One of the finest examples of chessed we have in the Torah is the story of Avraham and the Malachim. It takes place right after Avraham performed a bris on himself at the age of 100. Nevertheless, a couple days later he was sitting outside his tent in the extreme heat, hoping to find travelers he could invite into his house. Finally, Hashem sent three angels disguised as Arabs to Avraham’s door. He ran out to greet them and, according to Rashi, said “please come into my house for my honor”. Avraham went on to bring them into his house and to prepare a meal fit for kings. He did all this not knowing they were angels, but assuming they were a group a traveling Arabs. Now, it’s one thing to offer a glass of water to someone on a hot day but Avraham went above and beyond. And furthermore, he said he considered it an honor to be able to host these people and serve them.
I would like to analyze how it could be that a man such as Avraham could view this as an honor. Let’s try to really think about this situation and truly appreciate what is happening. Here is Avraham, the man who recognized G-d and was able to speak with Hashem. On a direct order from Hashem he had just circumcised himself. He was in intense pain, and it was an unnaturally hot day. He was sitting in the presence of Hashem, yet when he sees three Arab wanderers in the distance he runs out to greet them and basically begs them to come to his house, saying it would be an honor for him to serve them. He then rushes to slaughter three different cows and serves them a meal fit for kings, waiting on his guests himself. The more we think about this situation, the more difficult it is to understand. Avraham was a very wealthy man and had many servants. He spoke to Hashem regularly; we can’t even understand his greatness. Yet here he was running around waiting on three total strangers. This situation is so foreign to anything we have ever seen or experienced. So what is it the drove Avraham? What is it that helped him achieve this incredible level of chessed? What gave him this ability?
Rav Henoch Leibowitz explains that the secret behind Avraham’s amazing chessed was his deep understanding of the idea that man is created in the image of G-d (b’tzelem Elokim). When Hashem creates each and every human being, He forms them in the image of Himself. He imbues within them an inherent holiness that is greater than even that of the angels. He puts into every person amazing potential and G-d like characteristic and abilities. Avraham had a deep understanding of this idea. He understood the true inherent value and holiness which is within each and every person. It was this clarity that allowed him to be able to do chessed on such a high level. Avraham didn’t see people for their outward actions and appearance. He looked at people on the inside and saw their true greatness and treated them in accordance with that greatness. Avraham understood that no matter how far people may stray from Hashem throughout their lives, they were still created in the image of Hashem and deserve to be treated with the utmost respect and honor. With this in mind we can now understand the lengths Avraham went to in serving his guests. Avraham wasn’t just entertaining a group of travelers-he was serving people who Hashem took the time to create and to put in this world, and who carried qualities that Hashem Himself possesses.
The Torah says in Parshas Bereishis: זֶ֣ה סֵ֔פֶר תּוֹלְדֹ֖ת אָדָ֑ם בְּי֗וֹם בְּרֹ֤א אֱלֹהִים֙ אָדָ֔ם בִּדְמ֥וּת אֱלֹהִ֖ים עָשָׂ֥ה אֹתֽוֹ “This is the record of Adam’s line. When God created man, He made him in the likeness of God.” The midrash in Toras Kohanim quotes Ben Azi who says that this pasuk is the most fundamental in our observance of bein adam lechavero mitzvot. What Ben Azi is teaching us is that only when we truly appreciate the greatness of each and every human being will we be able to truly observe the mitzvot bein adam lechavero. This is because this concept of tzelem Elokim must totally reframe how we look at people. It elevates people to a totally new level of importance and holiness and we must therefore treat them in accordance with that greatness. We can’t look at people the same way anymore. We need to look inside them and seek out the holiness that Hashem has put inside them no matter how hidden it may be. Once we fully appreciate and understand the greatness within every human being we will be able to treat people with the honor and respect they deserve.
The next time we are about to say something hurtful or treat someone disrespectfully we should remember Avraham running through the sand to show honor to three Arab travelers. Surely we are not as great as Avraham, and we can find it within ourselves to show honor and respect to the people around us no matter who they are or how much more important we think we are. We have to remember how Avraham focused on the inherent greatness which is within each human and was able to show them respect befitting a king. If we keep this in mind have a much easier time treating people with proper dignity and respect.
This is a very deep and difficult concept to understand. It is the foundation of our relationship with Hashem and with other people and an invaluable tool that we can use to come closer to Hashem and the people around us. We have to strive to increase our understanding of the greatness of man through studying the teachings of Chazal and by learning mussar. We have to work on retraining ourselves to look at people differently and to remember the greatness Hashem put within us and each and every person. Through this we will be on our way to reaching the high level of chessed and closeness to Hashem that Avraham Avinu was able to achieve.