One year when I was a bochur in yeshiva, the mashgiach and the rosh yeshiva came around to the shiur rooms to have everyone say their names and a little bit about themselves. I thought we already knew each other, so it seemed funny. When it was my turn I said, “I am Mordechai and I am not an alcoholic.” Everyone was laughing, and then the mashgiach whispered to the rosh yeshiva. I was thinking I should have skipped the silly joke. The rosh yeshiva then proceeded to speak. I started to pack my belongings; I was in trouble. He said, in Eretz Yisrael there was a house where people with severe mental illness went to live. The rosh hamemshelah, head of the government, was going to come by for a visit. The staff trained everyone to stand up straight and each one would say good morning to our honored, esteemed great leader, etc. They were all prepared. The day came and the rosh hamemshalah approached, and everyone said their line perfectly. The rosh hamemshelah got to the last person in line and he said, “Good morning” and stopped. He was asked, “No honored, esteemed titles?” He responded, “I am not crazy.” I later apologized to the rosh yeshiva. He smiled and said, “It’s fine you got me to tell a joke.”
In this week’s parsha, Vayeira, Avrohom Avinu was healing after his own bris milah at the advanced age of 99. It was the third day, which Chazal teach is very painful. He was sitting at the entrance of the tent looking for guests. Hashem came to visit Avrohom, doing bikur cholim. Rashi teaches, Avrohom requested to stand in Hashem’s honor. This is great because in Parshas Lech Lecha, it states, Avrohom fell on his face in front of the Shechina. Rashi explains it was from a fear of the Shechina that since at that point he didn’t have the bris milah he didn’t have the spiritual power to stand in front of the Shechina. At the end of Parshas Lech Lecha he had his bris milah and now it appears his first chance to stand in honor of Hashem. He didn’t do what would be a totally understandable idea and excuse himself for being in pain.
Why didn’t Avrohom stand now that he was spiritually able? When you receive your driver’s license you want to take a ride. According to Rashi, Hashem said, You sit as a sign that in the future Hashem will stand near the Judges who will sit. In the sefer Shalal Rav it quotes Rabbi Shlomo HaKohen from Vilna who asks, what do the judges have to do with that moment, when Hashem came to do bikur cholim?
Rabbi HaKohen answered in the name of his father, that Hashem was also coming to tell him the plan to judge Sodom and their deserving to be destroyed. Hashem wanted to make Avrohom a dayan, a judge, at that moment against Sodom. This explains the context of the Rashi better since he is a judge and by sitting he would be a sign for the future Judges.
We know that mitzvah goreres mitzvah, when we do one mitzvah it brings us the kedusha of another mitzvah. The Gur Aryeh, Devarim 22:9, holds that when a mitzvah is done, the mitzvah that follows is similar to the original mitzvah. That is so interesting: why should the second mitzvah be similar to the first? At the end of Makkos, the Mishna teaches that Rabbi Chananya ben Akashya says, Hashem wanted to give us merit; therefore, he gave us Torah and mitzvos in abundance. The Rambam explains this Mishna with an amazing idea: An important rule of the Torah is that in order to merit olam habah, a person must do one mitzvah with 100% devotion to Hashem. Therefore, we have so many mitzvos in order to help facilitate our proper performance of a mitzvah. According to this Rambam, it’s possible to answer the reason the second mitzvah is similar to the original one is to help us get to perfection by doing a similar mitzvah; the practice will help us improve on it. So here, Avrohom started with the mitzvah of hachnasas orchim. He wanted to bring in guests and teach them about our Creator. So if this mitzvah was to honor Hashem, which mitzvah followed it? He wanted to stand for Hashem which is similar, he wanted to honor Hashem. What was the outcome? Hashem honored Avrohom by making him a judge; when we give honor we receive honor.
We can learn from Avrohom Avinu and look to honor Hashem and realize Hashem brings honor; we don’t have to chase after it. Have a great Shabbos!