The name of the Sidra means HE APPEARED. The first sentence of the Sidra tells us that God appeared to Abraham in a place called Elone Mamre. Elon is a name of a tree. Alon means a tree and today is has become a beautiful Modern Israeli name. Mamre was one of Abraham’s Amorite allies. The place was within the territory of the city of Hebron, which is one of the most ancient cities in the land of Israel and one of its four holy cities. It is situated about 35 km south of Jerusalem.
The meaning of the first sentence is not clear. We are not told the purpose of God’s appearance to Abraham. There are two interpretations. Some say that it is referring to the appearance of the three angels. In other words, God appeared in the form of three angels. Others explain that God himself appeared to Abraham in a vision as a mark of affection and in order to fulfil the mitzvah of BIKKUR CHOLIM, visiting the sick. Abraham was ill due to his circumcision three days earlier. Rashi explains that in the middle of the divine visit, Abraham ran out of his tent in order to welcome the three people who were walking on the highroad in the vicinity. It was very hot and Abraham assumed that they were tired. Throughout the story, these three people are described as men. However, on the basis of the theme of the narrative, it is clear that they acted as angels, on a mission from God. Abraham’s rushing out whilst God was visiting him, shows, according to rabbinic tradition, the importance of the mitzvah ofhospitality to strangers. The Talmud praises Avraham and states: “hospitality to wayfarers is greater than welcoming the presence of the Sh’chinah, for it is written, ‘My Lord, if it pleases you, do not go on past Your servant, while I attend to these wayfarers.'”
The story begins by telling us that Abraham ran towards the strangers. His running emphasises his enthusiasm. And so throughout the story, Abraham acted quickly and most eagerly. His generosity was also clear. At first, he offered them a piece of bread, but he went on to prepare for them a most beautiful meal, consisting of baked cakes, meat and milk.
One of the Angels told Abraham that, within a year, he would have a son from Sarah. When Sarah heard the news she laughed, thereby showing lack of trust in God. She could not comprehend how a woman of her age, with a husband who was 100 years old, could have a son. She was right. It was a great miracle. It seems that the point of the story is that the birth of the first child in Jewish history, was a miracle. And so is every birth. Sarah was criticised for laughing.
In the next episode, God told Abraham that Sodom and Gomorrah and the other three cities in the same area would be destroyed. Abraham tried to dissuade God with the famous words “Shall not the judge of all the earth deal justly?” Abraham began his argument with the words: “What if there should be fifty innocent within the city; will You then wipe out the place and not forgive it for the sake of the innocent fifty who are in it?” Our commentators ask as to the significance of the last words in the sentence: who are in it. The famous commentator, Avraham Ibn Ezra, explains that Abraham wanted the Almighty to save the city for the sake of fifty righteous people who were active within the city’s assembly and feared God no matter what other people did. The author of the commentary Tiferet Shlomo states that the emphasis is intended to teach that righteousness must be an integral part of daily life, expressed in the real world, not just in the synagogue.
In the next story we are told that the angels went to Sodom to visit Lot and his family and warn everyone to flee. They advised them: “Flee for your lives! Do not look behind, nor step anywhere in the Plain; flee to the hills, lest you be swept away”. Lot hesitated. The Hebrew text uses the verb: VA’ITMAHAMAH. It is interesting that it has a special, very rare, and extremely long musical note. The note is called Shalshelet, meaning chain. Its purpose is to emphasise that Lot really had a problem in believing the angels. His difficulty was intensified by the fact that his sons-in-law mocked him and refused to leave. At the end, Lot took his immediate family and fled. But his wife disobeyed the order not to look back and was turned into a pillar of salt. Why salt? The ancient rabbinic commentary, Midrash Rabbah relates that when the angels came to Sodom, salt was needed, as a sign of hospitality. Mrs. Lot rebuked her husband for attempting to introduce the “evil” custom of welcome. Moreover she went around to her neighbours asking for salt in order to alert them that strangers had entered their region.
Several scholars have attempted to identify the events which are described in this portion. They say that various unique geological manifestations caused this catastrophic destruction. The burning of the city was followed by an earthquake.
The cities of Sodom and Gomorrah are mentioned many times, throughout the Bible, as an example of what can happen when people behave badly towards each other and despise justice.