ויקח חמאה וחלב וגו'. מלמד שהאכילם בשר וחלב וכשרצה הקב"ה ליתן תורה לישראל אמרו המלאכים תנה הודך על השמים אמר להם כתוב בתורה לא תבשל גדי בחלב אמו ואתם כשירדתם למטה אכלתם בשר וחלב שנאמר ויקח חמאה וחלב. מיד הודו להקב"ה והיינו דכתיב בפ' כי תשא כי על פי הדברים האלה כרתי וגו' וכתיב לעיל מיניה לא תבשל גדי בחלב אמו. ומדרש זה חולק על מדרש אחר קיים אברהם אבינו ע"ה אפילו עירובי תבשילין פירוש תבשילין מעורבין שלא היה אוכל בשר בחלב גם לא בשר ואח"כ חלב אלא חלב ואח"כ בשר דכתיב ויקח חמאה וחלב והדר בן הבקר אשר עשה וכן נמי פירש"י קמא קמא דתקין אמטי ואייתי לקמייהו: ויקח חמאה וחלב, “he took curd and milk, etc.” this teaches that he fed them both milky and meaty dishes. When G–d was ready to give the Torah to the Israelites, the angels are reported as having said to Him (Psalms 8,2): תנה הודך על שמים, “You have covered the heavens with Your glory” [This is perceived as the angels demanding that the Torah remain in the celestial regions of the universe. Ed.] G–d replied to them: “in My Torah it is written that milky and meaty dishes not be consumed at the same meal (Exodus 23,19), yet when you descended to earth you partook of such a mixture at Avraham’s table. (The inference is clear, i.e. “the laws of the Torah do not apply to you.”) As soon as the angels heard this they withdrew their objections to the Torah being given to people on earth. This is the deeper meaning of Exodus 34,27: כי על פי הדברים האלה כרתי אתך ברית ואת ישראל, “for in accordance with these words I have made a covenant with you and with Israel.” What do “these words” refer to? They refer to the verse prior to this where eating meaty and milky dishes at the same time has been prohibited. Nonetheless, this metaphorical explanation appears to contradict another metaphorical interpretation (Midrash) in which we have been taught that Avraham personally observed not only all the Biblical laws of the Torah, but even the “fences” surrounding them to protect us against violating the prohibition itself. The particular example quoted there for such a “fence” is interestingly the subject of eyruv tavshilin, certain preparations of food when the holiday occurs immediately before the Sabbath. But that is not the only way of explaining the Midrash. The word: eyruv, actually means “mixture,” so that the Midrash may have referred to a mixture of meaty and milky courses of the same meal, so that there is no contradiction at all. Seeing that Avraham is reported as first having served milky dishes, and the meat subsequently, it is reasonable to assume that he wished to give his guests something to eat before freshly slaughtered animals, that had to have their blood removed could be cooked or roasted on the spit. The interval would have sufficed not to violate the laws of mixing milk and meat. [If people ate their main meal during the fourth hour after sunrise, seeing that these men (angels) did not arrive at Sodom until evening, there would have been plenty of time for their eating both. Ed.]
ובן הבקר אשר עשה. פי' תקן וחברו ויעש אלהים את הרקיע שפירש"י לשון תקון. ובן הבקר אשר עשה, “and the calf which he had prepared;” this is not the only time when the word עשה, does not, and could not mean: “he had made,” we find it used in the same sense as here also in Genesis 1,7: ויעש אלוקים את הרקיע, where it could not mean that “G–d made the sky or firmament,” as He had already decreed for it to come into existence in the verse prior to that. It meant that He made it functional, made it ready to fulfill its purpose. (Based on Rashi)
ויאכלו. פי' היו שורפין את המאכל מלשון והסנה איננו אוכל איננו נשרף: ויאכלו, “they ate.” Seeing that angels cannot eat, the meaning of the word is that they burned it in the sense of consuming it, just as food is burned by our bodies to provide us with energy enabling us to continue to exist. [We know that these “men” were angels, from what followed when they arrived in Sodom. Ed.] The word אכל is used in the same sense when Moses in Exodus 3,2 observed that the burning bush was not being consumed (eaten) by the fire.