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Save "Vayera ~ Seeing God and seeing the world
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Vayera ~ Seeing God and seeing the world

(א) וַיֵּרָ֤א אֵלָיו֙ ה' בְּאֵלֹנֵ֖י מַמְרֵ֑א וְה֛וּא יֹשֵׁ֥ב פֶּֽתַח־הָאֹ֖הֶל כְּחֹ֥ם הַיּֽוֹם׃ (ב) וַיִּשָּׂ֤א עֵינָיו֙ וַיַּ֔רְא וְהִנֵּה֙ שְׁלֹשָׁ֣ה אֲנָשִׁ֔ים נִצָּבִ֖ים עָלָ֑יו וַיַּ֗רְא וַיָּ֤רׇץ לִקְרָאתָם֙ מִפֶּ֣תַח הָאֹ֔הֶל וַיִּשְׁתַּ֖חוּ אָֽרְצָה׃ (ג) וַיֹּאמַ֑ר אדושם אִם־נָ֨א מָצָ֤אתִי חֵן֙ בְּעֵינֶ֔יךָ אַל־נָ֥א תַעֲבֹ֖ר מֵעַ֥ל עַבְדֶּֽךָ׃ (ד) יֻקַּֽח־נָ֣א מְעַט־מַ֔יִם וְרַחֲצ֖וּ רַגְלֵיכֶ֑ם וְהִֽשָּׁעֲנ֖וּ תַּ֥חַת הָעֵֽץ׃ (ה) וְאֶקְחָ֨ה פַת־לֶ֜חֶם וְסַעֲד֤וּ לִבְּכֶם֙ אַחַ֣ר תַּעֲבֹ֔רוּ כִּֽי־עַל־כֵּ֥ן עֲבַרְתֶּ֖ם עַֽל־עַבְדְּכֶ֑ם וַיֹּ֣אמְר֔וּ כֵּ֥ן תַּעֲשֶׂ֖ה כַּאֲשֶׁ֥ר דִּבַּֽרְתָּ׃

(1) Ad-nai appeared to him by the woods of Mamre; he was sitting at the entrance of the tent as the day warmed. (2) He raised his eyes, and he saw: three men standing near him. He saw, and ran from the entrance of the tent to greet them and he bowed to the ground. (3) He said, “My (L)lord(s)! If it please you, do not go on past your servant. (4) Let a little water be brought; bathe your feet and recline under the tree. (5) And let me fetch a loaf of of bread that you may nourish yourselves; then go on—seeing that you have come your servant’s way.” They replied, “Do as you have said.”

~ Blue: you/ You - second person singular

~ Yellow: you - second person plural, y'all

(א) וירא אליו. לְבַקֵּר אֶת הַחוֹלֶה. אָמַר רַבִּי חָמָא בַּר חֲנִינָא, יוֹם שְׁלִישִׁי לְמִילָתוֹ הָיָה, וּבָא הַקָּבָּ"ה וְשָׁאַל בִּשְׁלוֹמוֹ (בבא מציעא פ"ו): (ב) באלוני ממרא. הוּא שֶׁנָּתַן לוֹ עֵצָה עַל הַמִּילָה, לְפִיכָךְ נִגְלָה עָלָיו בְּחֶלְקוֹ (בראשית רבה): (ג) יושב. ישב כְּתִיב, בִּקֵּשׁ לַעֲמֹד, אָמַר לוֹ הַקָּבָּ"ה שֵׁב וַאֲנִי אֶעֱמֹד, וְאַתָּה סִימָן לְבָנֶיךָ שֶׁעָתִיד אֲנִי לְהִתְיַצֵּב בַּעֲדַת הַדַּיָּנִים וְהֵן יוֹשְׁבִין, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר אֱלֹקִים נִצָּב בַּעֲדַת אֵל (תהילים פ"ב) (בראשית רבה): (ד) פתח האהל. לִרְאוֹת אִם יֵשׁ עוֹבֵר וָשָׁב וְיַכְנִיסֵם בְּבֵיתוֹ: (ה) כחום היום. הוֹצִיא הַקָבָּ"ה חַמָּה מִנַּרְתִּיקָהּ, שֶׁלֹּא לְהַטְרִיחוֹ בְּאוֹרְחִים, וּלְפִי שֶׁרָאָהוּ מִצְטַעֵר שֶׁלֹּא הָיוּ אוֹרְחִים בָּאִים, הֵבִיא הַמַּלְאָכִים עָלָיו בִּדְמוּת אֲנָשִׁים (בבא מציעא שם):

