And Avraham took cream and milk and the calf that he had prepared, and he placed them before the people, and he was standing over them under the tree, and they ate (18:8). Rashi comments, “And they ate”: They appeared to be eating. From here, we learn that a person should not deviate from custom. Since we know that these guests were angels who usually do not eat, here they acted as though they ate. This is the opinion of Midrash Rabbah 48:14 and the Targum Yonasan. There is the opinion of the Shita Mekubetzes (Bachoros 6:2), who writes that the Yerushalmi and others say that the angels really ate. The opinion of Midrash (Shohar Tov Tehilim 58 and Pesikta Rabasi chapter 55) is that the angels literally ate the meal. Therefore, the commentaries question that in the Posuk it states that Avraham prepared for them milk and meat, which is forbidden to meat in milk. The Torah forbids Bosor Becholov: A milk and meat mixture cannot be cooked together in one dish, or eaten, nor can any benefit or profit be derived from such a mixture. The Torah repeats three times the same verse: (Shemos 23:19, and 34:26, Devorim 14:21). The stringency of their separation carries a rabbinical edict forbidding the eating of any dairy-meat mixture, even if they are not cooked together. Therefore, how were the angels permitted to eat the meal? The Shita Mekubetzes brings many answers. One answer would be that this story took place before the Torah was given at Mount Sinai, and the kosher laws—as well as all other Torah laws—were not yet binding.
However, we still have to understand, according to both opinions, why did the angels eat or appear to eat when angels don’t eat? There is another difficulty in the Posuk, which states and Avraham was standing over. Why does the Torah have to state that he stood over them when it could have simply said that Avraham prepared the food and they ate?
To answer this difficulty: The Sefer Toras Yofeh from Hagaon Rav Yechiel, the son of Hagaon Rav Nesanel Freid Rav of Besermin, brings a story from Rebbe Reb Elimelech of Lizensk l''wevf. The Rebbe used to travel to preach the Torah of the Baal Shem Tov. Once he was in a city and was the guest of Melamed, who was very righteous but very poor. The melamed’s wife prepared Borsht, a soup of beets. Usually, people would add spices and fats to enhance the taste. Rebbe Elimelech ate the borsht and told his host that the borsht tasted excellent. When Rebbe Elimelech returned home, he told his wife how tasty the Borsht was that he ate at the Melamed’s home. The Rebbetzin wanted to please her husband, so she prepared borsht with different spices and fats and gave it to him to eat. However, Rebbe Elimelech said it doesn’t compare to the Borsht that Melamed's wife prepared! The Rebbetzin was baffled and wanted to know what ingredients did the Melamed’s wife put in the Borsht that her husband relished.
The Rebbetzin decided to go and find the secret. She came to Melamed's wife, who was thrilled to meet the Rebbetzin. The discussion arose: what were the secret ingredients she used to prepare such tasty borsht? The wife admitted that they, being poor, had no money for spices or fats to prepare the borsht. I can tell you that when I prepared the Borsht, I prayed to Hashem that the Holy Tzaddik should enjoy the simple Borsht, and while praying, tears flowed from my eyes, and I mixed them with the Borsht. I imagine that is what the Tzaddik tasted like. The Rebbetzin fully understood now and went home. The next day, she prepared Borsht and began to pray and cry that her husband should relish the Borsht, and her tears were mixed with the Botsht. After eating the borsht, Rebbe Elimelech exclaimed that the borsht was excellent, and he felt the Kedusha in the borsht.
Now the Gemara Berchos 26b says Avraham rose early in the morning to the place where he had stood before Hashem” (Bereishis 19:27), the verb standing means nothing other than prayer, as this language is used to describe Pinchas’ prayer after the plague, as it is stated: “And Pinchas stood up and prayed and the plague ended” (Tehilim 106:30). According to this, we fully understand why the Posuk states that Avraham stood over the angels. Avraham prayed that the guests should enjoy their meal, and tears flowed from him into the food. Therefore, when the holy angels saw this, they understood that the food was full of Kedusha, which was enough for them to eat or appear to eat such holy food. Hence, the word he stood over them is the key. (Yehuda Z. Klitnick)
