Hachnosat Orchim: Hospitality in the Age of Corona at the Beginning Of

Hachnosat Orchim: Hospitality in the Age of Corona 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: וַיֹּאמַ ַ֑ר אֲדֹּנ-ָ֗יאִם־נָָ֨א מָצָ יָ֤אתִ חֵן֙בְּ עֵינֶ֔ יָך אַ ל־נָ ָ֥אתַ עֲבֹֹּ֖ רמֵעַ ָ֥ל עַבְּד ֶּֽ ָך “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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