Bereishit 18:1
וַיֵּרָא אֵלָיו הי בְּאֵלֹנֵי מַמְרֵא וְהוּא יֹשֵׁב פֶּתַח-הָאֹהֶל כְּחֹם הַיּוֹם
Vayera elav HASHEM be'Elonei Mamre vehu yoshev petach-ha'ohel kechom hayom
HASHEM appeared to him in terebinths of Mamre and he was sitting at the entrance of the tent as the day grew hot.
This portion is a continuation of the previous portion; this is why the Torah writes: "He appeared to him," without identifying to whom G-d appeared. In Chapter 12:7 where it would not have been clear to whom G-d appeared, the Torah added the word "to Avram," although there too the last previously mentioned subject had been Avram. In our situation nothing material had occurred since the circumcision and G-d's manifestation to Avraham. by not spelling out what, if anything, G-d communicated to Avraham at this time it is clear that G-d's manifestation was in the nature of someone visiting a sick friend. He had qualified for this "visit" as a result of circumcising himself (Tanchuma 1, Parashat Vayera).
"at the terebinths of Mamre" (בְּאֵלֹנֵי מַמְרֵא) The Torah informs us of the site where the circumcision took place. This was also the place where he received an immediate sign that G-d appreciated Avraham's deed.
The manifestations of G-d's Presence to the prophets occur by means of either of the four basic raw material the terrestrial earth is made of:
1) fire
2) wind
3) water
4) earth
G-d appeared to Moshe in a burning bush (Shemot 3:2). He also appeared to the entire Jewish nation in an environment of fire (Devarim 4:36: "He let you see His great fire, and you heard His words out of the fire"). In Shemot 24:17 G-d's manifestation is described as "a consuming fire on top of the mountain."
In connection with the ascent to heaven by the prophet Eliyahu we read in 2Melachim 2:1 "when HASHEM was about to take Eliyahu up to heaven in a whirlwind, etc." In 1Melachim 19:11 "there was a great and mighty wind; splitting mountains and shattering rocks by the power of HASHEM." We also encounter a manifestation of G-d through a mighty wind in Iyov 38:1 "Then HASHEM replied to Iyov out of the tempest and said..."
An instance of G-d manifesting Himself by means of water is found in Yechezkel 1:1 "It was in the thirtieth year... when I was in the community of exiles by the river Kevar..." Another example of G-d manifesting Himself by means of water in Yechezkel 1:24 "I could hear the sound of their wings like the sound of mighty waters, like the sound of Shakkai."
G-d manifested Himself in connection with earth in Yechezkel 43:2 "the whole earth is filled with His glory." We also find a revelation described as "and the earth was lit up by His Presence." In this instance, G-d manifested Himself to Avraham by means of a tree. The Midrash uses the words אלוני ממרא (Elonei Mamre) to emphasize the fact that these were trees (אילנות). Actually, Mamre was the name of one of Avraham's close associate as we know from 14:13 "Mmre the Emori, the brother of Aner and Eshkol who were allies of Avram." Had the Torah only wated to tell us that Avaham circumcised himself near the place where Mamre lived, it would have been appropriate to describe the area as ערבות אלוני "the fields of Mamre." The emphasis on the word אלוני (elonei) shows that the Torah wanted to draw our attention to the fact that we are talking about a tree of trees. When Avraham told the men who came to visit to rest "under one of the trees," this shows that there was more than one tree.
Why did G-d choose a tree to be the site at which He manifested Himself to Avraham on this occasion? It was because the angel was going to tell him that within a year he and Sarah would have a son. He would experience something similar to that which was experienced by an aged tree which still produced fruit. It is written in Iyov 14:7-9, "There is hope for a tree; if it is cut down it will renew itself; its shoots will not cease. If its shoots are old in the earth and its stumps dies i the ground, at the scent of water it will bud and procude branches like a sapling. There is also a verse comparing the righeous to trees in Tehillim 1:3, "He (the righteous) is like a tree planted beside streams of water which yields its fruit in season." (Rabbeinu Chananel)
וְהוּא יֹשֵׁב פֶּתַח-הָאֹהֶל כְּחֹם הַיּוֹם
vehu yoshev petach-ha'ohel kechom hayom
and he was seated at the entrance to the tent as the day grew hot.
