The Empty Stores Within Us

Parashat Vayera begins with Avraham Avinu sitting outside his tent during the heat of the day, looking out for guests. Avraham at this time was reeling from his berit milah , which he had performed just days earlier. He waited and waited, but nobody passed by, until eventually Hashem sent three angels disguised as regular travelers, and Avraham invited them and served them a meal. Before the angels arrived, the Torah says, Hashem appeared to Avraham. The Midrash comments that when Hashem appeared to him, he wanted to rise in Hashem’s honor. But Hashem told him to sit, comparing him to the judges of a Bet Din , who sit as they preside over a case, while Hashem is present, standing. The question is obvious. What connection is there between the story of Avraham sitting outside his tent, and the judges in Bet Din ? Why would Hashem compare Avraham’s sitting at that time to the judges sitting in the courtroom? This was a very difficult day for Avraham Avinu. He was used to hosting and serving large groups of guests. Now, he was all alone, in intense pain, weak and frail, sitting in the heat, with nobody to invite. Hashem assured Avraham that even at this low point, He held him in high esteem. Even when Avraham was having a difficult day, he should recognize that he is important and distinguished like a judge sitting in a courtroom. The Midrash here is telling us that even at our lowest point, even when we feel unfulfilled and inadequate, Hashem thinks highly of us. We are unconditionally dear and precious to Him, no matter what is going on. Many people might wonder, why should we perceive ourselves this way? How are we going to grow if we always feel we’re good enough? Don’t we need to recognize our faults and our flaws so that we can grow? And how can it be that Hashem loves us and cherishes us even when we make bad mistakes? To answer this question, let us consider an analogy to a businessman who owns ten stores. Seven of them are doing very well, but three of them are losing money. They are losing so much money, in fact, that the enterprise is netting a loss. Quite obviously, this businessman will be distraught, and likely forced to liquidate those three stores. Now imagine a businessman with ten stores, seven of which are doing well, and three…which did not yet open. They’re still being stocked. How would he feel about these three stores, and about his enterprise? He would be feeling great. The future is full of promise. True, he has three empty stores into which he has already poured lots of money and have yet to earn a dime. But he knows that this is part of the process, and soon they will be stocked and earn profits. This is how we should we look at ourselves. Most of our “stores” are doing very well. For the most part, we are good people who observe the Torah and live the way we are supposed to live. True, a minority of our “stores” are not doing well. But this isn’t because they are failing. It is because we still have work to do. They are not doing well because we still need to grow, just like all people do. We shouldn’t feel down on ourselves, guilty, aggravated, ashamed or dejected because of these minority of “stores.” We should understand that there is work to do, and the work will be done. It might take some time – growth always does! – but the future is bright. We can and will get better. The Midrash teaches that the three angels appeared to Avraham as simple nomads who worshipped idols. Nevertheless, he spoke to them with great respect, welcomed them, served them a meal, and showered them with love and kindness. When Avraham saw flawed people, he viewed them as people with great potential, people with “empty stores” waiting to be “stocked.” And so he treated everybody with great love and respect – because he saw each and every person as a precious soul that hasn’t yet been “stocked,” that just needs some time to grow. This is how we are to look at all people – and at ourselves. We are not perfect, but that doesn’t mean we are failures. It means that we have work to do. Instead of feeling frustrated and ashamed at ourselves, let’s do the work, let’s stock the shelves of our empty stores, trusting that Hashem loves us and thinks highly of us, no matter what position we are in right now.