Yeshiva
Beit Midrash
- Torah Portion and Tanach
- Bereshit
- Vayera
Answer: We can learn several features of Hachnasat Orchim from the story of Avraham & the angels:
1) Guests should be offered food or drink as soon as possible, especially if they have walked a long way (Avraham fed the angels before they entered his tent).
2) Guests should have a choice of food, in case they prefer specific foods or are unable to eat certain foods (e.g. they are vegan or lactose intolerant). That is why Avraham offered his guests either milk OR meat, says the Lubavitcher Rebbe - one possible answer to the problem of both meat & milk being served.
3) Treating guests with kavod & entertaining them is more important than feeding them (Rashi: Avraham knew the guests were angels & so they didn’t really need food).
4) Guests should be escorted at least 4 amot (6 feet or 2 yards) when they leave our home, as Avraham did for his guests. We then say "Lech L'Shalom" to them.
5) Women know their guests better than men (Brachot 10). Sara knew these visitors were angels before Avraham did. Bottom line: Sara’s usually right; certainly in our house!
Rabbis in Midrash
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Hosha'ana Rabba FLYDUBAI & HOSHANA RABBA- ANI VAHU HOSHIA NA- I & HIM SAVE US
"Ani vaHu Hoshia Na", "I and Him, Save Us". We don't just pray to Him, but we also pray to and for ourselves that we should emulate and educate our children to have that instinctive altruism with which He created the world. President Trump seemed amused about Yaniv Hayon, our PLUMBER who confidently worked with G-d like Superman (he learned from a pilot on a TV show!) to save 174 lives on the Dubai hijacking, but we in Israel are totally accustomed already 78 years to our plumbers, teachers, garbage-men, rabbis, farmers & doctors being Hashem's shlichim! This is what Zionism is about.
Moreshet Shaul Hashem Is your Shadow – part I
Based on Siach Shaul, Pirkei Machshava V’Hadracha p. 420 – an address from 1941