The plain meaning of these words is that seeing Avraham was weakened by the circumcision he took advantage of the heat of the sun to act as therapy for his wounds. This is why he was outside at a time when normal healthy people stay inside to take advantage of the shade. The basis for the sun providing therapy is derived from Melachi 3:20, "for the sun brings healing on its wings."
A Midrashic approach views this detail as a reference to the fourth hour in the morning which is the time most people sit down to a meal. Avraham was waiting for visitors to share his meal with him.
A Kabbalistic approach: the words "he was sitting at the entrance of the tent" is an allusion to the spiritual counterpart of the Jewish People in the celestial regions soothing Avraham's mind when he became aware of its existence in those regions at this time. This is deduced by the wording וירא ה׳ אליו. We have a tradition that the patriarchs were never addressed directly by the four-lettered Name of G-d YKVK (compare Shemot 6:3). If nonetheless, we encounter this Name of G-d here in connection with a vision Avraham was granted, we must conclude that this Name was revealed to him only indirectly. The words "at the entrance of the tent," are a hint he had not yet been able to enter THAT "tent."
וַיִּשָּׂא עֵינָיו וַיַּרְא
Vayisa einav vayar
He raised his eyes and saw.
At this point he had only a dim vision of someone approaching.
שְׁלֹשָׁה אֲנָשִׁים נִצָּבִים עָלָיו
shloshah anashim nitzavim alav
three men already on top of him.
At this point the Torah repeats the word וַיַּרְא (vayar), as only now did Avraham see these people close up. At this point he also realized that they were angels. This is why the Torah writes that Avraham ran towards them and prostrated himself before them on the ground. The angels were Micha'el, Rafa'el, and Gavri'el. Micha'el had been assigned the task of announcing that Sarah would have a child and to save Lot. Both of these assignments were expressions of G-d's love or mercy respectively, and could therefore be described as being of the same category. Rafa'el had the task of healing Avrahma. Gavri'el's task was to turn Sedom upside down. This is why the Torah writes in 19:1, "the two angels arrived at Sedom in the evening." This is a reference to Micha'el and Gavri'el. Since it was Micha'el's task to save Lot we find that when describing the destruction of Sedom the Torah uses the singular when it writes in 19:25, "HE turned these cities upside down," instead of writing "THEY turned these cities upside down." We learn from this that whereas one angel may not carry out two tasks of different categories, such as one that emanates from G-d's Attribute of Justice and another emanating from the Attribute of Mercy, he may carry out two assignments when both originate from the same attribute, in this instance the Attribute of Mercy. This is why we find Michel performing what appear to be two separate tasks. He gave Sarah, who had previously been unable to conceive, a message of love and hope, and he saved Lot who did not have a valid claim to be saved. Why was a special angel needed to heal Avraham? It not healing another aspect of G-d's Attribute of Mercy? Could not Micha'el have performed this task also? The fact is that healing, especially people who deserve to be healed, is not part of the heading of performing an act of loving kindness. If Miacha'el had accepted that assignment he would have trespassed on Rafa'el's territory. This is why G-d assigned to each of these angels only tasks which were within their respective spheres of competence.
It is not permissible in the celestial regions to have overlapping areas of competence; this is what is meant by Iyov 25:2 "He imposes peace in His celestial regions." Looking at this paragraph with an analytical eye we discover that G-d granted Avraham an insight into the workings of the celestial hierarchies. These three angels were the respective heads of three of G-d's "armies." They were part of the four encampments (armies) surrounding the שכינה (Shechinah) the "Divine Presence."
