By Michael R. Mantell, Ph.D.
SAN DIEGO — It may be difficult to imagine that the purpose of an entire week’s Torah reading is to teach us about the importance of acts of kindness, in particular, hachnasat orchim, but that is just what Rabbi David Kimcha, the Radak, suggests to us. Do you run, not walk, to greet someone with a smile, a helping hand, an invitation? Despite Avraham’s age, health status recovering from his brit milah, having servants who could’ve acted on his behalf, Ramban teaches us that Avraham performed these mitzvot with zerizut, zeal and quickness, and on his own, mitzvah bo yoter mi-beshlucho.
The first line of the Shulchan Aruch, the classic code of Jewish law, teaches us:
“One should rise in the morning like a lion to the service of his Creator, blessed be He, because for this he was created, and for this purpose he returns his soul to him. Even if one’s [evil] inclination should tempt him by saying, “You have not yet had your fill of sleep,” he should overcome it and rise…”
This is zerizut, enthusiasm, swiftness, as demonstrated by Avraham. Avraham was not an “enthusiasm curber,” but rather someone who acted instantly on what we learn in Tractate Shabbat, 127, “Welcoming guests is greater than welcoming the presence of the Shechinah.” We read in the parasha that,
וַיִּשָּׂא עֵינָיו וַיַּרְא וְהִנֵּה שְׁלֹשָׁה אֲנָשִׁים נִצָּבִים עָלָיו וַיַּרְא וַיָּרָץ לִקְרָאתָם מִפֶּתַח הָאֹהֶל וַיִּשְׁתַּחוּ אָרְצָה
And he lifted his eyes and saw, and behold, three men were standing beside him, and he saw and he ran toward them from the entrance of the tent, and he prostrated himself to the ground.
Avraham did not perform these acts of loving-kindness only when he saw someone who was in need. No, he demonstrated the beauty of waiting at the entrance of the tent for an opportunity to do chessed. Indeed, Avraham’s tent had four openings so that people passing by could easily enter, no matter on which side they arrived. Avraham gave up a Divine revelation and thereby postponed this spiritual enchantment until he finished seeing to his guests. On this, Reb Yisrael Salanter (1810-1883), the founder of the Musar movement, teaches, “The material needs of others are my spiritual needs.”
In the Torah reading, we see what a quintessential Baal Chessed Avraham was, not only from the way he treated his guests. Look at how he responded to the Sodomites, who were after all, an anti-hospitality society. Avraham has a long and eloquent dialogue with Hashem, in which he beseeches Hashem for the welfare of the Sodomites. Avraham’s love of people, all people, despite all other thoughts and feelings about them, sets a standard for chessed, according to Rav Yaakov Kamenetsky.
When a person internalizes this notion, he is psychologically prepared to give up even a Divine revelation to see to the material needs of another. Imagine how you grow spiritually by greeting attentively and genuinely everyone at kiddush, at work, folks you pass in your neighborhood, being truly concerned with offering the best for another. What a world we would live in. Rav Ovadia Sforno has a wonderful comment on “he ran toward them from the entrance of the tent.” Sforno writes: “Something done briskly, with eager enthusiasm, is important in the eyes of the one who does it.”
Rav Yerucham Levovitz of the Mir Yeshiva describes Avraham’s state of mind as follows: “The hospitality of Avraham represents a universal revolution in the area of kindness: when Avraham gives something to someone, he actually receives something from doing so. He greatly enjoys giving to others. I am not benefiting the other but rather the other, in truth, is benefiting me.”
This week’s Torah portion, Vayeira, offers us a principal message to emphasize the importance of saying little, and doing much. And what, if like Avraham, we all OVER-conveyed usefulness to our friends, colleagues, loved ones, family? Recall that Avraham said he would bring a fragment of bread, then he dashed to bring the three angels an entire joyful meal, “Let some water be brought, please, and wash your feet, and recline beneath the tree. I will fetch a morsel of bread that you may nourish your heart.” The parasha tells us that Abraham marshalled his household, baked bread, slaughtered a calf, to provide garden-fresh food for his unplanned guests. And Avraham served this sumptuous meal by himself. Inviting and hosting guests in your home is apparently an act greater than the most earth-shattering religious experience a person can have. Avraham shows us that when he invites guests into his home, he surrenders his privacy for the needs of others. Like Hashem, he makes room for others in his space.
In a world of contemporary psychology urging us to slow down, to be more aware, to be “mindful,” we would be wise to pay attention to others and seek opportunities to do acts of chessed, of hachnasat orchim, to extend ourselves to those around us. Kindness, benevolence, assistance, self-sacrifice, and love. These are the qualities of Avraham, the father of our Jewish nation. Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel said: “When I was young, I admired clever people. Now that I am old, I admire kind people.”
In the Talmud, the 3rd-century scholar Rabbi Simlai remarks about the Torah being the literal definition of wisdom and learning: “Techilata gemilut hasadim v’sofah g’milut hasadim; It begins and ends with acts of lovingkindness.” Avraham models for us the honorable, moral life marked by kindness and selflessness love throughout the Torah. May we all learn from Avraham and extend ourselves with alacrity, with love, and with true positive feelings for others.
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Michael R. Mantell, Ph.D., prepares a weekly D’var Torah for Young Israel of San Diego, where he and his family are members. They are also active members of Congregation Adat Yeshurun. He may be contacted via michael.mantell@sdjewishworld.com