(1) וירא אליו AND AD-NAI APPEARED TO HIM to visit the sick person. R. Hama the son of Hanina said: it was the third day after his circumcision and the Holy One of Blessing came and inquired after the state of his health (Bava Metzia 86b)

(2) באלוני ממרא BY THE TEREBINTHS OF MAMRÉ — It was he (Mamre) who advised him (Abraham) regarding the circumcision and therefore He revealed himself to him in his (Mamre’s) territory (Genesis Rabbah 42:8).

(3) literally, יֹשֵׁב WAS SITTING — The word is written ישב (without the ו) and therefore may be translated “he sat”: He wished to rise, but the Holy One of Blessing said to him: Sit and I will stand. You shall form an example to your descendants — that I, in time to come, will stand in the assembly of the judges while they will sit, as it is said, (Psalms 82:1) “God stands in the assembly of the judges” (Genesis Rabbah 48:7)

(4) פתח האהל AT THE TENT-DOOR — that he might see whether anyone passed by, and invite him into the house

(5) כחום היום IN THE HEAT OF THE DAY — The Holy One of Blessing brought the sun out of its sheath that he might not be troubled by travelers, and when He perceived that he was grieved that no travelers came He brought to him angels in the form of men (Bava Metzia 86b).

~ How is Rashi setting, overall, the reading of this scene?

~ Who or what did Avraham see?

(א) ויאמר אדושם אם נא וגו'. לַגָּדוֹל שֶׁבָּהֶם אָמַר וּקְרָאָם כֻּלָּם אֲדוֹנִים וְלַגָּדוֹל אָמַר אַל נָא תַעֲבֹר, וְכֵיוָן שֶׁלֹּא יַעֲבֹר הוּא יַעַמְדוּ חֲבֵרָיו עִמּוֹ, וּבְלָשׁוֹן זֶה הוּא חֹל (שבועות ל"ה). דָּ"אַ קֹדֶשׁ הוּא, וְהָיָה אוֹמֵר לְהַקָּבָּ"ה לְהַמְתִּין לוֹ עַד שֶׁיָּרוּץ וְיַכְנִיס אֶת הָאוֹרְחִים וְאַעַ"פִּ שֶׁכָּתוּב אַחַר וַיָּרָץ לִקְרָאתָם, הָאֲמִירָה קֹדֶם לָכֵן הָיְתָה, וְדֶרֶךְ הַמִּקְרָאוֹת לְדַבֵּר כֵּן, כְּמוֹ שֶׁפֵּרַשְׁתִּי אֵצֶל לֹא יָדוֹן רוּחִי בָאָדָם, שֶׁנִּכְתַּב אַחַר וַיּוֹלֶד נֹחַ, וְאִי אֶפְשַׁר לוֹמַר אֶלָּא שֶׁהָיְתָה הַגְּזֵרָה קֹדֶם לַלֵּדָה כ' שָׁנָה, וּשְׁתֵּי הַלְּשׁוֹנוֹת בִּבְ"רַ:

(1) 'ויאמר אדושם אם נא וגו AND HE SAID, MY LORD, IF NOW etc. — He addressed himself to the leader of them; calling them all “lords”, (אדני may mean “my lords”), while to their leader he said “Do not I pray pass by”, for he knew that if he would not pass by, his companions would certainly remain with him. In this explanation the word אדושם has a “profane” sense (does not refer to God, being merely a term of address, “Sirs”) . Another explanation is that the word is “holy” (referring to God): he asked God to wait for him while he ran and invited the travelers. For although this is written after the words “and he ran to meet them”, yet the conversation took place beforehand. It, indeed, is the way of the Scriptures to speak in this manner as I have explained in my comment on “My spirit shall not strive” (Genesis 6:3) which is written after the passage. “And Noah begot” (Genesis 5:32) whereas it is impossible to say otherwise than that the decree of a respite of 120 years made in reference to this verse “My spirit shall not strive etc.” was twenty years before the birth of Noah’s sons.) Both these explanations of אדושם are to be found in Genesis Rabbah 48:10 (see also Shevuot 35b).

