The Miracle of the Three Angels
“And Hashem appeared to him in the plains of Mamre, while he was sitting at the entrance of the tent in the heat of the day.” (Bereishis 18:1)
Rashi z”l writes, “in the heat of the day” — HaKadosh Baruch Hu brought the sun out of its sheath, so as not to trouble Avraham Avinu with guests. And since He saw that Avraham was distressed that no guests were coming, He brought the malachim to him in the guise of human beings. (As brought in the Gemara, Bava Metzia 86b.)
This requires elucidation. HaKadosh Baruch Hu brought the sun out of its sheath in order that the heat should be exceedingly great, so that people would not leave their homes, thereby sparing Avraham Avinu a”h the burden of hachnasas orchim. Yet when He saw how greatly Avraham was distressed over the lack of guests, He brought three malachim in the guise of human beings to be his guests.
At first glance, however, the question arises: Why did HaKadosh Baruch Hu not simply return the sun to its sheath? People would then have left their homes and come to Avraham, and this would seemingly have been much simpler. After all, ultimately HaKadosh Baruch Hu would return the sun to its sheath in any event. Why, then, was such a great miracle necessary—to bring malachim in the guise of human beings, who would eat and drink in Avraham’s home?
Maran HaGaon Rav Chaim Kanievsky zt”l answered that once HaKadosh Baruch Hu had brought the sun out of its sheath, it had already become the existing reality: the sun was outside its sheath, and the heat was great and intense. At that point, returning the sun to its sheath would itself constitute a change from the natural order.
And since HaKadosh Baruch Hu already wished to send the malachim to Avraham in order to heal him, to give Sarah the besorah of the birth of her son, and to destroy Sedom, it was therefore the simpler course for the malachim to come in the guise of human beings and become Avraham’s guests.
In this way, their shlichus would be accomplished, while Avraham would simultaneously merit the guests for whom he so longed. There would thus be no need to effect a change in the natural order by returning the sun to its sheath before its proper time.
The depth and wondrousness of this yesod are truly remarkable.