In Shemot Rabbah 2:8 we are told that whenever you encounter the archangel Micha'el you encounter the glory of the Shechinah. When Avraham beheld these three angels and he ran after them he was actually running after the Shechinah, trying to welcome it. As to the fourth "army," G-d employs His forces in accordance with the requirements of the occasion. The fourth "army" had already been revealed to Avraham in Chapter 15 during the episode of the covenant between the pieces.
18:3
וַיֹּאמַ֑ר אדני אִם־נָ֨א מָצָ֤אתִי חֵן֙ בְּעֵינֶ֔יךָ
Vayomar אדני im-na matzati chen be'eineicha
He said, "My Master, if I have found favor in your eyes..."
According to the plain meaning of the words, according to Rashi, Avraham included all three men in his address and invitation saying to the senior one among them, "if I have found favor in your eyes" (singular). The assumption then is that the word אדני is secular and does not refer to someone representing the Divine.
The problem with this kind of approach is the vowel kametz in the word אדני. Whenever we find this word vocalized in this manner it always means "my Master," i.e. someone is addressing G-d and that is the reason the plural is used. The reason for the plural is that celestial beings always appear in the plural such as elohim, malachim, etc. It is possible to argue that Avraham addressed on the archangel Micha'el when he said "adonai." Micha'el, in his capacity as the angel representing the Attribute of love and kindness (Mercy), was the direct superior of Avraham whose outstanding characteristic was this very virtue or attribute חסד (chesed). It was no more than right that he should address him as "my master." This would also account for the fact that Avraham first mentioning wine as part of the meal at all. Wine is considered as part of the domain and emanation Gevurah, the opposite of the emanation Chesed. "Water," on the other hand, is the epitome of the emanation Chesed, compare Chapter 23 in Pardes Rimonim)
According to the discipline of vocalizations there are seven gradations in the vowels (not including semi-vowels which are not audible but which nonetheless are not part of the consonants). The vowel kametz ranks as highest of these seen levels. It is followed in descending order by petach, tzeire, segol, cholam, shuruk, chirik. The entire Torah is structured around these seven vowels which affect pronunciation of the words. They are also known as "seven syllables, or seven sounds," concerning which David said in Tehillim 29 (which is known as the psalm in honor of the Giving of the Torah), קול ה׳ (Kol HASHEM) "the Voice or the Sound of G-d," occurs seven times. This is also the meaning of Shemot Rabbah 28:4 that the Torah was given with seven קולות (kolot) "sounds." Concerning these seven sounds, Shlomo said in Mishlei 9:1, "she has hewn her seven pillars." These seven sounds are the foundation upon which the whole structure rests.
The difference between the vowel kametz and the vowel patach (otherwise found in the word "adonai") is merely a single "dot," and usually such a dot is perceived as an allusion to the original "dot" of matter which was the beginning of the creative process of this universe. (The "dot" is equated in Kabbalistic terms with the letter י (yud), itself an allusion to the Ten Emanations.) This is the mystical reason why such a dot (in the way we write the vowels) serves seven different purposes. When such a dot is placed on top of a consonant it produces the vowel cholam. When placed in the middle of the consonate ו (vav) the result is the vowel shuruk. If you add the dot to the vowel patach, the result will be the vowel kametz. If the dot is added to the vowel chirik, we get the vowel tzeire. If we add a dot to the vowel tzeire the result is the vowel segol. If we add a dot to the semi-vowel sheva the result is the vowel kubutz. So there is seven different vowels merely by changing a single "dot."
Now to the letters themselves. If you insert a dot inside the letter ה (heh) it turns it into a ח (chet). If you add a dot to the left side top of the letter ו (vav) it becomes a ז (zayin). If you add a dot to make the base of the letter כ (chaf) protrude, it turns into the ב (vet). If the dot is added on the right top of the letter ר (resh) it turns into the letter ד (dalet). We can understand therefore what the Sages mean when they say that an extra dot or a missing dot is liable to destroy the universe. (Sotah 20).
