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Three Angels - Four Jobs
By Rabbi Pesach Wolicki

"G-d appeared to him in the groves of Mamre and he was sitting at the door of his tent in the heat of the day. He lifted his eyes and saw, behold three men were standing near him." (Bereshit 18:1-2)

Rashi comments:

"Three men: one to foretell [Yitzhak's birth] to Sarah, one to overturn Sodom, and one to heal Avraham [from his recent circumcision], for one angel can not perform two missions. And Raphael who healed Avraham went from there to save Lot."

The three men were, in fact, angels. This becomes abundantly clear in the verses that follow. Rashi explains the need for three angels as due to the fact that "one angel can not perform two missions." In other words, each angel must have only one task. It is perplexing that later in the same comment Rashi states that Raphael - the angel sent to heal Avraham - was also responsible for the saving of Lot, Avraham's nephew who lived in Sodom. Apparently, this angel did perform two missions.

Why can an angel perform only one mission? If - as Rashi implies - a second mission may be carried out after the completion of the first, why not send only two angels? One to heal Avraham. One to foretell the birth of Yitzhak. Those two angels could then each embark on a new mission. One to destroy Sodom and one to save Lot from the destruction. The problem here is that there are four tasks and three angels.

Rashi's comment is based on a passage in the Midrash.

"Michael foretold [the birth of Yitzhak] and departed, Gavriel was sent to overturn Sodom, and Raphael to save Lot [after healing Avraham]." (Bereshit Rabbah 50:2)

In addition to naming all three angels, the Midrash names which angel performed each mission. A similar passage in the Talmud differs on one interesting point.

"Who were these three men? Michael, Raphael, and Gavriel. Michael came to foretell to Sarah. Raphael came to heal Avraham. Gavriel went to destroy Sodom. ... Michael [then] went to save Lot." ( T.B. Bava Metzia 86b)

The Talmud names Michael as the one who was dispatched to save Lot. According to the Midrash Rabbah and Rashi, this task was performed by Raphael.

Angels are messengers of G-d. They represent G-d's specific interactions with this world through distinct attributes. For example, when someone is healed of an illness we would say that the person was healed by the angel Rafael. Rafael is the healing power of G- d in the form of a specifically directed spiritual energy. G-d is a complete and utter unity. For G-d, as He is, to interact with this world on a specific level is nearly impossible. To carry out specific actions in this world, G-d displays individually distinct traits. These traits on their own are not G-d, they are only individual attributes of G-d. An angel is a being that manifests a specific attribute of G-d in this world.

One angel can not perform two missions because an angel is the manifestation a specific spiritual energy. Two missions would require two separate spiritual energies - or two separate angels. The name of an angel tells us what particular energy the angel embodies. For example, Raphael is from the Hebrew root - RaPHA. This verb root means " to heal." The name Rapha-el, literally translates to "G-d heals" - "el" means G-d. The job of Raphael in our parsha is to heal Avraham. Since Raphael represents G-d's healing power, it is obvious that Raphael can not destroy Sodom.

Numerous passages in the Talmud associate Gavriel with fire. The Talmud relates that when Avraham was a young man he was thrown into a fiery furnace for being a monotheist anti-pagan. It was Gavriel - the angel of fire - who saved him. (Shabbat 118a)

Gavriel is also the angel of justice. (see T.B. Sotah 10a, Megilah 16a, Sanhedrin 19b, Shabbat 56b) He protects the wrongfully accused from unjust punishment, punishes the guilty, and seeks to ensure just reward for those who deserve it.

In short, Gavriel is the angel of G-d's power. His name Gavri-el is derived from the root - GaVaR - meaning "to conquer or overpower." When G-d metes out justice - however harsh - Gavriel is the angel who carries out the job. Kabbalistically, too, Gavriel is associated with the divine attribute of "din" - justice.

It is appropriate that the destruction of Sodom and Gemorrah is carried out by Gavriel.

Michael's name is made up of two words. Mi Cha'el - "Who is like G-d?" Michael represents the power of G-d to go beyond nature and beyond judgment. G-d's mercy and kindness are often associated with Michael. When G- d breaks the rules of nature to perform kindness, the angel responsible is often Michael. His name "Who is like G-d?" implies this. After all, only G-d can manipulate and supersede the laws of nature to perform acts of kindness. The Midrash sums up Michael's power as follows:

"Everywhere that you find Michael, there you will find the Glory of the Divine Presence." (Shemot Rabbah 2:5)

For Sarah, a woman of ninety, to conceive and give birth to a child, an act of kindness beyond the laws of nature was required. This is the task of Michael.

According to the Midrash and Rashi, Lot is saved by Raphael. According to the Talmud, he is saved by Michael. In light of the above, we can explain this dispute.

If Raphael saved Lot, the salvation of Lot must be understood as an act of healing. Saving the lives of Lot and his family from impending death is no different than saving one who is ill from the physical dangers of illness. Both save people from physical dangers.

Alternatively, if Michael saved Lot, we must see this act as an act of G-d's mercy beyond the call of justice. Did Lot deserve to be saved? The text tells us that he was saved only because "G-d remembered Avraham and He sent Lot out of the upheaval when He overturned the cities in which Lot lived." (Ber. 19:29) The merit of Avraham saved Lot. Lot's salvation was an act of mercy, not justice. Furthermore, for Lot to be saved required a much greater degree of divine intervention. If not for Lot, G-d would have simply sent Gavriel to destroy the city.

It seems that the Midrash and Rashi on one hand and the Talmud on the other hand are not in dispute. Rather each is focusing on a different aspect of the salvation of Lot. What is important to remember is that any mission performed by any angel is actually nothing less than G-d carrying out his specific divine will in this world.