Parashas Vayeira · Passuk 18:5
And I will take a morsel of bread, and you shall sustain your hearts; afterward you may pass on, since you have come to your servant. And they said, “Do so, as you have spoken.”
Torah Temimah points to Bava Metzia 87a.
TT lemma: כן תעשה.
English: “Do so.” Why regarding Avraham is it written “Do so as you have spoken,” while regarding Lot it is written “And he pressed them greatly and they turned aside to him”? Rabbi Elazar said: From here we learn that one may refuse a lesser person but one may not refuse a greater person.
Derash on the verse (Bavli sugya) — not a formal named middah of the 13. Parallel invitations produce different responses, teaching a distinction based on the host’s stature.
One may politely refuse the invitation of a lesser person, but one must not refuse the invitation of a greater person; the angels accepted Avraham’s offer at once but needed pressing from Lot.