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Enriching Our Lives
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RABBI MORTON YOLKUT

Special to The Jewish News

T

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7400 Telegraph Road
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46

FRIDAY, ,NOVEMBER 2, 1990

2 1 545 Telegraph

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I

N•4.

p.m., Sat. 8 a.m.-noon

here are certain prac-
tices that have been
sanctified by millenia
of Jewish observance, prac-
tices that enrich and ennoble
our character in more than
the narrow "religious" sense.
One of these, hachnasat or-
(hospitality to
chim
strangers), originates with
Abraham, the founder of our
people.
This week's portion opens
with God appearing to
Abraham as he sits in front of
his tent under the burning
desert sun. According to
Rashi, who quotes the
Talmud Bava Metzia, God is
paying a sick call to
Abraham, still in pain from
his recent circumcision. But
when Abraham sees three
strangers, he interrupts this
divine visit, as if saying to
God, according to one inter-
pretation, that attending to
these weary wanderers is
more urgent. Rashi says
Abraham had reason to
believe that these guests were
Nomadic Arabs, perhaps even
idolaters. Despite his advanc-
ed age and infirmities, he
warmly welcomes them into
his home, serves them himself
and sees them on their way.
In effect, Abraham
demonstrates that it is more
important to greet guests
than to bask in the presence
of God. From this incident the
Talmud derives a sublime
lesson: "The act of hospitali-
ty ranks higher than receiv-
ing the Shekhina (God's
presence)." This principle is
the reason why in a tradi-
tional Jewish home a festival
or Shabbat meal is not com-
plete if there are no guests
joining one's family in the
religious celebration.
Maimonides in his Laws of
Festivals writes that a
beautiful Sabbath or festival
table without the presence of
the widow, the orphan and
the less fortunate doesn't ex-
press the rejoicing of the
festival but rather the rejoic-
ing of the stomach.
Our sages elaborate on this
important mitzvah in great
detail. The rabbis in Pirkei
Avot teach: "Let your home
be open wide and let the poor
be part of your household."
When we invite a stranger in-
to our home we are not only
to make him feel at home, but

Morton Yolkut is rabbi of
Congregation B'nai David.

we also should make him feel
that he is our equal, part of
our family.
And yet, in contemporary
society the ideal of hospitality
in many quarters has become
a chore at best, a neglected
mitzvah at worst. The urge
for privacy in our days has
almost become an obsession.
Answering machines, un-
listed phone numbers and
bolted doors are all signs of an

Vayera:
Genesis 18:1-22:24,
Kings II 4:1-34.

of inaccessibility.
age
Judaism, however, urges us to
be available to others and to
open our homes to those in
need.
This year in particular we
are called upon by our tradi-
tion to reinstitute the practice
and spirit of Jewish hospitali-
ty. Hachnasat orchim means
reaching out to the hundreds
of newly arrived Soviet
families in our community. It
means inviting them into our
homes for a Shabbat meal
and exposing them to the
warmth and the beauty of the
traditional Jewish way of life.
Let us not relegate this
responsibility to the trained
professionals and social
welfare agencies. We can
make a meaningful difference
in their physical, and
especially their spiritual, ac-
culturation. And it is a mitz-
vah that each of us can do, for
it requires only a little time,
a little concern and a little
goodness. Our homes will be
enriched by the process and
our children will experience
an exercise of Jewish moral
health.
The ancient story of
Abraham underscores the
idea that doing good involves
more than arranging to have
good done. Abraham, a
wealthy man, did not relin-
quish to his staff or aides the
privilege of caring for the
guests himself. Hospitality,
like every act of chesed
(human kindness), benefits
the host as well as the guest,
the benefactor as well as the
beneficiary.
That is why hospitality was
listed in the Talmud among
the noble acts for which the
practitioner "benefits from
the 'interest' in this world
while the principal is stored
away for him to be awarded in
the world to come." ❑