Vayeira: 5783 - Rabbi Shimon Zonnenfeld with an insight and a story for Parshas Vayeira: 'Greater is hospitality than receiving the Shechinah' - a wonderful story about the hospitality of the Rav of Jerusalem…

00:00 Speaker 1 “If I have found favor in your eyes, please do not pass by your servant.” Rashi gives two interpretations. Who is Avraham speaking to? According to one interpretation, he is speaking to the eldest of the three angels. He says it to him, and the others will come along too. So the name used here is not a Divine Name. According to the second interpretation, he is speaking to Hakadosh Boruch Hu. After all, Hakadosh Boruch Hu had come to visit him: “And Hashem appeared to him.” Avraham says to Hakadosh Boruch Hu, as it were, “Please excuse me and wait,” and goes to welcome the guests. “Please do not pass by your servant.” From this we learn that welcoming guests is greater than receiving the Divine Presence. We learn this from Avraham Avinu. The deeds of the fathers are a sign for their children. But where did Avraham Avinu learn that welcoming guests is greater than receiving the Divine Presence? How did he know to do that? The verse says, “And it was in the heat of the day.” Hakadosh Boruch Hu made the sun exceptionally hot so that guests would not come to Avraham Avinu. If receiving the Divine Presence were greater, why did He need to make the sun so hot? Hakadosh Boruch Hu was with him, so naturally he would not go to welcome guests. From this, Avraham Avinu understood that welcoming guests must be more important; that was why Hakadosh Boruch Hu had to do something special and make the sun so hot. That is how Avraham Avinu learned it. And on a related note, there were once two Jews who came from abroad. They came to Jerusalem to celebrate Pesach there. They went to the rabbi of Jerusalem, Rabbi Yosef Chaim Sonnenfeld, z"l, and asked if they could be his guests for the Seder night. He told them, “Of course.” They said, “But we have one condition.” “What condition?” “We want to pay.” He told them, “All right, no problem, but the condition has to be settled beforehand.” They said, “Of course,” took out their wallet and paid him. They came to his home,

02:09 Speaker 1 held the Seder and left feeling very uplifted. It was a Seder they would always remember. Since they were from abroad, they had to observe the second day of Yom Tov. On the second day, they were at their hotel. The rabbi of Jerusalem came to their hotel room, took out the money they had paid and put it on the table. For them it was Yom Tov, so they could not give it back or do anything about it. They asked, “But wait, we made a condition, and you agreed to accept the money.” He said, “Of course. I wanted you to feel at home, to feel comfortable and to eat properly. But would I take money for welcoming guests?” He wished them a happy Yom Tov and went home.

02:49 Speaker 2 Amazing!