R’ Avraham Weinberg of
Slonim, in his Bet Avraham, offers an unusual mussar-driven
explanation, that the narrative is purely figurative. The three “men” are
actually the three things a person should contemplate if he wishes to avoid
falling into the grips of sin: the seeing eye, the hearing ear and the
understanding that all his actions are stored on permanent record. These are
the three things which Rabbi Yehudah HaNasi identifies at Avot 2:1.
How does Avraham react
when he sees these “men”? He urges them “al no ta’avor me’al avodecha”
(“Please don’t pass by your servant”). With God’s help we can keep these three
ideas in the forefront of our minds; without that help we will fail.
Is this just a bit of
airy-fairy chassidut? No. We should see it as a tactful reminder to us,
when we learn Torah—and particularly Bereshit (Genesis)—that we should not just
nod approvingly at the conduct of our forefathers but should make a positive
effort to internalise the moral principles that underpinned their lives even
before the Torah was given.
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