G‑d appeared to
Abraham…but he looked up and saw that there were three men… (Genesis 18:2)
Abraham put aside his
encounter with G‑d in order to greet his guests. From this we learn that
hosting guests is so great that it takes priority over an encounter with G‑d.
(Maimonides, Mishneh Torah)
The three men that Abraham greeted and fed
turned out to be angels.
Angels don’t eat or drink. Neither do they
need a place to sleep. They only pretended to eat and drink out of respect for
Abraham.
If so, what did Abraham accomplish? He served
food to beings that never hunger and drinks to beings that never thirst. For
this he walked out of a private audience with G‑d Himself?!
Aside from that, how can we learn from his...