~ What is the specific word that, depending how you read, solves the problem of the flipping between second person singular and second person plural?

~ Which of the two solutions offered by Rashi sound better to you? Why?

וירא אליו ה' כו'. נקדים לפרש פסוק "ואברהם זקן בא בימים". דהנה העולמות העליונים נקראים 'ימים', והצדיק בקדושתו מגיע עד העולמות העליונים, וזהו "ואברהם זקן" זה קנה חכמה, "בא בימים", ר"ל עד שהגיע אל העולמות העליונים, וכן בדוד המלך ע"ה נאמר "ודוד זקן בא בימים כו'", וזהו "חיים שאל ממך נתת לו אורך ימים", דהנה הצדיק, החיים שיש לו בעוה"ז אינו אצלו רק כמו דבר הנשאל לפי שעה, ומחמת זה הולך ומתגבר תמיד בקדושה מחמת שמחשב תמיד שמא היום הוא החזרת השאלה, וזהו "חיים שאל ממך", פירוש הצדיק שמחשב שהחיים אינם אלא שאלה ששאל ממך, לכן "נתת לו אורך ימים", עי"ז זוכה לאריכות ימים הוא עוה"ב.

And Ad-nai appeared to him etc (Genesis 18:1) - we have to explain first the verse "And Avraham was old, entered in days" (Genesis 24:1). Behold, the upper worlds are called "days" and the tzadik in their kedusha reaches up to the upper worlds, and this is "Avraham was old/zaken" as in "this one acquired wisdom"/Zeh Kanah chochmah" (Sifra, Kedoshim 7:12); "entered in days" meaning, until he reached the upper worlds. And so too about King David, peace be upon him, it was said "And David was old, entered in days etc" (I Kings 1:1) and this is "He asked from You life; You granted him many days" (Ps. 21:5). That behold regarding the tzadik, the life they have in this world is not his, rather, it is as a borrowed thing for one hour, and because of this the tzadik goes and strengthens themself always in holiness, since the tzadik always thinks that lest today it will be the day of returning what was borrowed, and this is "he asked from You life ", meaning, meaning, the tzadik who thinks that life is only borrowed from You, therefore "You granted him many days", through this the tzadik merits many days, which are the life in the world to come.

וזהו "וירא אליו ה' באלוני ממרא והוא יושב כו' כחום היום", ר"ל דגם שהיה אברהם למטה, אבל עיקר ישיבתו באמת היה בעולמות העליונים, וזה רמז 'כחום היום', ר"ל שהיה בחמימות קדושה ודביקות כמו החמימות והדביקות של עולם עליון הנקרא 'יום' כנ"ל. וק"ל.

And this is "and Hashem appeared to him at the woods of Mamre", meaning, that thought Avraham was below, the essence of his sitting really was on the upper worlds, and this is hinted to in "in the heat of the day", meaning, in the heat of holiness and clinging to God, since the heat and the clinging of the upper world is called 'day', as we explained. And this is easy to understand.

~ What are the points of connection that the Noam Elimelech is making about Avraham and old age?

~ How do we see Avraham, at this point, and how does the Noam Elimelech explain about the reality of the tzadik?

~ Why is it that the tzadik keeps the idea of death on their mind, and how does that affect the reality of the tzadik?

~ How is the Noam Elimelech setting us up, in reading the first verse, to understand the other verses?

