He lifted up his eyes... and behold, three men were standing by him (Gen. 18:2)
To Abraham the visitors appeared as men, but to Lot they looked like angels. Our ancestor Abraham was generous and kind, welcoming rich and poor into his tent with equal enthusiasm. Lot, by contrast, would only allow important people into his home. Thus, there was no need for the strangers to appear to Abraham as angels, as his hospitality extended to everyone. (Nifla'ot Chadashot)
For I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him (Gen. 18:19)
According to Rashi, "For I know him" is "an expression of love...for he who knows someone brings him near to himself, and knows him and understands him." Why did G-d love Abraham so much? Unlike other righteous people who lived before his time, Abraham understood that the objective in serving G-d is not to attain individual perfection through contemplation, but to actually have a positive effect on the world. G-d knew that Abraham would "command his children and household after him" to go in the way of the Torah, and thus loved him dearly. (Our Sages)
And Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian...laughing (Gen. 21:9)
As Rashi explains, the word "laughing" in this context denotes "idol worship, illicit relations and murder." To a wicked person like Ishmael, even the gravest sins were a big "joke." Isaac, however (whose Hebrew name Yitzchak is derived from the same word meaning "to laugh"), laughed at the petty stratagems of the Evil Inclination... (Chidushei HaRim)
Reprinted from the Parshat Vayeira 5761/2000 edition of L’Chaim.
