Midrash Sifre Devarim shares the tale of a group of rabbis who were at a banquet held in honor of the nasi Rabban Gamliel in honor of his son. Rabban Gamliel made a point of preparing and serving the wine himself, which one of the subordinate rabbis refused, not wanting to compromise the stature of the nasi. His colleague, Rabbi Yehohsua responded, “Let him serve. After all, Abraham, our father, one of the great ones of the world, served the ministering angels when he thought they were merely passersby… If Abraham served those whom he thought were idolaters shouldn’t Gamliel serve us?”
Rabbi Zadok went further: “You have ignored God’s honor in order to deal with the honor of flesh and blood. If the One who spoke and the world came into being causes winds to blow, brings up clouds, brings down rain and raises vegetation, thus setting the table for everyone, should not Gamliel serve us?”
Give it to Him Who deserves our awe and respect.
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