It’s a tale of divine visitation, incredible hospitality, and a lesson in faith, all rolled into one.
Our story picks up three days after Abraham’s circumcision. Now, anyone who knows anything about that procedure knows it’s no walk in the park! Abraham was, shall we say, uncomfortable. According to Legends of the Jews, as retold by Ginzberg, God decides it's time to pay a visit to the ailing patriarch.
But here's where it gets interesting. The angels aren't exactly thrilled about the idea. "What is man, that Thou art mindful of him?" they ask, according to Ginzberg's telling. "And Thou desirest to betake Thyself to a place of uncleanness, a place of blood and filth?" Ouch! They weren't mincing words, were they? The angels clearly didn't understand the significance of this covenant.
God, however, wasn't having it. He retorted, "As ye live, the savor of this blood is sweeter to me than myrrh and incense, and if you do not desire to visit Abraham, I will go alone." Can you feel the intensity? God valued Abraham's commitment so much that he was willing to go against the opinions of even his most trusted angels.
To make matters even more challenging, God made that day particularly hot – unbearably so! He even bored a hole in hell, according to the story! The purpose? To keep travelers away so that Abraham could rest undisturbed. But Abraham, ever the gracious host, was distressed by the lack of visitors. He sent his servant, Eliezer, to look for wayfarers. When Eliezer returned empty-handed, Abraham, despite his pain and the scorching heat, ventured out himself.
And that’s when it happened. God appeared to him, surrounded by those same angels.
Abraham, naturally, tried to rise in respect, but God stopped him. In fact, God tells him that his descendants will one day sit in schools and synagogues while God is present. It’s a beautiful image of intimacy and acceptance.
Then, Abraham sees three men. These aren't just any men; they're the angels Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael, disguised as humans. Each had a specific mission: Raphael was to heal Abraham, Michael was to tell Sarah she would have a son, and Gabriel was headed to Sodom and Gomorrah for a less pleasant task.
Seeing his chance to show hospitality, Abraham rushes to greet them. He even says to God, “O Lord, may it please Thee not to leave Thy servant while he provides for the entertainment of his guests.” Talk about putting your priorities in order! He considered hospitality even more important than being in the presence of the Shekhinah, the divine presence. What does that tell you about Abraham's character?
He addresses the angel Michael, whom he recognizes as the most distinguished, and invites them to rest in his tent. He even has a special tree that distinguishes between the pious and the impious, shading only those who believe in God. According to Ginzberg, this tree also could tell if someone was ritually impure, requiring them to take a ritual bath, a mikveh (a ritual immersion pool), before enjoying its shade.
Abraham, ever the humble servant, promises only "a morsel of bread." But what he provides is a feast fit for royalty! He slaughters three calves, has Ishmael prepare them, and instructs Sarah to bake bread. Legends of the Jews tells us that he even specified, "Make ready quickly three measures of meal, yea, fine meal," knowing that women can sometimes be a bit stingy with guests (a rather blunt assessment!).
Interestingly, the angels didn’t actually eat. According to some traditions, a heavenly fire consumed the portions set before them. The real guests were Abraham, his friends, and Ishmael. But in Abraham's presence, even the archangels felt insignificant. Can you imagine the power of his humility?
After the meal, the angels inquire about Sarah and Michael announces that she will have a son, Isaac. Sarah overhears this and laughs, questioning how she, in her old age, could possibly bear a child. God, hearing this, gently rebukes both Abraham and Sarah for their lack of faith, though he only directly addresses Sarah's doubt. Midrash Rabbah even points out that God altered Sarah's words slightly when relaying them to Abraham, preserving the peace in their marriage. Such is the importance of marital harmony that even God would bend the truth to maintain it!
Finally, as the angels depart, Abraham escorts them on their way, understanding that seeing guests off is even more important than welcoming them.
So, what can we take away from this story? It’s a powerful reminder that even in our pain and doubt, we can find opportunities for kindness and faith. Abraham, in his suffering, prioritized hospitality and connection. And God, in turn, revealed himself in profound and unexpected ways. Next time you're feeling low, remember Abraham's example. You never know who – or what – might be at your door.
