A gaon in Torah and a renowned educator, Reb Mendel Kaplan, zt’l, was a beloved rebbi and mentor at the Hebrew Theological College of Chicago and Yeshiva of Philadelphia. As a young man in Europe, he learned in Baranovich under Reb Elchonon Wasserman HY”D, and filled in as maggid shiur (lecturer)when Reb Elchonon was overseas. For his American charges, Reb Mendel was something of a bridge to the pre-war glory of yeshiva world, sharing hashkafic insights on current events as his students taught him English by reading to him the Chicago Tribune. A rebbi and mentor to notable, accomplished talmidim including Rav Chaim Malinowitz, Moshe Gottesman of HANC and Rav Berel Wein, shlit’a, Reb Mendel inspired a generation of builders of Torah.

A young woman employed in the yeshiva as a secretary once brought her nine-year old son with her to work. The woman was not observant of Torah and mitzvos, and her son was enrolled in public school. When Reb Mendel noticed the young boy playing underfoot in the office, he introduced himself and welcomed him warmly. Reb Mendel pointed to the Chumash on the desk and asked the young visitor if he knew what it was. “Sure I do!” the boy answered, “it’s a Bible.”

“No, my dear child, it is not a bible… this is a Chumash, something very, very special.”

He then pulled up two chairs and sat with the boy for an extended period of time, sharing stories from the Chumash that the child smilingly appreciated and enjoyed.

Later that day a different member of the yeshiva staff asked him why he had devoted so much of his precious time to a nine-year old boy. Answered Reb Mendel, “I hope and pray that I’ve planted a seed that will grow…and b’ezras Hashem, yield fruits years from now. No doubt, whether in this world or the next, even a little bit of learning will have an impact.”

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Our sedra begins with the powerful imagery of the righteous, elderly Avraham, post-op, in excruciating pain, waiting at the entrance of his tent in the heat of the day in order to spot any opportunities to welcome others:

וַיֵּרָא אֵלָיו ה׳ בְּאֵלֹנֵי מַמְרֵא וְהוּא ישֵׁב פֶּתַח־הָאֹהֶל כְּחֹם הַיּוֹם:

“Now Hashem appeared to him in the plains of Mamre, and he was sitting at the entrance of the tent when the day was hot.” (18:1)

After years on the road, traveling city to city inspiring others and collecting and uplifting souls, we continue the theme of nefesh asher asah, “the souls that they had made.” Sarah and Avraham plant themselves at a major crossroads, pitching their tent to ‘open the gates’ for converts, travelers and others to join them in their home, and to observe and learn their holy ways.

Rebbe Menachem Nachum of Chernobyl, the Meor Eynayim (Vayeira, 39), cites imagery from the Midrash Rabbah. In the future, Avraham will sit at the “opening” to Gehenom and collect any Jewish souls from עֹבְרֵי בְּעֵמֶק הַבָּכָא, “passing through the valley of weeping” (Tehillim, 84:7). The word “oveir,” someone who has transgressed, shares a root with the word for ‘wayfarer’, here specifically those on a trajectory toward the vale of tears and suffering, until Avraham meets them on their way, collects them and lifts them up.

Based on the juxtaposition and drasha of the Meor Einayim, Professor Ora Wiskind-Elper, one of the wise-women and great Torah teachers of our generation, frames the setting of our sedra, פתח האוהל, “at the opening,” as a deliberate thematic device calling our attention to a central midah and way of service that Sarah Imeinu and Avraham Avinu cultivated. They were masters of sitting ‘at the opening of the tent,’ in plain sight, waiting to engage wayward souls in need of shelter and assistance, and to transform their lives. Whether through interrupting his personal prayer to greet and serve guests, or descending from spiritual heights to sit compassionately at the entrance of Gehenom, Avraham was committed to being a blessing to others, however they might show up.

The means through which Avraham and Sarah drew others close was serving them food, providing for physical needs and calling attention to the source of the bounty they had enjoyed. וַיִּטַּע אֶשֶׁל בִּבְאֵר שָׁבַע וַיִּקְרָא שָׁם בְּשֵׁם ה׳. “And he planted an eishel in Beer-Sheba, and he called there in the name of Hashem” (21:33). Chazal suggest two interpretations of this eishel: it was an orchard from which to bring fruits for the guests, or it was an inn for lodging. Rashi points out the word נטיעה, ‘planting,’ shares same root as the Torah’s expression ויטע, which can also mean ‘and he set up (a tent).’ In either case, whether a shelter, or a process that will ultimately yield fruits, the eishel can be seen as a metaphor for an aspect of Avraham’s educational methodology of faithfully investing in the wellbeing of others.

Perhaps Avraham’s ability to connect with individuals of varying spiritual levels and at very different stages of their journey lies in a teaching from Reb Ahron, the Belzer Rebbe. Avraham’s placement at פתח האוהל implies that our forefather saw himself at “the opening point”, or the beginning of his avodas Hashem. Although he had accomplished and experienced so much, he maintained his temimus, simple openness, and viewed himself as a person at the beginning of his spiritual path.

Kabbalistically as well, the order of these initial parshios hints toward unfolding stages of inner growth. Bereishis, the Beginning, represents our initial attainment of wisdom. Noach, meaning “rest” expresses the next stage, settling into that wisdom. In Lech Lecha, we “go forth,” and with all its ups and downs, our journey of sharing Divine wisdom commences. Arriving at Vayera, Hashem, the Source of Wisdom, “appears,” revealing Himself openly to us. Now we are fully empowered to ‘plant’ the seeds of wisdom in all who pass by, refreshing and nourishing them, and to bring them under the shelter of the Wings of the Shechinah.

Parshas Vayeira encourages us to continue to prayerfully cultivate our seeds of faith with love and hope, setting up a nurturing and healthy structure and environment of growth for the next generation. May our encounters with whomever we meet, elevate us and them, and bring about further revelation of Hashem’s name in the world!

Rav Judah Mischel is executive director of Camp HASC, the Hebrew Academy for Special Children. He is the mashpiah of OU-NCSY, founder of Tzama Nafshi and the author of “Baderech: Along the Path of Teshuva.” Rav Judah lives in Ramat Beit Shemesh with his wife Ora and their family.