Abraham Asks the Shekhinah to Wait While He Welcomes Guests

Midrash Aggadah, Genesis 18:3

Curated by Arthur·Told by Maggid·

"And he said, 'My lord.'" He said to the Holy One, blessed be He, that He should not remove His Shekhinah from there, so that he might go to meet the guests. From here you learn that hospitality to guests is greater than receiving the presence of the Shekhinah. [Another interpretation:] "And he said, 'My lord,' etc." He said it to the greatest among them, and he called all of them "lords"; and to the greatest one he said, "Please do not pass by from your servant."

Themes

HospitalityAbrahamDivine PresenceShekhinahRighteousness

Biblical References

Continue Reading

Tanna DeBei Eliyahu RabbahAbraham's Table and the Gifts of the WildernessChoose your table carefully, the chapter begins. Sit with people of learning, not with those careless about the law, because the company you keep at a meal seepYalkut Shimoni on TorahOnce Abraham Was Circumcised God Appeared to Him in PersonAfter the pain of circumcision, Abraham worries over a loss that has nothing to do with his body. He was famous for his open tent and his welcome of travelers, Yalkut Shimoni on TorahThe Lord Visits the Recovering Abraham on the Third DayThe opening of Vayera is read as the third day after Abraham's circumcision, the day a wound burns hottest, and the sages fill it with tenderness. God comes to Yalkut Shimoni on TorahBread That Sustains the Heart and Abraham's Passover FeastWhen three travelers approached his tent in the heat of the day, Abraham offered them a simple morsel of bread, yet he understood something the sages would lateYalkut Shimoni on TorahAbraham's Meal Greater Than Solomon's and the Angels Who Appeared to EatA son hires day laborers and promises them a meal. His father, Rabbi Yohanan ben Matya, stops him: even a feast worthy of King Solomon would not discharge the dYalkut Shimoni on TorahLot Urges the Angels In and Bakes Them MatzahLot greets the two visitors at Sodom's gate and begs them to lodge with him. The sages catch a wary note in his welcome. He asks them to bend their route and sl