OU TORAH God and Strangers By Britain's Former Chief Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks

Click here for Family Edition.od appeared to Abraham by the oaks of Mamre, as he sat at the entrance to his tent in the heat of the day. He lifted up his eyes and looked, and, lo, three men were standing over against him; and when he saw them, he ran to meet them from the tent entrance, and bowed down to the earth… (18:1–2) Thus Parshat Vayera opens with one of the most famous scenes in the Bible: Abraham’s meeting with the three enigmatic strangers. The text calls them men. We later discover that they were in fact angels, each with a specific mission. The chapter at first glance seems simple, almost fable-like. It is, however, complex and ambiguous. It consists of three sections: Verse 1: God appears to Abraham. Verses 2–16: Abraham meets the men/angels. Verses 17–33: The dialogue between God and Abraham about the fate of Sodom. The relationship between these sections is far from clear. Do they represent one scene, two or three?