Among the many wonderful things we have in the Basel community is the Hachnasat Orchim organization. There is a list of a few dozen families who share the responsibility of hosting guests for the Shabbat meals in case people show up in Shul unexpectedly and need a place to eat.
This custom is beautiful and special, and I find it particularly moving, for not everyone is set up to host people all the time; this way, when it is pre-arranged, no guest remains without a meal.
True, it’s characteristic of “Yekkes” to be so well-organized, and that is one of the many good and special things our community possesses, but the reality of a Jewish community caring for guests is something that comes part and parcel with being Jewish; it is true of every Jewish community, irrespective of time and place.
This concept had its beginning in this week’s Parasha – with Avraham Avinu, who left us the wonderful legacy of Hachnasat Orchim. Avraham accepted guests all day long and his tent was open in all directions, and he merited that his sons and grandsons continued his way.
Chazal said, “Hachnasat Orchim is greater than greeting the Shechina (Divine Presence).” They learned this from the fact that Avraham Avinu dared to interrupt a conversation with Hashem in order to greet the three guests who came to him. The Rebbe adds that performing Hachnasat Orchim in itself can bring about the greeting of the Shechina, for it says in the first Pasuk of the Parasha: “Hashem appeared to him (Avraham) in the plains of Mamrei while he was sitting at the entrance of the tent in the heat of the day.” Rashi explains that Avraham was sitting at the entrance of the tent “to see whether there was a passerby whom he could bring into his home” – in other words, the goal of sitting at the entrance was to perform Hachansat Orchim, and this, says the Rebbe, gave him the merit of greeting the Shechina: “Hashem appeared to him.”
My friends, we spend our whole lives working on coming closer to Hashem, and here we have a simple and easy way to do it: Just welcome guests into your home graciously!
So, if you have not yet invited guests for Shabbat, now is the time…
Shabbat Shalom,
Zalmen Wishedski