The Mishnah cites an incident regarding Tevi, the Canaanite slave of Rabban Gamliel, who would sleep under the bed in a Sukkah. Rabban Gamliel commented to the Chachamim that Tevi was a Torah scholar and he knew that a Canaanite slave is not obligated to dwell in a Sukkah, and therefore Tevi slept under the bed. One must wonder why if Tevi was exempt from sleeping in a Sukkah, he found it necessary to sleep under the bed inside the Sukkah. Tosfos, quoting the Yerushalmi, writes that Tevi slept under the bed to leave room for the Chachamim who were in the Sukkah and they were obligated to dwell in the Sukkah. The reason Tevi did not dwell outside the Sukkah is because Tevi sought to hear words of Torah from the Chachamim. The Medrash Tanchumah states that in the merit of Avraham offering the angels who visited him to recline under the tree, his descendants merited the mitzvah of Sukkah. The Gemara in Avodah Zara (3a) states that in the future when the gentiles request from HaShem that he offer them the Torah, HaShem will offer them the mitzvah of Sukkah, but when it will be too hot, the gentiles will kick the Sukkah and leave.
The words of the Gemara and the Medrash offer us a profound lesson in mitzvah observance. Although one may find it difficult to perform a mitzvah, one can learn from Tevi, who was not obligated in mitzvos that were dependent on time, yet he still dwelled in the Sukkah. Nonetheless, he was not attempting to perform the mitzvah properly. Rather, Tevi sought to hear words of Torah from the Chachamim. In the future, the gentiles will claim that they desire to come close to HaShem, but when HaShem offers them a simple mitzvah to perform, they quickly lose interest because of the difficulty involved.
This, then, is the meaning of the Medrash Tanchumah. Avraham was confined to his tent because of his recent circumcision, yet when he saw wayfarers, albeit pagans, Avraham still sought them out and invited them to recline under the tree. When HaShem saw that Avraham was willing to persevere even at a time when he was exempt from hosting guests, HaShem rewarded Avraham that his descendants would merit the mitzvah of Sukkah, where one can dwell in a Sukkah and engage in Torah study.
Daf Drush 