Vayera | Men that are Angels

"וַיֵּרָא אֵלָיו ה'…: וַיִּשָּׂא עֵינָיו וַיַּרְא וְהִנֵּה שְׁלֹשָׁה אֲנָשִׁים נִצָּבִים עָלָיו…" (בראשית י"ח: א-ב)

“Hashem appeared to him… He lifted his eyes and saw, and, behold, three men were standing before him. He saw and he ran towards them from the entrance of the tent and bowed to the ground.” (Bereishit 18:1-2)

Covenants can be painful. Avraham sits at the edge of his tent, recovering from his brit milah - looking out and looking up. He catches sight of three men. Who are they?

Faceless from far, appearing as idol-worshippers from close, moving through the desert in unimaginable heat.

The prominent commentaries pit Avraham’s immersion in the presence of Hashem (verse 1) against his desire to welcome these passers-by with hospitality (verse 2).

The Rashbam, though, sees this episode through remarkably different eyes. How could Avraham ‘see’ G-d in the first verse? The second verse does not stand in contrast, but rather provides the solution:

"שבאו אליו שלשה אנשים שהיו מלאכים"

“Because towards him came, three men that were angels.“

We don’t get to see Hashem physically in this world. We don’t even get to see tangible angels. We do, though, sometimes, see ‘men that are angels’.

"שאין מלאך אחד עושה שתי שליחיות" (רש"י)

“One angel does not perform two missions.”

The angels of Avraham knew their unique missions at the outset. In these heavy days, the missions of our angels are only revealed in painful hindsight. They leave this world in a flash of great light, with the bottomless voids of darkness in the hands of their beloveds that remain. In the collective hands of a nation that mourns its beautiful children.

"דל עשרין דלא ענשת להו - שכן מצינו בדור המדבר שלא ענש הקב"ה אלא מכ' שנה ומעלה"

(רש"י,שבת פט:)

As we find in the generation of the desert - Hashem considers 20-year-olds free of sin.

The angelic purity of a 20-year-old serving his People. Rising up Al Kiddush Hashem. Angels passing by in the heat of the desert. Serving. Illuminating. Inspiring. Passing on. Onwards and Upwards. Our soldiers are our sons. Our chariots are our children.

Each one manifests his unique light - serving a covenant formed in purity to create peace and righteousness in the world. “For, I have chosen him so that he charge his children and household after him, that they will keep the way of Hashem to do righteousness and justice, so that Hashem may bring upon Avraham all that He spoke.” (Bereishit 18:19)

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Dedicated to our holy sons that passed in battle this week, bravely reclaiming our safety and sovereignty.

L’ilui nishmat Pedaya Mark Hy”d ben HaRav Miki Mark Hy”d b’toch sha’ar chayaleinu hakedoshim she’naflu b’krav Hy”d.

"וילכו שניהם יחדיו"

Photo by Nathan Gubler on Unsplash