Based on Ahavas Chesed vol. 3 chapter 1

The gemara in Succah (49b) gives a number of ways in which acts of chesed are superior to giving tzedakah. Tzedakah is given with one’s money, but chesed can be performed with one’s money or with one’s person. Tzedakah is given to the needy, but chesed can be performed for the rich and poor alike. Tzedakah can only be given to the living, but chesed can be performed both for the living and the departed. Thus far we have been discussing forms of chesed that one performs financially; we now transition to forms of chesed that can be performed bodily.

Performing chesed bodily comprises every kind of favor that one person might physically perform for another. These include providing a guest with a place to stay, visiting those who are ill, gladdening a bride and groom, escorting and burying the deceased, eulogizing them and carrying the casket – among many other forms of kindness. First we will discuss the mitzvah of hachnasas orchim – extending hospitality to guests.

God truly loves it when we invite others into our homes. He loves it so much that He highlights our forefather Avraham’s hospitality (in Bereishis 18) as an example for us to follow. And immediately after describing Avraham’s hospitality, the Torah praises Avraham that he will teach his descendants to follow in the same righteous path (v. 19).

The gemara (Shabbos 127a) equates hosting a guest with arising early to go study Torah in a yeshiva. A counter-opinion declares it even greater than arising early to study Torah. The gemara continues that extending hospitality is even greater than receiving God’s Presence. This is derived from Bereishis 18:3, when Avraham, who had been talking with God, excuses himself so that he might invite three itinerant passersby. Not only that, it’s a mitzvah for which we are rewarded in this world from the “interest” it accrues, while the “principal” is reserved for us in the Next World.

The gemara continues (127b) that Rivka’s marriage to Yitzchak was arranged by God through the hospitality that she performed for Eliezer and his entourage. Eliezer made a condition if he saw a girl who was zealous to accommodate him, his party and their camels, then he would know that such a person was worthy to join Avraham’s family. And Rivka even exceeded the bar that Eliezer had set!

Regular hachnasas orchim is also a merit to have children, as we see from the case of Avraham. It was after he hosted the three travelers that he was informed that Yitzchak would be born a year later (Bereishis 18:10).

Unlike tzedakah, one can perform the mitzvah of hachnasas orchim even for people of means. Such a person might not need the kindness per se, but the mitzvah is to receive a guest cheerfully, and to serve and honor him. This is true in the case of a wealthy person, and even more so in the case of a needy person! Actually, it’s twice the mitzvah in the case of a needy person, since not only does the host fulfill the mitzvah of hachnasas orchim, he also fulfills the mitzvah of tzedakah (as the invitation is a financial boon to the guest as well).

Unfortunately, nowadays people’s priorities are somewhat backwards. We tend to fawn over our prestigious guests and tend to our indigent guests rather reluctantly. We must remember the exhortation of the prophet Yeshayahu (58:10): “If you draw your soul towards the hungry and satisfy the soul of the afflicted, then your light will shine in the darkness….”

Food given by a host to a needy guest is comparable to an offering brought in the Temple. The gemara in Chagigah (27a) teaches that in the time of the Temple, the sacrifices atoned for us; nowadays, our tables potentially serve that purpose. The gemara in Brachos (10b) adds that if a person hosts a Torah scholar, the food he serves is comparable to the korban tamid, the twice-daily offering brought in the Temple. Conversely, if one refuses to use his resources to benefit a Torah scholar, that person will see no blessing (Sanhedrin 92a).

The gemara in Sanhedrin (103b) further discusses the impact that extending hospitality – or declining to do so – can have.

1. It can distance those who were once close – This is the case with the nations of Ammon and Moav, who are our cousins descended from Avraham’s nephew, Lot. They should have greeted the Jews in the wilderness with provisions. For their failure to do so, they were barred from marrying into the Jewish people (Devarim 23:5).
2. It can draw near those who were once distant – This is what happened with Moshe’s father-in-law, Yisro. In Exodus 2:20, Yisro has Moshe invited into his home, which ultimately results in Yisro’s descendants being among those who sat in the Lishkas Hagazis (the chamber of the Temple where the Sanhedrin met).
3. It can cause evil to be overlooked – Such is the case of Micha, who made an idol (in Shoftim 17). It was his hospitality that kept him from completely forfeiting his share in the Next World.
4. It can cause God’s Presence to rest on false prophets – This is what happened in I Melachim 13, when a false prophet received a real prophecy in the merit of his hospitality.
5. It can cause unintentional sins to be treated as intentional sins – Sadly, this is what occurred when King Saul’s son Jonathan failed to provide David with provisions as David fled from the king. David had to get food from the kohanim of the city of Nov, Doeg informed on them for assisting the fugitive, and Shaul had the city eradicated. As if that weren’t bad enough, this chain of events resulted in Doeg losing his share in the Next World, and in Shaul and his sons being killed, among other repercussions. All because Jonathan didn’t think to hand David two loaves of bread!

We see from all this the enormous potential of hachnasas orchim, as well as the severity of even unintentional neglect in this area. If a person embraces this mitzvah, God will spare him and his descendants from all forms of trouble in the world.

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