Hosting Guests is Greater than Greeting the Divine Presence

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“And Hashem appeared to him in the orchards of Mamrei, and he was sitting at the opening of the tent in the heat of the day.” What does, “in the heat of the day” mean?

Rabbi Chama the son of Rabbi Chanina says: That day was the third day after Avraham’s bris milah. Hashem came to him to see how he was doing. Hashem therefore took out the sun from its sheath, so Avraham would not be disturbed with guests.

Avraham sent out Eliezer to go look for guests, but he came back empty handed. Avraham replied to him: I do not believe you (that there are no possible guests). This is the source of what is commonly said in Eretz Yisroel: There is no credibility in slaves. Avraham went out and saw Hashem by his doorway. This is why the verse says, “Please do not go away from Your servant.”

Tosfos writes that since Avraham asked Hashem to wait until he brings the guests inside, this would indicate that hosting guests is deemed to be even greater than greeting the Heavenly Presence.

The question is asked: How did Avraham Avinu know this halachah? Perhaps greeting the Heavenly Presence takes precedence over hosting guests? [There is an answer to this given in the name of the Noda Beyehudah.]

What is so unique about this mitzvah that it overrides a Shabbos prohibition (as the Gemora in Shabbos 127a derives) and is even greater then receiving the Divine Presence?

Rabbeinu Yonah writes that one honors his friend because his friend is a creation of Hashem. When one honors the prince, in effect, he is honoring the king. This is the deeper understanding of receiving and hosting guests. When a Jew receives Jewish guests and honors them as princes, in essence he is honoring the King, Hashem.

The Maharal writes that one cannot really honor Hashem as one cannot see Hashem and live. By receiving and hosting guests, one draws closer to the Divine Presence.

The brother of the Maharal writes in Sefer HaChaim that by performing the mitzvah of receiving and hosting guests, one will be quicker to improve on his service of Hashem. A person will say to himself, “If I can do so much for my friend who is my guest, certainly I can perform the mitzvos in a more wholesome fashion.”

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A Pair of Drinks

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The Gemora relates that Rabbah was found (by the king’s messenger) in Pumbedisa. The messenger was staying in the same inn as Rabbah. They (the workers at the inn) brought the messenger a plate of food and two cups two drink, and they then took away the plate. He turned his face away. [Rashi explains that the fact that he had two cups had given the demons reason to help damage him (in a life-threatening manner, as is apparent from the Gemora below). This is as the Gemora explains at the end of Pesachim, that an even number of drinks can cause this.] The workers asked Rabbah: What should we do? It is the king’s messenger! [They realized that this was the messenger of the king, and did not want to injure him.] Rabbah said: Bring him a plate and one drink, and take away the plate and he will be better. [He advised to give him one more drink, as this caused his drinks to be a total that was an odd number, giving the demons no more reason to harm him.] They did this, and this helped the situation.

The Tosfos HaRosh asks: Why should there be a danger here for drinking a pair of drinks? The Gemora in Pesachim (110b) states that there is no concern regarding a guest, for he does not know how many cups the host will offer him; it is therefore regarded as if he drank one and changed his mind and drank another. These two cups do not combine and there is nothing to worry about!?

He answers that the king’s messenger, on account of his prominence, is regarded as the host, since they will provide for him anything that he requests. It would therefore be a danger for him to have a pair of drinks.

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