Why did G-d appear to Avraham while he sat at the tent entrance?
Avraham's humility led him to feel unworthy of the Shechinah's resting presence, so that even in his own heart he saw himself as still standing at the entrance of the tent while Mamre alone received the Divine Presence. The author presents this as the constant experience of the tzaddikim, who serve G-d all their days yet feel they have not yet begun.AI summary · anthropic/claude-haiku-5.5
"Hashem appeared to him by the terebinths of Mamre." The explanation is that our father Avraham, peace be upon him, was so humble in his own eyes that he thought in his heart that he himself was unworthy of the resting of the Shechinah (the Divine Presence). Only Mamre, the tzaddik (righteous one) who serves Hashem, may He be blessed, was worthy, and the resting of His Shechinah, may He be blessed, was with him. Avraham himself had not yet reached this level. This is the meaning of "appeared to him": that is to say, this is how it always appeared to him in his heart and thoughts.
"Hashem by the terebinths of Mamre" means that Hashem was by the terebinths of Mamre. That is, the resting of His Shechinah, may He be blessed, was only with Mamre, because he was a tzaddik who served Hashem, may He be blessed, in truth, while Avraham was still outside and had not entered into holiness. This is the meaning of "and he was sitting at the entrance of the tent": in his thoughts he was still at the entrance of the tent of holiness.
This is also the way of the tzaddikim. Even though they serve Hashem all their days, nevertheless it truly seems to them, in their hearts and thoughts, that they have not yet begun to serve Hashem, may He be blessed, at all. They are still outside the tent of holiness, standing only at the entrance of the tent.
And the words of a wise man's mouth are gracious. With this the question of the Or HaChayim is resolved; see there.
וירא אליו ה' באלני ממרא. פי' שכ"כ הי' אאע"ה שפל בעיני עצמו עד שחשב בלבו שהוא אינו ראוי להשראת השכינה רק ממרא הוא הצדיק העובד השי"ת ואצלו הוא השראת שכינתו י"ת. אבל הוא עדיין לא הגיע למדריגה זו. וזהו וירא אליו. ר"ל שכך הי' נראה לו בלבו ומחשבתו תמיד. ה' באלני ממרא. שה' הוא באלני ממרא. היינו שהשראת שכינתו ית' אינו רק אצל ממרא מפני שהוא צדיק ועובד הש"י באמת. אבל הוא עדיין מבחוץ שלא נכנס להקדושה. וזהו והוא יושב פתח האהל. שחושב במחשבתו שהוא עדיין בפתח אהל של הקדושה וכן הוא דרך הצדיקים הגם שעובדים את ה' כל ימיהם עכ"ז נדמה להם בלבם ומחשבתם באמת שעדיין לא התחילו כלום לעבוד את הש"י והם עדיין מחוץ לאוהל הקדושה רק עומדים בפתח האוהל. ודפח"ח. ויתורץ בזה קושיית האוה"ח עיי"ש:
Translation: translated by AI (anthropic/claude-sonnet-5.5)