או יאמר "וירא אליו ה'", ונקדים לפרש פסוק "כי צדיק ה' צדקות אהב כו'", דאיתא בגמרא האי דנחית קמיה דרב חנינא אמר האל כו' האמיץ כו' עיין שם, אמר לו סיימתינהו לשבחיה דמרא, ולכאורה הלא אנו משבחין להשי"ת שבחים רבים גם מה שלא אמרו אנשי כנסת הגדולה? אך נראה דהנה השי"ת ב"ה נקרא בשם רחום וחנון וצדיק, ובמדה שעובד אדם את הבורא, מעורר המדה זו למעלה בעולמות ונקרא הבורא בשם אותו המדה, וצריך האדם לעבוד את הבורא בכל המדות כדי לעורר אותו המדה למעלה, וכאשר מעורר האדם המדה הנקרא צדיק, אז השי"ת נקרא בשם צדיק וכדומה בכל העולמות, ואז נתעורר רחמים גדולים על כל העולם וכל הדינין נהפכין לרחמים ע"י הצדיק הזה, וזהו "צדיק ה'", ר"ל בעת שהשי"ת נקרא בשם 'צדיק' ע"י המשכת הצדיק בעבודתו, אז "צדקות אהב", דהיינו רחמים וצדקות לעולם, "ישר יחזה פנימו", פירוש הכתוב מפרש מי הוא זה הגורם זאת? "ישר כו'", ר"ל הוא הישר אשר יחזה תמיד להמשיך הבורא ב"ה להפנימיות של העולמות, אבל האי דנחית קמיה דרב חנינא שהיה מזכיר שבחים בכינוי אשר לא ברא הבורא ית' עולמות כאלו, לכן אמר סיימתינהו לשבחיה דמרא.

Or say - And Ad-nai appeared to him etc (Genesis 18:1) - beforehand, let's explain the verse "for Ad-nai is righteous; He loves righteous deeds; the upright shall behold His face" (Psalms 11:7). There is in the Gemara "a certain one lead prayers in the presence of Rav Hanina, and that one said 'the great, etc, the fearless' and Rav Hanina asked 'have you concluded all the praise due to your Master?' (Berakhot 33b:22, Megillah 25a:8). And on a first glance, don't we actually praise the Holy Exalted name with many praises that were not said by the Men of the Great Assembly? Yet, see that the Blessed Holy Exalted Name is described with [words such as] compassionate, gracious and righteous. And through the trait with which a person serves their Creator, that same trait is aroused Above, in the Worlds, and the Creator is described by that same trait, and a person needs to serve the Creator with all the traits so as to arouse that trait Above, and when a person arouses that trait they are called tzadik, and then the Blessed Name is described as 'tzadik', and so on in all the worlds. And then a great compassion is aroused towards the world, and all judgments are converted into compassion through that tzadik. And this is "Righteous is Ad-nai", meaning, at the moment the Blessed Name is called 'tzadik' through the continuation of the work of the tzadik, then 'He loves righteous deeds', meaning, compassion and righteousness for this world, and then 'the upright shall behold His face'. The explanation: who caused this? 'the upright, etc', meaning, the upright that looks out always to continue the [presence of] the Blessed Creator to the internalness of the worlds, but 'that one that prayed in the presence of Rav Hanina' that was mentioning the praises through words, did it in a way that implied that the Creator did not create the worlds like that, and therefore Rav Hanina asked 'did you finish praising your Master?'

וזהו "אליו ה' באלוני", "אליו" ר"ל בשבילו, ע"י עבודתו היה נראה "ה'" במדת רחמים, "באלוני", היינו העולמות העליונים כאשר כתבתי לעיל, "ממרא" ר"ל ע"י אמרות הטהורות של אברהם אבינו ע"ה שהיו כדי להמשיך הבורא יתעלה לעולמות כנ"ל. וק"ל.

And this is "to him, Ad-nai, in the woods of"(Genesis 18:1). "To him" meaning, for him, through his service, "Ad-nai" appeared, that is, the trait of compassion; "in the woods" that is the Upper Worlds as I wrote above, "Mamre" meaning through the untarnished sayings (imrot) of our father Avraham, PBUH, which were to continue [the presence of] the Exalted Creator to the worlds, as explained above, and this is easy to understand.

~ Who or what does Avraham see?

~ How does the Noam Elimelech re-write the opening verse of our portion?

Make your own attempt first.

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The trait of compassion appeared in the Upper Worlds due to the blessings and words of Torah said by him.