On the third day after his circumcision, when Abraham was suffering dire pain, God spoke to the angels, saying, "Go to, let us pay a visit to the sick." The angels refused, and said: "What is man, that Thou art mindful of him? And the son of man, that Thou visitest him? And Thou desirest to betake Thyself to a place of uncleanness, a place of blood and filth?" But God replied unto them, "Thus do ye speak. As ye live, the savor of this blood is sweeter to me than myrrh and incense, and if you do not desire to visit Abraham, I will go alone." The day whereon God visited him was exceedingly hot, for He had bored a hole in hell, so that its heat might reach as far as the earth, and no wayfarer venture abroad on the highways, and Abraham be left undisturbed in his pain. But the absence of strangers caused Abraham great vexation, and he sent his servant Eliezer forth to keep a lookout for travellers. When the servant returned from his fruitless search, Abraham himself, in spite of his illness and the scorching heat, prepared to go forth on the highway and see whether he would not succeed where failure had attended Eliezer, whom he did not wholly trust at any rate, bearing in mind the well-known saying, "No truth among slaves." At this moment God appeared to him, surrounded by the angels. Quickly Abraham attempted to rise from his seat, but God checked every demonstration of respect, and when Abraham protested that it was unbecoming to sit in the presence of the Lord, God said, "As thou livest, thy descendants at the age of four and five will sit in days to come in the schools and in the synagogues while I reside therein." Meantime Abraham beheld three men. They were the angels Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael. They had assumed the form of human beings to fulfil his wish for guests toward whom to exercise hospitality. Each of them had been charged by God with a special mission, besides, to be executed on earth. Raphael was to heal the wound of Abraham, Michael was to bring Sarah the glad tidings that she would bear a son, and Gabriel was to deal destruction to Sodom and Gomorrah. Arrived at the tent of Abraham, the three angels noticed that he was occupied in nursing himself, and they withdrew. Abraham, however, hastened after them through another door of the tent, which had wide open entrances on all sides. He considered the duty of hospitality more important than the duty of receiving the Shekinah. Turning to God, he said, "O Lord, may it please Thee not to leave Thy servant while he provides for the entertainment of his guests." Then he addressed himself to the stranger walking in the middle between the other two, whom by this token he considered the most distinguished,—it was the archangel Michael—and he bade him and his companions turn aside into his tent. The manner of his guests, who treated one another politely, made a good impression upon Abraham. He was assured that they were men of worth whom he was entertaining. But as they appeared outwardly like Arabs, and the people worshipped the dust of their feet, he bade them first wash their feet, that they might not defile his tent. He did not depend upon his own judgment in reading the character of his guests. By his tent a tree was planted, which spread its branches out over all who believed in God, and afforded them shade. But if idolaters went under the tree, the branches turned upward, and cast no shade upon the ground. Whenever Abraham saw this sign, he would at once set about the task of converting the worshippers of the false gods. And as the tree made a distinction between the pious and the impious, so also between the clean and the unclean. Its shade was denied them as long as they refrained from taking the prescribed ritual bath in the spring that flowed out from its roots, the waters of which rose at once for those whose uncleanness was of a venial character and could be removed forthwith, while others had to wait seven days for the water to come up. Accordingly, Abraham bade the three men lean against the trunk of the tree. Thus he would soon learn their worth or their unworthiness. Being of the truly pious, "who promise little, but perform much," Abraham said only: "I will fetch a morsel of bread, and comfort ye your heart, seeing that ye chanced to pass my tent at dinner time. Then, after ye have given thanks to God, ye may pass on." But when the meal was served to the guests, it was a royal banquet, exceeding Solomon's at the time of his most splendid magnificence. Abraham himself ran unto the herd, to fetch cattle for meat. He slaughtered three calves, that he might be able to set a "tongue with mustard" before each of his guests. In order to accustom Ishmael to God-pleasing deeds, he had him dress the calves, and he bade Sarah bake the bread. But as he knew that women are apt to treat guests niggardly, he was explicit in his request to her. He said, "Make ready quickly three measures of meal, yea, fine meal." As it happened, the bread was not brought to the table, because it had accidentally become unclean, and our father Abraham was accustomed to eat his daily bread only in a clean state. Abraham himself served his guests, and it appeared to him that the three men ate. But this was an illusion. In reality the angels did not eat, only Abraham, his three friends, Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre, and his son Ishmael partook of the banquet, and the portions set before the angels were devoured by a heavenly fire. Although the angels remained angels even in their human disguise, nevertheless the personality of Abraham was so exalted that in his presence the archangels felt insignificant. After the meal the angels asked after Sarah, though they knew that she was in retirement in her tent, but it was proper for them to pay their respects to the lady of the house and send her the cup of wine over which the blessing had been said. Michael, the greatest of the angels, thereupon announced the birth of Isaac. He drew a line upon the wall, saying, "When the sun crosses this point, Sarah will be with child, and when he crosses the next point, she will give birth to a child." This communication, which was intended for Sarah and not for Abraham, to whom the promise had been revealed long before, the angels made at the entrance to her tent, but Ishmael stood between the angel and Sarah, for it would not have been seemly to deliver the message in secret, with none other by. Yet, so radiant was the beauty of Sarah that a beam of it struck the angel, and made him look up. In the act of turning toward her, he heard her laugh within herself: "Is it possible that these bowels can yet bring forth a child, these shrivelled breasts give suck? And though I should be able to bear, yet is not my lord Abraham old?" And the Lord said unto Abraham: "Am I too old to do wonders? And wherefore doth Sarah laugh, saying, Shall I of a surety bear a child, which am old?" The reproach made by God was directed against Abraham as well as against Sarah, for he, too, had showed himself of little faith when he was told that a son would be born unto him. But God mentioned only Sarah's incredulity, leaving Abraham to become conscious of his defect himself. Regardful of the peace of their family life, God had not repeated Sarah's words accurately to Abraham. Abraham might have taken amiss what his wife had said about his advanced years, and so precious is the peace between husband and wife that even the Holy One, blessed be He, preserved it at the expense of truth. After Abraham had entertained his guests, he went with them to bring them on their way, for, important as the duty of hospitality is, the duty of speeding the parting guest is even more important. Their way lay in the direction of Sodom, whither two of the angels were going, the one to destroy it, and the second to save Lot, while the third, his errand to Abraham fulfilled, returned to heaven.
