This week’s Torah portion begins with the sentence, “God appeared before Abraham.” But the very next sentence is about three men who appeared before Abraham. He immediately leapt to his feet, offered them the very best in hospitality, and rushed to prepare a feast for them.

What about God? You can almost imagine God wondering, “What am I, chopped liver?”

The answer to God’s question? At that moment, yes. God was less important than three human travelers who were most likely hot, tired, and thirsty.

Presumably, God did not need to bathe the Divine toes or enjoy a cool drink of water.

As it turned out, neither did the visitors. They were angels, in the guise of humans.

Angels are serious business in the Torah. And because they can easily hide their true nature behind a veil of seeming humanness, it’s hard to know when you’re talking to one.

It reminds me of something I read during the High Holidays this year. If a stranger sits down beside you, treat him as if he is the Messiah. Because what if he is the Messiah?

And if he isn’t? You have acted properly toward another human being.

Abraham’s decision to show kindness to the visitors reflects Rabbi Reuven Firestone’s view of how God operates:

“On rare occasions oppression is relieved by the direct and miraculous power of the Creator. More often, oppression is relieved in other ways: through the grace of God’s likeness in the faces of helping neighbors — or helping strangers.”

Abraham did not have to choose between serving God and serving human beings. Serving human beings was how he served God.

According to the Talmud, Rabbi Eliezer the Great said, “the Torah warns 36 times, and some say 46 times, not to oppress the stranger” (Bava Metzi’a 59b).

Not oppressing the stranger isn’t the same as offering exuberant hospitality. But perhaps exuberant hospitality is exactly what God has in mind.

What if we completely reimagined how we treat immigrants?

What would happen if we decided to greet immigrants enthusiastically, welcome them to our country, and offer a helping hand?

I imagine we would be looking at quite a different America today. Instead of spending untold millions hunting down undocumented immigrants, we could teach English, offer civics lessons, provide job training, and educate children.

Might there be criminals among them? Of course. There are already criminals among us. But since the criminal element of any society is relatively small, let’s give people the benefit of the doubt — and the benefit of assistance in acclimating to a new society.

We know that most new immigrants want the same thing we all want: good jobs, good schools, good homes, and the opportunity to be productive, happy, and safe.

Abraham didn’t ignore God. He fulfilled God’s wishes.

When we welcome the stranger, we are not turning away from God. We are turning toward God.

And perhaps, like Abraham, we will discover that the strangers standing before us bring blessings we never imagined.

The Jewish Open Tent is offering new classes and some returning favorites.

If you missed “Bad Girls of the Bible” or “Adam’s Wives: Lilith and Eve” you’ll be happy to know they’re back!

Two new classes are also making waves — “Threading the Needle” about clothing in the Torah, and “Tikkun Olam.”

You’ll find these and others at https://jewishopentent.com. Check them out!