Opinion & Comment
Putting The Imprint Of Hashem In The World

Mamre's part in the Milah

The beginning of the parsha tells us that Avrohom Ovinu circumcised himself at the grand age of 99 in the plains of a gentleman called Mamre. Avrohom had been residing in Mamre's land during the rebellion of the four kings (Bereishis 14), and Mamre and his brothers, Eshkol and Oneir, joined him in the counterattack on the kings, fearing the kings would take their property as they had taken that of their former overlords (Sforno 14:13). Avrohom triumphed, the rebellion was put down, and then he set about the mitzva of milah.

Rashi and Sifsei Chachomim tell us that first Avrohom sought advice from his great allies, Mamre, Eshkol and Oneir. However, Sifsei Chachomim (18:1) fails to understand why he needed this advice and suggests that the advice sought was not whether or not to perform the circumcision but concerning associated issues. The interpretation Sifsei Chachomim prefers is that Avrohom evidently wanted to make a public event of the circumcision ceremony since Avrohom's mission was to publicize the mitzvos. But he knew that the people of the locality would try to stop or disrupt the event, and wondered whether it might be better to perform the mitzva in private. He consulted Mamre, Eshkol and Oneir as the landlords of the locality.

As it turns out, Eshkol and Oneir advised caution but Mamre perceived that since milah was a mitzva of Hashem, the community would not have the power to disrupt the ceremony. Avrohom was prepared to hide the mitzva. Mamre told him Hashem would protect him. This insight earned Hashem's pleasure and hence the verse tells us that Hashem appeared to Avrohom in the plains of Mamre.

Mitzvos without Shame

Halacha indeed tells us to perform mitzvos openly and without shame before cynics and opponents. The simple case in point of this today is the tens of thousands of seculars who admit that the Torah is Hashem's law for Jew and man but don't observe it because they are embarrassed, or like the Marannos, observe it in their basements.

Shades of Guilt

Many observant Jews too are guilty of adopting false values because of environmental pressure.

Two Israeli women met after ten years of not seeing each other. One of them was wearing a long blonde wig. "How come you're wearing that?" the other asked with disturbed surprise.

"Didn't you know?" she replied. "I've been living in the States till recently. It's true I've been back a half a year. But I'm used to it now. It's become me."

There's also internal shame. One man was hauled in front of a beis din in chutz la'aretz after refusing to divorce his wife for twenty years. The furious chief dayan asked him, "Mr. --, why have you refused to give your wife a get for twenty years?"

"I couldn't face it," he answered. He was ashamed of admission of failure.

An aspect of the Milah

The milah itself -- the covenant between the Jew and Hashem -- denotes unflinching loyalty to mitzvos. It is stamped openly in the flesh of the Jew. A man may wish to hide this but he can never escape it.

Frequently, practicing mitzvos costs a man the pain of shame, hostility in its various forms, etc. Milah comes with pain. Yet it must be performed, and at the dawn of a man's life.

But at the same time, just as Mamre argued, we also see that Hashem provides supernatural assurance to go ahead with the milah without fear -- the fact that although milah is a dangerous operation, circumcisions are routinely performed outside the surgery with basic equipment by men with only traditional training. Yet boruch Hashem the milah never causes the baby harm (except in cases of incompetence).

Hospitality greater than receiving the Shechinoh

The above message is developed further. While Avrohom is convalescing after the milah, he is visited by a most distinguished "Visitor," the Shechinoh. As they are together, Avrohom notices three Arabs passing by and rushes to get up and run off to bring them something to eat and to invite them to rest in his home. Of this, Chazal say, "Hospitality is greater than hosting the Shechinoh" (Medrash Tehillim 18). Chazal learned a similar lesson from Noach. The opening verse of parshas Noach (6:9) describes Noach as a tzaddik and also mentions the word "Noach" twice in succession -- to tell us "Noach was pleasing to Hashem and pleasing to his fellows."

Avrohom, according to one opinion, was a greater tzaddik than Noach. Noach was pleasing to Hashem and pleasing to his fellows in equal measure. Avrohom laid down that being good to one's fellows overrides -- not, as many secular people seem to think, precludes -- being good to Hashem.

The object of avodas Hashem is to cling to Hashem. This is done by solitary acts of study and prayer. But these solitary acts are ever undermined by the yetzer hora who persuades a person to think that the more intensely he indulges these solitary acts, the more important he is to Hashem. A person must know that even if he studies with great hasmodoh and prays with deep devotion, he cannot come to any conclusions about his importance to Hashem. Contrary to the example of Noach, he might try to please Hashem but be at the same time be offensive to his fellows and thus in truth offensive to Hashem.

Grace and Chesed

The routine of study and prayer needs to be punctuated by grace and chesed.

Hashem made a world where a man has to be actively kind to his fellow. This is greater than receiving the Shechinah because the Shechinah by itself cannot create true devotion. This can only be done by being humble and gracious to one's fellow man. This will create the humility necessary to cling to the Shechinah.

In conclusion, the parsha teaches us a man should not fear humanity and its empty practices but set an inspiring example of the behavior which Hashem expects from us.

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