commentaries.
The first passage of the parasha relates that Hashem appears to
Avraham. However, the Torah does not
explain the message that Hashem imparts to Avraham or the purpose of this
prophecy. Instead, the Torah
immediately tells us that Avraham observes three travelers and invites them
into his home. The Torah then explains
that one of these travelers reveals to Avraham and Sarah that in the coming
months she will give birth to Yitzchak.
The Torah then describes the departure of the travelers towards Sedom.
The Torah relates that after the departure of these travelers,
Hashem does enter into an extensive conversation with Avraham. He tells him of
the approaching destruction of Sedom and its surroundings. The Torah describes Avraham’s intercession
on behalf of the citizens of Sedom and Hashem’s acquiescence to Avraham’s
request that Sedom be spared if ten righteous individuals can be found among
its residents.
Next, the Torah resumes describing the activities of the travelers
who visited Avraham. They are now
described as two melachim – a term that can be translated as messengers
or angels. The Torah describes their
arrival to Sedom and their encounter with Lote – Avraham’s nephew. Lote insists on hosting the melachim. The citizens of Sedom demand that Lote turn
over to them his guests. He
refuses. The melachim drive off
the hostile mob. They destroy Sedom and
its environs, saving Lote and his daughters.
The account ends with a description of Avraham looking upon the
devastation of Sedom and reiterates that Hashem destroyed Sedom, and on
Avraham’s behalf, Lote was spared.
Many commentaries note that although the parasha begins
with Hashem appearing to Avraham, no account is provided of the details of this
prophetic event. Instead, the Torah
ends or interrupts its description of Avraham’s prophecy and begins a new
narrative – the description of the visit of the three travelers to
Avraham. What was the prophecy that is
suggested by the opening passage and why does the Torah not reveal its content?
Maimonides suggests that in fact the Torah does provide a detailed
description of the prophecy received by Avraham. The narrative describing three travelers that appeared before
Avraham is not an account of an actual event.
It is a description of the prophetic vision that Avraham received. These three travelers did not actually come
to Avraham’s home and speak with him and Sarah. Instead, they appeared in the prophetic vision introduced by the
first passage of the parasha.[1]
Nachmanides strongly opposes this position. He asks a number of incisive questions on
Maimonides’ interpretation of the passages.
However, one question stands out as the most compelling criticism of
Maimonides’ position. According to
Maimonides, the travelers who visited Avraham were not actual material beings
existing in and interacting with the material world. In Maimonides’ opinion, these travelers existed in Avraham’s
mind. Yet, the Torah describes these
travelers or angels as interacting with the world around them. These same travelers arrive in Sedom and
accept Lote’s hospitality. They enter
into battle with the mob that attacks his home and they rescue Lote and his
daughters from the devastation that they bring upon the city. If these men or angels existed only as a
vision in the mind of Avraham, how did they emerge from this vision and
interact with and participate in actual events in the material world?[2]
And Avraham arose early
in the morning to the place at which he stood before Hashem. And he looked upon Sedom, Amorrah, and the
entire Land of the Plain. And he saw
smoke rising from the earth like the smoke of a furnace. And it occurred that when Hashem destroyed
the Cities of the Plain, G-d remembered Avraham. And He sent forth Lote from the upheaval, when he devastated the
cities among which Lote dwelled.
(Beresheit 19:27-29)
Don Yitzchak
Abravanel deals extensively with Nachmanides’ objection. In order to fully appreciate his response to
Nachmanides, the above passages must be considered. These passages are among the most difficult in the
narrative. They appear at its end. The Torah has completed its account of the
destruction of Sedom and the rescue of Lote.
It then describes Avraham rising in the morning and returning to the
place of his prophecy. He looks upon Sedom and observes the devastation that
has befallen the city. Then, the Torah
again relates that Hashem destroyed Sedom and saved Lote because of His
relationship with Avraham. What is the
message of these passages? Why does the
Torah tell us that Avraham returned to the place of his prophecy and observed the
fate of Sedom? Even more odd is the
Torah’s reiteration of Sedom’s demise and Lote’s rescue. This seems completely superfluous!
Abravanel
explains that these passages are fundamental to understanding the preceding
narrative. According to Abravanel, the
entire narrative describing the experiences of the travelers to Sedom, their
interaction with its citizens and Lote, the destruction of Sedom, and the
rescue of Lote was all part of Avraham’s vision. Abravanel explains that Nachmanides is mistaken in assuming that
these travelers actually interacted with the people of Sedom or with Lote. Avraham experienced a prophecy that the
Torah describes in exhaustive detail and all of these interactions are part of
this prophetic vision. These details
are not events that actually occurred in the material world.
Now, the
meaning and significance of the above passages emerges. Avraham saw in his prophetic vision the
destruction of Sedom and the rescue of his nephew. He arises in the morning and looks out upon Sedom. He observes
the reality of the devastation that he had seen in his vision. Then, the Torah explains that events Avraham
observed in his vision represented a parallel set of events in the real world. In the material world, Sedom had been
destroyed and Lote saved. This final
passage is not at all superfluous. It
is the key to understanding all that has preceded it. It reveals that the preceding narrative was a vision and that
that vision reflected events that unfolded in the material world.
The task
remains to understand the meaning of Avraham’s vision regarding Sedom. This part of the vision begins with Hashem
revealing to Avraham His plan to destroy Sedom and Avraham’s intervention. Avraham’s intercession ends with an
agreement that Sedom will be spared if ten righteous individuals can be found
among its citizens. In the next part of
the vision, Avraham observes the arrival of the travelers in Sedom, their
interaction with the people of the city and with Lote. He is seeing – in his vision – the testing
of the people of Sedom. Hashem is
examining the citizens of Sedom and determining whether there are – in fact —
ten righteous among its citizens. In
his vision, the citizens mass against Lote and his guests. The entire citizenry joins in the attack. No one protests the mindless violence of the
mob and no one demurs. There are not
ten righteous individuals in the city.
But Avraham’s vision is not limited to observing the testing of
Sedom. He also observes his own nephew,
Lote, put to a terrible test. Lote
responded well enough to be saved from the fate of his fellows.
How closely
did this vision characterize the events that actually unfolded in Sedom? We cannot know. The objective is not to communicate exactly how the people of
Sedom were tested and how Lote proved his worthiness. Instead, the intent was to reveal to Avraham the outcome of the
agreement he negotiated with Hashem.
Somehow, the people of Sedom were tested. Ten righteous individuals did not reveal themselves but those few
righteous people who lived in Sedom –
Lote and his daughters –were spared.[3]