או יאמר "וירא כו'", דהנה כשעלה ברצונו ית' לברוא את העולם להטיב לברואיו, צמצם הקב"ה את עצמו, ולהיכן צמצם את עצמו? שמעתי מפי מורי ז"ל שצמצם עצמו בתוך האותיות התורה שבהם ברא העולם, ואמר שזה הפירוש שאמרו חז"ל "כביכול" ב"ה, ר"ל ע"י כ"ב אתווין יכול הקב"ה להיות בזה העולם, והצדיק העוסק בתורה לשמה בקדושה, הוא ממשיך את הבורא ב"ה ויתעלה בתוך האותיות של התורה כמו בשעת הבריאה.

Or say - "appeared, etc" (Genesis 18:1) that behold, when creating the world arouse in the will of the Exalted, to give good to those created, the Holy Blessed One contracted Godself, and - to where did God contract Godself? I heard from my teacher z"l, that God contracted Godself into the letters of the Torah with whoch God created the world. And he said that this is the explanation for what our sages said 'as if it were possible / KeBeYaCHoL' - meaning, through 22 K"B letters YaCHoL it was possible for the Holy One of Blessing to exist in this world, and the tzadik that engages in Torah for its own sake, that tzadik continues the [presence of the] Blessed Creator and raises inside the letters of the Torah, just like in the moment of Creation.

~ The Noam Elimelech expects you to know the basic three stages of creation according to the Arizal:

- Tzimtzum (Contraction of God's presence)

- Shevirah (breaking of the Vessels)

- Tikkun (Fixing/raising the sparks)

~ The idea is that the Hebrew alphabet is particularly powerful, and so that is also what is behind the effectiveness of prayers and meditations centered in letters or names of God, amulets and so on.

וזהו "וירא אליו ה' באלוני ממרא", הוא לשון אמירה כנ"ל, ו'אילן' הוא התורה, והמצוות הם ענפים, ואמר הכתוב שע"י אמרות הטהורות שעסקו בתורה, המשיך את הבורא אל תוך האותיות, וזהו "באלוני ממרא", ר"ל באילן של אמירותיו נראה ה' אליו. ואמר הכתוב מהיכן זכה זאת שנראה ה' אליו ע"י עסק תורתו? זאת היתה לו מחמת הכנעה גדולה שהיה בו, דהיינו "והוא יושב פתח האוהל", דהיינו אף שהיה צדיק גדול אעפ"כ החזיק עצמו בהכנעה גדולה שעדיין יושב בפתח והתחלה של הקדושה, ד'אהל' רמז על הקדושה, "כחום היום", ר"ל שיש בני אדם שנראים שהם מוכנעים אבל אין תוכו כברו, ואמר הכתוב שאברהם היה מוכנע גדול באמת בלב שלם ממש, וברור כשמש בעיניו שאינו אלא מתחיל בעבודתו יתברך, וזהו 'כחום היום'.

And this is "and revealed to him, Ad-nai, in the trees of Mamre" (Genesis 18:1). Mamre is an expression of speaking, as explained above. And 'tree' is Torah, and the mitzvot are the branches, and the text is saying that through the untarnished sayings that dealt with Torah, he continued [the presence of] the Creator inside the letters, and this is "the woods of Mamre", meaning, in the tree of his sayings Ad-nai appeared to him. And the text said: "why did he merit that Ad-nai appeared to him through his dealings with Torah? This was due to his great surrender, which is "he sits at the entrance of the tent", that even though he was a great tzadik he held himself in a great surrender, that he was still sitting at the entrance and at the beginning of holiness, since "tent" is a hint to holiness, "as the day warms" meaning, that there are people that look as someone who surrenders but their insides are not like their outsides, and the text says that Avraham had surrendered completely, in truth, with a full heart, and yet it was clear as the sun in his eyes that he had just began in his service to the Blessed One, and this is "as the day warms".

~ Surrender is a concept that is not very explicit in Jewish thought, but it has a correlation with the idea of bitachon, ie, trusting God. Serendipity might be more accepted, nowadays, and Avraham definitely embodies that concept.

~ How does this image of the tzadik impact you? The polar opposite is "a tzaddik decrees and God fulfills". What do you think about that concept? Are there people whose prayers are more effective? Why? Why not?

