Vayeira: What True Service of the Divine Really Looks Like
This week’s parsha, Vayeira, opens with a moment that seems almost otherworldly.
“And God appeared to Avraham…”
(Genesis 18:1)
Avraham is sitting at the entrance of his tent. He’s in pain, recovering from circumcision. The heat of the desert is intense. And the Midrash teaches that God Himself comes to visit him — a divine act of bikkur cholim, visiting the sick.
(Bereishit Rabbah 48:9)
You might expect Avraham, in such a moment, to be lost in spiritual awe. To be overwhelmed with holiness.
But what is he doing?
He is watching the road.
Looking for someone to help.
The Torah says:
“Vayaratz likratam” — “He ran to greet them.”
(Genesis 18:2)
Three strangers approach, and Avraham runs to serve them — despite the pain, despite the heat, despite the fact that the Divine Presence is still with him.
And from this, our Sages teach one of the most transformative ideas in Judaism:
“Greater is welcoming guests than receiving the Divine Presence.”
(Talmud, Shabbat 127a)
In other words:
True spirituality is not escape.
It is relationship.
It is kindness.
Avraham’s tent, the Midrash says, was open on all four sides.
No one needed to knock.
No one needed to feel like a burden.
(Avot D’Rabbi Natan 7)
To serve God is not to withdraw from the world —
but to uplift the world.
The Courage to Stand for Others
Later in the parsha, God reveals His plan to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah — societies twisted with cruelty and violence.
Avraham doesn’t respond with:
“Well, if God says so, it must be right.”
No.
Avraham stands and speaks:
“Ha’shofet kol ha’aretz lo ya’aseh mishpat?”
“Shall the Judge of all the earth not act justly?”
(Genesis 18:25)
He challenges. He pleads. He argues for human dignity.
Because serving God is not blind obedience.
It is moral clarity.
The Midrash teaches:
Avraham loved humanity because he saw the Divine image in every person.
(Bereishit Rabbah 49:4)
This is not passive faith.
This is active responsibility.
The Akeidah: What Was the Real Test?
And then we arrive at one of the most difficult moments in Torah — the Binding of Yitzchak.
Avraham rises early.
He walks forward with devotion.
But the true climax is not the raising of the knife —
it is the moment God says:
“Do not stretch your hand against the boy.”
(Genesis 22:12)
Our sages are clear:
God does not desire human sacrifice.
(Tanchuma, Vayeira 22)
Rambam emphasizes:
God rejects such acts entirely.
(Moreh Nevuchim 3:32)
So the test was not blind submission.
The test was:
Can Avraham recognize that God’s will is life, compassion, and moral insight?
To serve God is to know God.
So What Is Vayeira Teaching Us?
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Kindness is greater than mystical experience.
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We find God most deeply when we lift others.
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Spiritual life requires moral courage.
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God desires life, not suffering.
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Devotion must be paired with wisdom, empathy, and discernment.
Avraham’s greatness was not in climbing to heaven —
but in opening his door.
Not in escaping the world —
but in embracing it.
He teaches us that the path to God begins right where we are:
At the doorway,
in the heat of the day,
when someone needs help,
and we step forward.
This is the faith of Avraham.
This is our inheritance.
This is what it means to serve the Divine.
