Parshas Va'yeira

1. Grab a mitzvah – it's eternal

Bereishis 18:2 "And he [Avraham] saw [that the visitors didn't want to trouble him] and he ran towards them…and prostrated himself earthwards"

Enthusiasm is related to simchah/joy (see Likutei Moharan 155). Thus Chazal tell us that it is a mitzvah to run to the synagogue – or to any mitzvah matter – as it states (Tehillim) "I was joyful when they said to me 'let's go to the House of Hashem'.

In fact, if we would look honestly at life's ultimate purpose, we would certainly run with great joy and enthusiasm to the synagogue, or any mitzvah, when the opportunity presented itself to us. This constitutes all our vitality and eternal hope; everything else is futility and nonsense. Ultimately, nothing remains from anything else – not from wealth, or from the constraint of poverty and destitution; not from any of the earthly desires, honor, jealousy, hate and fastidiousness. This is as the verse states: "He cannot take everything on his demise" and "their love, jealousy and hate have already gone".

The only thing that will remain will be the bit of good that we manage to snatch – going to the synagogue, to the study hall or to perform some mitzvah. And so there is no question that all of us are obligated to run with great fervor and joy to perform a mitzvah. And someone that knows he is very far from Hashem – he really ought to be happy when doing a mitzvah, in the knowledge that even he, who is so far from spirituality, merits the opportunity to perform a mitzvah.

This is the meaning of "and he [Avraham] saw", where Rashi explains that 'saw' refers to understanding. This means that Avraham understood life's purpose. This is what led him to 'run towards them' – from the simchah of the mitzvah, which is the main elevation of holiness from the klippos (incorporation of evil).

It is then that "he prostrated himself earthwards" – expressing bittul/self-abnegation, subsuming himself within the light of the Ein Sof/Infinite One. All prostration is related to bittul. Thus Avraham fell to the ground with outstretched hands and legs, negating all his emotions from the greatness of the pure light that was revealed to him. This arose from the simchah expressed by "he ran towards them". From that act he attained the oros ha'tzach'tzachos/pure lights, which relate to the concept of prostration.

Then Avraham requested from Hashem (verse 3): "please do not pass away from your servant". Avraham's intention was that Hashem should not remove His revelation from him until a suitable imprint had been left. In fact, all of us need to ensure that spiritual revelation does not pass away too quickly, until an effective impression has been made that will serve to eternally vitalize us. Avraham expressed this in the subsequent verse "please take some water" – an allusion to drawing on the outpouring of bounty. He was in effect asking the revelation should not pass away from him until he could draw bounty from there.

Hilchos Ishus 4-19

2. The avodah of eating

Bereishis 18:5 "I shall take bread and you can feast your hearts…"

Avraham gave food to the angels that visited him. He did this in order to show the angels that they should not denounce the Jewish people, despite the fact that the Jewish people that wanted to receive the Torah would later sin. [The Midrash Rabbah (Shemos 28) relates that when Moshe ascended to heaven to receive the Torah, the ministering angels sought to hurt him. Hashem prevented them by making Moshe's face resemble that of Avraham. He then rebuked them saying: "Hey – you ate at his place!"]. For at the time that the angels visited Avraham, there had already started a certain initial "sparkling" of the giving of the Torah, owing to Avraham's circumcision – the first mitzvah in it. Further, they came to announce the birth of Yitzchak – from who would descend all the Jewish people that would receive the Torah.

Thus Avraham attempted to ward off the angels' attack and save the Jewish people, despite their shortcomings. Avraham did this by giving food to the angels, so that they would understand the suffering that man undergoes in this world; that man must eat and conduct such disgusting clarifications – to clarify from the waste matter, within his body. Thus, there should be no criticism of man if he should fall – no matter how much he should fall – since he is forced to be in such filthy places, clarifying real vomit and excrement.

Consequently, the Midrash Rabbah relates that even though the angels that visited Avraham actually ate with great holiness, as befitting their elevated status, nevertheless they did not leave totally "clean". They dropped in their perfection to the extent that they were required to delay in this world, unable to start their ascent heavenwards until the days of Ya'acov; one of them could not ascend until the time of Manoach. The reason for their fall: It is very difficult to leave this world squeaky clean. After an angel descends to this world he can only return to his previous exalted position after immersing a number of times in the Dinur river.

The main extraction of good from the squalor in this world is related to the concept of eating, since the principle squalor attained its grip through the sin of Adam's eating. Therefore, Avraham honored the angels through eating, hinting to them the great amount of toil and bitterness that wretched man must suffer in this world. In this way, the angels no longer have cause to oppose the Jewish people receiving the Torah. For we certainly must be given the Torah, since it is impossible to withstand this world without the Torah that is termed "eating of holiness".

Therefore, when the angels wanted to oppose Moshe on his ascent to heaven, Hashem formed the features of Moshe like Avraham and said to them: "You ate at his home!" Hashem in effect was answering them: "How have you the gall to oppose giving the Torah in such a world? You ate at his home! You tasted a little bit of what man has to suffer in this world, the extent of which is impossible to bear without Torah, as it states (Tehillim 119:92) 'If Your Torah had not been my preoccupation'".

Hence when Manoach wanted to honor the angel that appeared to him, the angel replied that he no longer wanted to eat more (Shoftim 13:16): "If you detain me, I shall not eat of your food". Since the time had already arrived for him to ascend heavenwards, he didn't want to eat any more so that he would no longer be delayed – for he had already got a taste of the great difficulty involved in the clarification process of eating when he was with Avraham. That experience had been responsible for his great delay until now. This is the meaning of the verse (ibid. 19): "u'mafli la'asos/he performed a miracle" on the return to his place. This return was truly by way of a great wonder, since it is difficult for an angel to ascend and return to his previous place, to clean himself from the world's impurity. This is the reason that our Rabbis included in the blessing of asher yotzar (said after executing ones needs) the words "u'mafli la'asos". For this act of clarification is truly a great wonder.

Hilchos Betzias Ha'pas 5-59