"וירא והנה שלשה אנשים נצבים עליו", רמז שראה אברהם שמוטל עליו לתקן ג' עולמות, דהיינו יראה אהבה ותפארת, כי הצדיק צריך לתקן את הששה קצוות שהם ששה ימי חול, והם ג' וג', דהיינו ג' לפני השבת וג' לאחר השבת, ולכן תפס הכתוב בלשונו רק "שלשה אנשים", והוא כולל יחד כל הששה קצוות, אותן שלפני השבת עם אותן שלאחר השבת. וזהו שאנו אומרים "ותן בלבנו לאהבה וליראה", הגם שבאמת צריך האדם להקדים היראה לאהבה, אך אנו מתפללים על היראה הבאה מתוך אהבה, דהיינו שלשה ימים שאחר השבת הם אהבה שהם שייכים לשבת העבר, וג' הימים שלפני השבת הם יראה שמתוכם באים אל אהבה שהוא השבת, ועל זה אנו מתפללים 'לאהבה וליראה' כסדר ימי החול שמתחילה אהבה והדר יראה, לתקן הששה קצוות.

"And he saw, and behold, three men are standing over him" (Genesis 18:2) - this is a hint: Avraham saw that it was on him to fix three worlds, that is, love, awe and balance (tif'eret). The tzadik needs to fix six corners, which are six days of the week, and they are three and three, that is three before Shabbat and three after Shabbat. And therefore the text seized on the language "three men", and this includes all of the six corners, those before with those after Shabbat. And this is what we say "and unify our hearts to love and to hold in awe" that even, truly, a person needs to set awe before love, however we pray for the awe that comes from within the love, that is,three days that are after Shabbat they are love, because they belong to the Shabbat that passed, and the three days that are before Shabbat they are awe, since from inside them one comes to the love that is Shabbat, and it is because of this that we pray "to love and to hold in awe", as the order of the regular days, that begin in love and end in awe, in order to fix the six corners.

~ Who or what did Avraham see?

~ How does a week look like, according to the Noam Elimelech?

~ What are the two basic emotions, love and awe (or fear), doing in the service of God?

~ Why can't we just have love? Why can't we just have awe?

~ What do you thiknk is "awe that comes from love"?

"וירא וירץ לקראתם כו'", פירוש דאחר שמתקן הג' עולמות כנ"ל, עי"ז באה ההשפעה לעולם הזה, והעיקר צריך להיות אתערותא דלתתא, וזהו "וירא וירץ לקראתם", דהיינו בזריזות, שזה הוא עיקר כמו שאמר התנא 'זריזות מביא לידי נקיות' כו', "לקראתם", ר"ל נגד העולמות לתקנם, והיינו אתערותא דלתתא, "וישתחו ארצה", דהשתחוואה הוא כדי להמשיך השפעות למטה, וזהו 'וישתחו ארצה', ר"ל שהמשיך השפעות למטה.

"And he saw and he ran towards them etc" (Genesis 18:2) - the explanation is that, after fixing the three worlds as explained above, through that the Flow came to this world, and the essence needs to be the arousing of below, and this is "he saw, and he ran towards them" - that is, with alacrity, that this is the essence, as the tanna said "alacrity brings one to clealiness, etc" (Mishnah Sotah 9:15). "Towards them", that is to say, towards the worlds to fix them, that is the arousal from below. "And he bowed down to earth" that the bowing down is to continue the flow to the world below, and this is "he bowed down to the earth", meaning, that he continued the Flows downward.

~ What is Avraham doing, as he runs towards the "men"?

~ What are the "men" a symbol for? Why?

~ What is the function of the tzadik?

"ויאמר אל נא תעבור מעל עבדך", פירוש שהתפלל להשי"ת תפילה קצרה שאל יעבור מאתנו, "יוקח נא מעט מים", פירוש שיוקח מלעילא לתתא חסדים מעט, שכן דרך הצדיקים אומרים מעט ועושים הרבה, "ורחצו רגליכם", פירוש שלא יהיה שום נגיעה ואחיזה להרגלים, דהיינו להחיצונים, להנות מהקדושה, "והשענו תחת העץ", ר"ל שלא יהיה להם השפעה רק מהתמצית וכל השפעה יהיה לישראל. והבן.

