Dearest Reader,Welcome to the usually
short, always practical and hopefully enjoyable Lelamed Weekly
Dvar...
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As Parshat Vayeira clearly demonstrates, one of Avraham's most
beautiful qualities was his kindness to others. This is
demonstrated when his three guests came to visit: Almost
everything was done with excitement, enthusiasm, and in excess,
solely for the benefit of his guests. The only exception was
that when Avraham offered the men water, he specified getting
them "a little" water. Why did Avraham suddenly seem to get
stingy?
The Lekach Tov explains that this act shows Avraham's
sensitivity to others even MORE because water was the only item
that Avraham didn't have time to fetch himself. Avraham's
thinking was that if he was going to trouble his servants to get
the water, he had no right to ask them to bring more water then
is actually needed. That's why Avraham only offered a small
quantity of water. Avraham's lesson is simple: Being kind to
others only takes a little effort, so why be stingy about it?