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Why did Hashem (ה׳) wait until the third day after Avrohom's circumcision to visit him? The unusual grammatical structure of "vayeira eilav" reveals this wasn't just bikur cholim but a test. The shiur explores how bris milah transformed Avrohom's chesed (חסד) from reactive kindness into Hashem's proactive drive to give.
The shiur begins with an analysis of why Rashi (רש"י) identifies Hashem (ה׳)'s visit to Avrohom as bikur cholim, examining the unusual grammatical structure "vayeira eilav" rather than "vayeira Hashem." Rabbi Zweig explains that the pronoun construction points back to the circumcised Avrohom ("nimo Avrohom"), indicating that Avrohom's brit milah was the catalyst for the divine visit. The central question addressed is why Hashem waited until the third day after the circumcision. While Rashi holds that the third day is when one is still sick but less so than the first two days, the shiur proposes a deeper purpose. Hashem created an intensely hot day by removing the sun from its normal orbit to prevent travelers from being on the road, assuming this would relieve Avrohom from the burden of hospitality while he recovered.
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Parshas Vayeira 18:1
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