"And he said: 'please do not pass over your servant' - meaning that he prayed to the Holy Exalted Name a short prayer so God would not pass us by. "Let a little water be brought" - meaning, that a little compassion be brought from above to below, since this is the way of tzadikim, who say little but do much. "And wash your feet" - meaning, that there should be no touching and no seizing to the feet, which are the external negative forces (hitzonim); to enjoy holiness. "And rest under the tree" meaning, that they [the worlds] should only receive Flow from the essence, and that all the Flow should go to Israel. And sit with this to understand.

~ Why is compassion symbolized by water?

~ What is the vision of the tzadik, in this paragraph?

וירא אליו ה' באלוני כו' (בראשית יח, א). ויש לדקדק למה לא כתב וירא ה' אל אברהם ולמה אינו מזכיר שמו. ונראה, כי הבורא ברוך הוא משפיע שפע לברואיו ויש שפע אשר לא צמצם עדיין בעולמות. והנה השפע אשר היא מצומצם בעולמות הוא באותיות כגון עולם השרפים הצמצום הוא באותיות שרפים וכן לכל העולמות שלהם וכן לעולם התחתון לכל אחד כפי אותיות שלו, היינו לאברהם השפע מצמצום אברהם וכן לכל אדם. והנה האדם העובד להשם יתברך במסירת נפש אז הוא מתפשט מאותיות ומדבק עצמו להשפע אשר עדיין לא נתצמצם באותיות. והנה אברהם אבינו עליו השלום מל עצמו לעת זקנותו והיה עובד הבורא ברוך הוא במסירת נפש ועל ידי זה נתפשט עצמו מן האותיות שלו, כי הוא דבוק בהשפע אשר עדיין לא נתצמצם באותיות ולא נקרא בשמו כלל. וזהו וירא אליו ה', שלא נקרא בשמו כלל:

“Ad-nai appeared to him in the ‎groves of Mamre.” (Genesis 18:1) - there is a need to see carefully why the text did not say "and Hashem appeared to Avraham" and why his name is not mentioned. And it seems that as the Blessed Creator is showers Flow to the creations, there is a Flow that is not yet constricted in the worlds. And behold the Flow that is constricted in the worlds is constricted through letters, for example, [in] the world of the seraphim [the constriction happens] in burning letters, and this is the same in all their worlds, and so too in the lower world, to each person according to their letters, meaning, to Avraham the Flow was constricted according to Avraham's constriction, and so to every single person. And behold, a person who serves the Blessed Name with self-sacrifice then that person expands themselves/releases themselves from the letters and clings to the Flow that is not yet constricted in the letters. And behold, our father Avraham PBUH circumcised himself in old age, and was serving the Blessed Creator through self-sacrifice, and through this he released himself from his letters, because he was clinging to the Flow that was not constricted, and so his name is not mentioned at all. And this is "Ad-nai appeared to him", in which he is not designated by his name at all.

~ What is the main question that the Kedushat Levi is raising?

~ How does he understand God's presence in the world? How does he understand prayer? How does he understand any name for any person?

~ What is the teaching that Avraham is bringing to us?

וירא והנה שלשה אנשים נצבים עליו (בראשית יח, ב). ופירש הזוהר הקדוש והנה שלשה אנשים אלו אברהם יצחק ויעקב. ויובן דברי מאמר הזוהר. דידוע דאברהם אבינו עליו השלום עבד תמיד ה' באהבה ובמילה עבד ה' ביראה ויראה היא גבורה ובמילה מכרית הערלה ובזה מכרית כל הקליפות כנזכר בכתבי אריז"ל והוא שמתגבר על כל הקליפות. אם כן אז במילה היה באברהם אבינו עליו השלום אהבה ויראה אהבה מדריגת אברהם ויראה דהיא גבורה מדריגת יצחק אבינו עליו השלום שבעת שמל עבד השם יתברך במדת גבורה. וידוע דבכל מקום שיש אהבה ויראה דהוא אש ומים מוכרח שיהיה מדה הממוצע דהיא תפארת בחינת יעקב אבינו דיעקב הוא תפארת לכן אז במילה דהיא אהבה ויראה הוכרח שיהיה התפארת גם כן דהיא הממוצע, אם כן היה אז כל ג' בחינות ומדות של אברהם יצחק ויעקב. ועל פי זה מובן פירוש הכתוב כפי הזוהר הקדוש וישא עיניו וירא והנה שלשה אנשים נצבים, שראה אז אברהם יצחק ויעקב והבן:

