Why Did Hashem Create Neighbors?

Rabbi Natan Tzvi Finkel was the beloved head of the Mir Yeshiva in Jerusalem and a guiding light for many. Though he battled Parkinson’s disease for years and eventually relied on a wheelchair, he never stopped giving of himself—with strength, warmth, and love—for the Jewish people.

His home wasn’t just a place to live. It was a place where people were welcomed, supported, and never left feeling like outsiders. Many students stayed with him—some for a night, others for weeks or more. No matter what, his door—and his heart—were always open.

In the book With All Your Soul, beautiful stories are shared about Rabbi Finkel’s deep care for others. One tells of a couple who flew from America to visit Israel, despite many personal challenges. Rabbi Finkel recognized their sacrifice and was genuinely moved. He didn’t just thank them—he welcomed them as if they were family. “If you ever need anything,” he told them, “even just a cup of sugar, you’re always welcome in our home.”

Another visitor from abroad once admitted feeling lonely. Their entire support system was far away. Rabbi Finkel didn’t offer complex advice—just a simple, powerful reply: “We will be your friends.”

One Shabbat morning, as he returned home from prayer and learning, he ran into a young married student—an olé (new immigrant) who lived nearby. “Shabbat Shalom!” Rabbi Finkel greeted him warmly. Then he asked where he’d be eating the Shabbat meal. The student answered, “At home,” but something in his voice made the Rabbi pause.

Gently, Rabbi Finkel asked again, and the student admitted, somewhat sheepishly, that their cholent (the traditional Shabbat stew) had burned, so they'd be having a meal without it.

Without missing a beat, Rabbi Finkel urged him to go get his wife and join his own family for the meal. The student hesitated. “I think my wife would be too shy to eat at the Rosh Yeshiva’s house,” he said. “She’d feel too much awe.”

Rabbi Finkel’s answer was simple—and unforgettable: “Why did Hashem create neighbors?”

That question still echoes, not just in stairwells in Jerusalem, but in the hearts of Jews everywhere. In Rabbi Finkel’s world, being a neighbor meant being a family. And in the Jewish view of life, that’s exactly what we’re meant to be.