Who Is the Child Sitting Under the Table with a Plate of Food?! A Collection of Stories About the Hospitality of Great Jewish Sages

1. It is known that when the Chofetz Chaim would host guests for Shabbat meals, he would hurry to make Kiddush immediately, without first saying "Shalom Aleichem," and would sweetly explain: "The angels can wait, but the guests, they cannot wait"...

2. Even in his old age, the Chofetz Chaim went to great lengths for his guests. Once, a guest saw the greatest sage of the generation personally preparing the bed and placing sheets on it for him. The guest felt very uncomfortable and said to the Chofetz Chaim: "I can do all this myself, you don't need to trouble yourself so much for me."

The great sage replied: "Is that so?! Will you put on tefillin for me tomorrow?! What does it matter to me that you can do it yourself – can you exempt me from the mitzvot that I am personally obligated to perform?!"...

3. Rabbi Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev, author of "Kedushat Levi," lived with his wealthy father-in-law for several years after his wedding. His father-in-law was renowned for his hospitality, and once saw his son-in-law Rabbi Levi Yitzchak personally attending to the guests.

The father-in-law wondered and said: "Don't we have a non-Jewish servant? Why trouble yourself? For a few more rubles, the non-Jew could do all this!" Rabbi Levi Yitzchak replied: "This great mitzvah of hospitality – should I give it as a gift to a non-Jew, and even pay him for it?!"...

4. The Gaon Rabbi Chaim of Brisk, besides his greatness in Torah, was famous for his hospitality. He took great pains for each guest with tremendous care. Once when a man was staying with him and saw how much Rabbi Chaim troubled himself on his behalf, the guest said: "Rabbi, why trouble yourself so much? I can help you!" Rabbi Chaim did not respond. The next day, the Rabbi asked the guest to lift the Torah scroll during services, and as soon as he began lifting it, Rabbi Chaim quickly approached and started helping him with the lifting, saying: "I can help you." The guest immediately understood the hint: the mitzvah of hospitality is so great that the host should personally exert himself to fulfill it.

5. Rabbi Menachem Monderer, the Admor of Kosov, was one of Jerusalem's greatest hosts. It was a heartwarming sight to see dozens of people eating at his home at once, while he personally attended to each and every one.

The Monderer family's dining room was small and modest, yet dozens of people sat there to eat. In the corner of the dining room, he had wide wooden boards with wooden sticks, and when additional Jews came to eat, he would personally take two sticks, place a wide wooden board on them, and prepare a table and place for them to eat.

If after all his efforts there was still not enough space – as guests could arrive in large numbers without prior notice, before he could properly prepare – he would send his sons to eat under the table, and seat the guests who had just arrived in their places. Sometimes while eating there, I would feel something moving near my feet under the table, and when I bent down to check what it was, I would see a child with long sidelocks – of course, only his child – under the table with a plate in his hands, eating...

6. There is a wonderful story that shows the extent of Rabbi Menachem's extraordinary hospitality and his remarkably simple behavior: Once, two Jews met near the Western Wall, and just then Rabbi Menachem passed by them. One said to his friend: "Here goes the Admor of Kosov, go ask him for a blessing." The other replied: "That's not the Admor, don't confuse me!" His friend insisted: "He is indeed an Admor!" The second man responded: "No way, I eat with him every week at Monderer's"...

7. A Jew once saw someone enter Rabbi Menachem's house on Friday night, go to the kitchen, and fill himself a plate of hot cholent. The Jew said to him: "Excuse me, but the cholent is for Shabbat morning!" The man replied: "I've been doing this for thirty years, and you're telling me what to do?!"...

8. Rabbi Aryeh Levin was exceptional in his hospitality, and all sorts of wanderers would stay at his home as if it were their own, with no one saying a word about it. Once, one of the poor men who had been eating and sleeping at Rabbi Aryeh's home for a long period approached Rabbi Aryeh (not knowing he was the homeowner) and asked him, since he had been staying there for several months without anyone saying anything to him, if perhaps he knew how much longer he could stay there. Rabbi Aryeh, with his pure character, replied: "Believe me, I've also been here for several months, and still no one has told me to leave – you can stay here as long as you wish"...

9. In the book 'Bedidi Havah Uvda' it is quoted in the name of Rabbi Halperin who heard from the Gaon of Tshebhin – that a person who is hospitable and wants to examine if he is performing the mitzvah of hospitality to the highest standard should check himself as follows: if the guest can enter the kitchen and make himself coffee without anyone saying a word, then the host can be certain that he is performing the mitzvah of hospitality to the highest standard.

10. It is told about one of the greatest sages of the generation that when he hosted guests, he would personally attend to them, and while they slept, he would cover them on cold nights with his own hands. When he noticed that a poor man's shoes – placed by the bed – were torn and worn, he would replace them with new shoes, and the next morning when the poor man woke up, he would find new shoes by his bed.

May we merit to fulfill all mitzvot in general, and the mitzvah of hospitality in particular, with great care, and may we receive the great blessings that flow from the mitzvah of hospitality, as Rabbi Pinchas of Koretz said, that hospitality brings joy which is conducive to livelihood, because "and you shall only be joyful" has a gematria value of eight hundred, and likewise "hospitality" has a gematria value of eight hundred, for hospitality brings a person to joy, and joy brings livelihood.

From 'Noam Siach', courtesy of the 'Dirshu' website.