“when he looked out, here three men were standing on top of him” (Genesis ‎18:2) The Holy Zohar explains that these ‎three men are “Avraham, Yitzchak, and Yaakov.” Clearly, we ‎must try to understand the words of the Zohar. It is known that our father Avraham, PBUH always served God with love, and yet with the circumcision he served God with awe, and awe is Strength (Gevurah), as the circumcision cuts the orlah off, and with that act he cut off all the husks, as explained in the writings of the Arizal, and so he conquered all the husks (kelipot). If so, then in [performing his own] circumcision our father Avraham PBUH had both love and awe. Love is the level Avraham, and awe is Strength, the level of our father Itzchak PBUH, that on the moment he circumcised he served God with the trait of Strength. And it is known that in every place and moment where there is love and awe, which are fire and water, there must be the trait that balances [them], which is Tiferet/Balance, the aspect of our father Yaakov. This is because Yaakov is balance and therefore, in circumcision, which is love and awe, there must be Tiferet present too, since it balances. And if so, there were three aspects and traits [present in that moment], which are Avraham, Yitzchak and Yaakov. And through this the explanation written in the holy Zohar can be understood: "and he raised his eyes and saw and behold three men were standing on him" that he saw then Avraham, Yitzchak and Yaakov. And sit with this to understand.

~ The Kedushat Levi brings an understanding from the Zohar. What is the obvious problem with the Zohar's explanation, and how does the Kedushat Levi solve it?

~ What do you think of this re-reading of the text?

בפסוק וירא וירץ לקראתם (בראשית יח, ב). כי אברהם אשר היה לו הכאב מן המילה ועל החולה יש מדת רחמנות עליו ואברהם התחזק בכאן לרוץ לקראתם עשה כאן מדת גבורה וזכה לנשמה של יצחק שהוא מדה זו נמצא יש כאן מדת אברהם ויצחק וכל מקום שיש אברהם ויצחק שם יש יעקב. וזהו וירא והנה שלשה אנשים , אברהם יצחק ויעקב:

On the verse “when he saw, he ran towards them” (Genesis ‎18:2) - since Avraham was hurting from the circumcision, and since regarding anyone who is sick there is an extra measure of compassion, and Avraham fortified himself at that point and ran towards them, he did then the trait of Strength, and so he merited the soul of Yitzchak, which is this trait. And so one sees here that the trait of both Avraham and Yotzchak, and in every instance that there is Avraham and Yitzchak there is also Yaakov. And this is "and he saw and behold three men": Avraham, Yitzchak and Yaakov.

~ What are the additions to the main message above that the Kedushat Levi wants us to remember?

עוד יבואר, וירץ לקראתם. והענין הוא כך, דהנה הצדיק יכול להבחין כשרואה בני אדם אם הם טובים אם לאו, דהיינו כשהצדיק רואה את האדם ובא לו בהירות ואור גדול אז האדם הוא טוב ואם לאו שאינו נופל עליו בהירות אזי הוא אינו טוב. וזהו שאמר הכתוב וישא עיניו וירא, דהיינו שנפל עליו בהירות ואור גדול מחמת הראיה. מיד וירץ לקראתם:

And let it be clarified [regarding] "he saw, he ran towards them" (Genesis ‎18:2). Behold, a tzadik is able to discern, when they see other people, whether the person is good or not, meaning, when a tzadik sees a person and lucidity and a great light comes to the tzadik, then that person is good, and if not, if lucidity does not fall on the tzadik, then the person is not good. And this is what the text says "and he lifted his eyes and saw", meaning, that a lucidity and a great light fell on him due to the seeing [them]. And immediately "he ran towards them".

~ How did Avraham know that the three men were special, and what does it tell us about the tzadik?

~ Have you ever had such an experience?

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