The phrase nimolu [ito],
were circumcised [with him] (17:27),
is juxtaposd with [Hashem] appeared to him. This teaches that G-d
appeared because of the patient; to visit him.
Rabbi Chama explains the term
kechom hayom, in
the heat of the day - that it was the third day following Avraham's
circumcision and the Holy One, Baruch Hu, came to inquire [regarding the
welfare] of Avraham. The Holy One, Baruch Hu, took the sun out of its sheath,
i.e., He made it blaze intensely, so that the righteous Avraham would not be
bothered with guests (Bava Metzia 86). Now, this latter discussion does not
explicitly mention anything about sickness; rather, G-d visited Avraham in
honor of the mitzvah of circumcision that Avraham had performed. Based on
this teaching, other editions (as well as the manuscript version used by
Shoham Yakar) have the word hamilah,
the circumcision, in place of hacholeh, the patient. And, it is based on this teaching
that the Baal HaTurim finds an allusion to circumcision in the gematria of
vayera elav.
Alternatively: The juxtaposition of
were circumcised with him with
while he was sitting at the entrance of the tent in the
heat of the day can be explained in terms of our Sages' statement
that Avraham sits at the entrance to Gehinnom (Hell, expressed here as the
heat of the day), and does not allow anyone who has been circumcised to
enter, except one who has had relations with a gentile woman, for he has
extended his foreskin and therefore Avraham cannot recognize that he is
circumcised.
This concept is reflected by the masoretic note on the
word kechom,
which means that it appears four times in the Tanach:
at the entrance of the
tent in the heat of the day
(Bereishit 18:1)
when the sun becomes hot (1 Shmuel 11:9)
like the clear heat in sunlight (Yeshayahu
18:4)
and they arrived in the heat of the day at the
home of Ish-boshet (2Shmuel 4:5)
This intimates that Avraham would seat himself
at the entrance of the tent [i.e.,
Gehinnom], and not allow a person who is circumcised to enter into [the place
called] the heat of the day.
Instead, [he brings them to] the clear heat of the
sunlight, i.e., Gan Eden, as alluded to in the verse,
but Hashem shall be unto you an everlasting light
(Yeshayahu 60:19). Nevertheless,
Ish-boshet,
literally, a shameful man, i.e., one who has had relations with a
gentile woman, for there is no greater shame than that of a Jewish man who has
relations with a gentile woman, shall come in the
heat of the day, i.e., shall enter Gehinnom, of which it
is written, Behold, the day comes that shall
brun as an oven (Malachi 3:19).
This concept is fruther reflected in the gematria of the
phrase kechom hayom, in the heat of the day
(129), which is equivalent to that of
zehu beGehinnom, this is in
Gehinnom; and is equal to to the
gematria of dam milah,
blood of circumcision.
Vehineh sheloshah
- And Behold! Three [men].
The gematria of this phrase (701) is equal to that of
the phrase These are Michael, Gavriel and Rafael. The Sages identify
the three visitors as these three angels: Michael came to inform Sarah that
she would bear a child; Rafael came to heal Avraham; and Gavriel came to
overturn Sedom (Bava Metzia 86b; Rashi)
Verachatzu ragleichem
-And wash your feet.
From this our Sages derived that Avraham suspected [his
visitors of] idolatry. This can be understood from Lot's offer: First he
invited them to spend the night and then to wash their feet
(19:2). Avraham, however,
first invited them to wash their feet and then to stay as his guests. This
teaches that Avraham suspected that they were Arabs [i.e., desert dwellers
(see Rashi to Yirmeyahu 3:2) who worshiped the
dust on their feet] and would bring the object of their idolatry into his
home.