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Why does the Torah (תורה) phrase "Vayeira elav Hashem (ה׳)" unusually? The analysis shows this represents bikur cholim - God visiting the newly circumcised Avrohom. Bris milah transforms Avrohom from a perfect gentile into a Jew capable of Godly chesed (חסד), creating a fusion with divine attributes that enables true partnership with Hashem.
The shiur provides a comprehensive analysis of the opening verse of Parashas Vayeira, focusing on the unusual Hebrew construction "Vayeira elav Hashem (ה׳)" rather than the expected "Vayeira Hashem elav." Through careful textual analysis, Rabbi Zweig demonstrates that this grammatical anomaly, along with the pronoun "elav" connecting to the previous verse's circumcision narrative, indicates this appearance is specifically to "the circumcised Avrohom." The central thesis emerges that this divine appearance represents bikur cholim - God visiting Avrohom after his circumcision. Unlike previous divine communications that conveyed messages, this appearance involves no speech, indicating pure visitation for companionship. This represents a fundamental transformation in the divine-human relationship post-milah.
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Parshas Vayeira 18:1
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