Being Inspired By Abraham

This discourse was delivered by the Rebbe on Shabbat Parshat Vayera, 5713 (1953). The Sedra describes the three angels visiting Abraham, and the Torah says he stood over them while they ate. The discourse explores this deliberate phrasing, asking how angels eat, and uses it to discuss the concept of eating in a spiritual sense. Just as offerings in the Temple represented the elevation of the physical into the divine, Abraham's hospitality enabled the angels to interact with and elevate the physical world.