Jewish legend is replete with stories of visits from beyond, Eliyahu-like strangers who appear from out of nowhere, popping into our lives to teach us something important - usually about ourselves - and then disappearing as mysteriously as they came.
Perhaps the first prototype of this phenomenon is in our sedra. Here, we read that Avraham was visited by three "men", widely identified as angels in human form (Refael, Michael and Gavriel, according to Rashi).
Why three? Because, say chazal, angels can only perform one distinct mission, and there were three tasks to carry out: healing Avraham after his brit; informing Avraham that Sara would have a baby; and destroying S'dom.
Now, does this really make sense to us? Wouldn't you think that an angel could certainly be a "multi-tasker", capable of doing all kinds of jobs for years, even for eternity? After all, we don't think of Gavriel as having just one mission once in history and then hanging up his wings, do we?
I suggest that there is another message being broadcast here. The individual angels are meant to teach us to focus on three aspects of a person's energy: The first, represented by Avraham's brit, is our own, individual life. We have to develop our strengths and potential through rigorous training and work, what my rebbe would call "packing your bags", before you take your suitcase of wares to sell to the world at large.
Next, you must concentrate on your family, as signified by the announcement that Sara would give birth. One's family must come before others - in love, in charity, in "quality time". Even G-d, who is the G-d of all people, demonstrates this when he singles us out and calls us "His beloved first-born."
And then, we must turn our attention to the wider world, as indicated by the angel's disposal of cruel S'dom (and their rescue of Lot). It is not enough to take care of our own needs, nor is it sufficient to look after the family. We have to also be concerned on a global level, doing our best to change the world as well as we can.
Avraham is the model for this "trichotomy". He spent long hours alone just thinking - how many of us do that? - about G-d, about life and about Man's purpose in the universe. He prayed for a worthy heir and trained him to follow in his path of emunah. And he reached out, literally, to everyone who came by his door; arguing passionately with G-d for the good of the masses.
He was not an angel, but a man; a man for all seasons - and for all reasons.
Perhaps the first prototype of this phenomenon is in our sedra. Here, we read that Avraham was visited by three "men", widely identified as angels in human form (Refael, Michael and Gavriel, according to Rashi).
Why three? Because, say chazal, angels can only perform one distinct mission, and there were three tasks to carry out: healing Avraham after his brit; informing Avraham that Sara would have a baby; and destroying S'dom.
Now, does this really make sense to us? Wouldn't you think that an angel could certainly be a "multi-tasker", capable of doing all kinds of jobs for years, even for eternity? After all, we don't think of Gavriel as having just one mission once in history and then hanging up his wings, do we?
I suggest that there is another message being broadcast here. The individual angels are meant to teach us to focus on three aspects of a person's energy: The first, represented by Avraham's brit, is our own, individual life. We have to develop our strengths and potential through rigorous training and work, what my rebbe would call "packing your bags", before you take your suitcase of wares to sell to the world at large.
Next, you must concentrate on your family, as signified by the announcement that Sara would give birth. One's family must come before others - in love, in charity, in "quality time". Even G-d, who is the G-d of all people, demonstrates this when he singles us out and calls us "His beloved first-born."
And then, we must turn our attention to the wider world, as indicated by the angel's disposal of cruel S'dom (and their rescue of Lot). It is not enough to take care of our own needs, nor is it sufficient to look after the family. We have to also be concerned on a global level, doing our best to change the world as well as we can.
Avraham is the model for this "trichotomy". He spent long hours alone just thinking - how many of us do that? - about G-d, about life and about Man's purpose in the universe. He prayed for a worthy heir and trained him to follow in his path of emunah. And he reached out, literally, to everyone who came by his door; arguing passionately with G-d for the good of the masses.
He was not an angel, but a man; a man for all seasons - and for all reasons.