Although, at first glance, it appears that there is only a minute difference between spelling the word adonai or adonoi (and in the Sefardic pronunciation this difference is not even audible), there are profound differences in the meaning of the word as a result of misspelling it and consequently misunderstanding its meaning.
Here are a few examples of where such minor misspellings have a profound effect. Yehoshua 3:6 speaks of the אֲרוֹן בְּרִית (aron haberit) "ark of the covenant." When spelled correctly with the vowel patach (אֲרוֹן), the word ארון (aron) "ark" is a possessive of the word הברית (haberit), "G-d's covenant." If spelled incorrectly with the vowel kametz (אֳרוֹן), this would convert the ark into being the covenant. In Shemot 23:20 is the verse הִנֵּה אָנֹכִי שֹׁלֵחַ מַלְאָךְ "here I am going to send an angel." The word מלאך (malach) is vocalized with the vowel kametz as it is not in the possessive clause. Whenever the word is in the possessive clause it must be vocalized with the vowel patach. At the end of a verse or at the cantillation etnachta, the vowel patach is always changed to kametz to indicate that the word is in its own right and is not a possessive clause which would be presumed otherwise. The patach always points to the word which follows it, making the word with that vowel at the end secondary to what follows. (Rabbi Cahvell quoting Mateh Moshe on laws of prayers who quotes our author, and adds that when the word אדני is spelled with the vowel chirik at the end, it means "my 'personal' master," as opposed to acknowledging that "He is the ruler of the whole universe."
The reason that in our verse you do not find the word adonai vocalized with a patach is best understood by remembering that if Avraham had indeed addressed only Micha'el he would have had to say adoni, "my [personal] master." Neither the vowel patach nor the vowel kametz would have been appropriate. It would be incongruous to vocalize the word אדני when used as a reference to G-d with the vowel petach, as this would imply that G-d is in some kind of subordinate relationship to anyone as suggested by the possessive clause represented by that vowel. In short, if someone exchanges the kametz under this word for a patach he cannot escape being guilty of one or two things:
1) He is a heretic
2) or he completely distorts the meaning of the verse in which this word appears.
A Kabbalistic approach sees in the vowel kametz in the word א-דני a combination of two of the Holy Names of G-d both comprising four letters. The one Name symbolizes both G-d's preceding any phenomenon in the universe as well as His Oneness and uniqueness in the world. The second Name of G-d in that expression teaches the nobility of G-d, that He transcends even the highest of the teemanations. This is why the word א-דני commences with the letter א (alef) and concludeswith the letter י (yud). The letters דנ (dalet-nun) in the middle represent the Attribute of Justice. The three Names of G-d which are comprised of four letters each are all alluded to in a single verse in Shemot 35:17 אֵת קַלְעֵי הֶחָצֵר אֶת-עַמֻּדָיו וְאֶת-אֲדָנֶיהָ "the curtains of the Courtyard represent the all encompassing Name of G-d, the Name א-היה which testifies to His being Eternal and unchanging." The word את עמודיו represent the Ineffable Name YKVK; finally, the words ואת אדנה are comprised of the letters in the word א-דני and symbolize His relationship as Master of the universe, i.e. the influence of what is above on what is below. Another verse reflecting a similar message is found in Iyov 38:6 עַל-מָה אֲדָנֶיהָ הָטְבָּעוּ אוֹ מִי-יָרָה אֶבֶן פִּנָּתָהּ "Onto what were its bases sunk? Who sets its cornerstone?" The subject of the verse is the Holy Temple (Holy Mishkan) and G-d compares it construction to the creation of the universe which He personally had undertaken. The fourth four-lettered Name of G-d is alluded to in connection with Rivkah's reply (Bereishit 24:19) that she as a three-year old would draw water for the ten (or more) camels of Eliezer, contains an allusion to divine assistance based on another less well known Name of G-d comprising the letters א-ג-ל-א.
May HASHEM continue to enlighten us with the Light of His Torah.
-Bachya
