After his circumcision our forefather Avraham was sore, yet something else was bothering him. His overwhelming concern was that he noticed a lull in the normal flow of guests that came through his doors.
Why weren’t there any guests? The Torah tells us that Avraham went out of his tent and saw that it was brutally hot outside. G-d, knowing that Avraham needed to rest, brought an extreme heat wave to make it impossible to be out traveling. However, when G-d saw that the lack of guests caused Avraham distress, He sent three visitors.
The Torah describes that Avraham saw three men, however, they were actually angels disguised as men. Although all Avraham saw were people who appeared as Bedouins, Avraham ran toward them and immediately began preparing a lavish feast for them.
Avraham was so devoted to the Mitzvah of Chesed that it didn’t matter what type of guests he entertained.
In a short time Avraham found out that the three visitors were angels. Each of them had a mission; one was to heal Avraham, one was to let Avraham and Sarah know that they would have a child, and one was to destroy the wicked cities of Sedom and Amorah and save Avraham’s nephew Lot who resided in Sedom.
When the angels came to Sedom, the Torah tells us that Lot noticed the visiting angels and invited them in. Our Sages contrast Avraham’s approach to Chesed with the Chesed of his nephew Lot. Yes, Lot had been inspired by Avraham’s acts of Chesed while he had lived with Avraham, however, it was only when he saw angels approaching that he welcomed them into his home; he wouldn’t have done it for the average Joe on the street.
Although the visitors’ physical appearance was the same in both encounters, in order for them to gain Lot’s attention, their angelic essence had to be revealed.
When Avraham and Sarah’s son Yitzchok was thirty-seven years old, G-d instructed Avraham to offer his son on an altar on what would become the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. Avraham got moving quickly and traveled with his son Yitzchok, his son Yishmael (from Hagar) and his servant Eliezer.
After an arduous and exhausting three day trip which included many obstacles that Satan presented to derail this momentous occurrence, the Torah tells us, they saw the place from afar. Our Sages tell us that Avraham noticed a spiritual cloud hovering over the place. He asked those accompanying him what they saw. Eliezer and Yishmael detailed the scenery, while Yitzchok shared the same holy vision as Avraham and told him he saw the spiritual cloud.
Here we see four people looking at the same place; two noticed the spiritual while the others did not.
Similarly, the natural phenomenon of the appearance of the rainbow is due to the brilliant light of the sun shining through the prism of the droplets of rain. When one sees the rainbow it is a beautiful sight to behold. However, explains Rabbi Avigdor Miller o.b.m., after the flood of Noach, G-d gave mankind a great gift. He chose the rainbow to be the ‘Os’ – sign and treaty – that He would never destroy the world through waters of a flood. The discerning eye of a Jew appreciates the rainbow for more than just its beauty, he sees it as a kiss from G-d showing that He loves His creatures and stands by His word. For this, he recites a blessing over the rainbow as a token of appreciation!
Although it is not so apparent the seventh day of the week is an example where two people can view the same thing differently. Naturally, the seventh day of the week is no different than any other day of the week. However, when G-d gave us the Torah He fashioned an ‘Os’– a sign –between Him and the Jewish people. This everlasting sign is the holy day of Shabbos.
Unlike the rainbow which all can see, the holiness of Shabbos is like the spiritual cloud hovering over the Temple Mount in Jerusalem that only Avraham and Yitzchok perceived. Others don’t see it at all and it was as if it is not there.
The Torah attests that the sign and treaty of Shabbos is everlasting, which means that each and every Jew, for eternity, has the opportunity, ability and mission to tap into the wellspring of sanctity and holiness of the weekly Shabbos by embracing it and its laws.
Shabbos is similar in one way to the rainbow. Just as one cannot fully describe the sight of a rainbow to one who has not actually seen it, the sweetness, holiness, enjoyment, tranquility and feeling of spiritual connectivity of the Shabbos cannot be fully conveyed until one experiences it!
