At
the beginning of Parshat Vayera we read how Avraham notices three men and
immediately goes to invite them into his tent. Our Rabbis understand that
Avraham interrupted his visit with God in order to tend to his guests. This led
the Talmud to learn from this episode that (Shabbat 127a) “Hospitality toward
guests is greater than receiving the Divine Presence.” This is learned from the
fact that when Avraham invited his guests it is written:
וַיֹּאמַ֑ר אֲדֹנ-ָ֗י אִם־נָ֨א מָצָ֤אתִי חֵן֙ בְּעֵינֶ֔יךָ
אַל־נָ֥א תַעֲבֹ֖ר מֵעַ֥ל עַבְדֶּֽךָ
“And
he said: Lord, if now I have found favor in Your sight, please pass not from
Your servant.”
According
to this reading of the text, Avraham requested that Hashem, the Divine
Presence, wait for him while he tended to his guests appropriately. Rav Avraham Pam notes
that the most impressive detail of Avraham’s hospitality is the mere fact that
Avraham noticed these guests in the first place. We are often wrapped up in our
own needs and our own challenges to the extent that we are unable to see anyone
else’s needs. The mitzvah of Hachnosat Orchim reminds us that part of our own
identity and our own wellbeing is tied to being sensitive to others and
extending ourselves for others.
Rav
Soloveitchik is quoted as explaining that this episode was a test of Avraham’s
righteousness. Hachnosat Orchim is an expression of Kavod Habriyot, human
dignity. By interrupting his personal religious experience to attend to others,
Avraham proved his worthiness to be the patriarch of Hashem’s Chosen People.
Rav Soloveitchik also explained that Hachnosat Orchim is one of the ways that
we walk in God’s ways. We must be hospitable just as Hashem is hospitable. Rav
Soloveitchik explained: The Almighty is the great Machnis Orchim. His
hospitality made it possible for humanity to exist, for the world to come into
being. “To be” means to share the infinite being of the Almighty. The Almighty,
like Abraham, invites people to partake of His boundless existence.
The
Hachnasat Orchim of Avraham was performed for strangers who had no other source
of food, water or lodging. Hosting guests who have nowhere else to go is
following in Avraham’s path. However Jewish tradition also recognizes the value
and the power of hosting friends, neighbors and acquaintances as expressions of
Hachnasat Orchim. These people may have somewhere else to eat, they may have
plenty of food in their pantry and refrigerator. Nonetheless, acts of
hospitality towards friends and neighbors strengthen relationships, build
community, and foster an atmosphere of chesed and caring.
The
current CoVID circumstances challenge our ability to fulfill the mitzvah of
Hachnasat Orchim. Sharing a meal indoors with non-immediate family members is a
higher risk activity. As we are stymied in our ability to host people in the
usual and accepted ways- ie for a Shabbat meal or other indoor activity- let us
consider new and creative ways to fulfill both the letter and the spirit of
Hachnasat Orchim. Here are a few ideas that come to mind:
1) Call a friend or neighbor before Shabbat to wish them a
Shabbat Shalom. Tell them that you’re calling them because you were thinking
about them and you wish you could host them for a Shabbat meal, and you look
forward to doing so when it is safe to do so. Another option is to deliver
flowers or dessert with the same sentiment. Cooking a dish or meal for someone
and delivering it to them for Shabbat can be an incredibly meaningful act.
2) Meeting people outdoors without food is a lower risk
activity. You can invite a person or family to your backyard and instead of
serving a meal, offer a Dvar Torah or some conversation or words of
encouragement (along with a drink or light refreshments).
These
are just a few suggestions. There are many innovative and creative ways that we
can act Divinely by engaging in the mitzvah of Hachnast Orchim.
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