“You know the soul of the stranger, having been strangers in the land of Egypt.” (Exodus 23:9). In this week’s parasha, Vayera, Avraham teaches us the model of what it means to welcome guests, to open our homes and hearts to the stranger. One way of reading the opening of this week’s parasha is that God’s presence is found in each and every human being: “God appeared to Avraham by the terebinths of Mamre…looking up, Avraham saw three men standing nearby”.
The ensuing story has entered the world of Jewish tradition as the important mitzvah of welcoming the stranger, hachnasat orchim. The basic premise is “under promise and over deliver”. On the oppressively hot desert day Avraham invites his guests to take comfort in the shade of the tree and says “Let a little water be brought, and let me fetch you a morsel of bread.” With that undersell, Avraham then rushes to the tent where Sarah is, asks her to make loaves of bread from the best flour they have with them, then sacrifices a tender and choice calf to prepare for the men as they recline under the tree. From this, we learn that genuine hospitality requires deep sensitivity to the needs of others, ensuring that they have both physical comfort and are put at ease.
While the setting of the story is clearly a weekday, with all the preparation of the meal, Shabbat has become a central time for us to open our homes and welcome others to enjoy the Erev Shabbat meal that forms the highlight of the week. Unfortunately, with the atomisation of society and the pressures of time and resources many face many have lost the custom of welcoming. But there are imaginative ways we can overcome these challenges, for example, taking turns in hosting, encouraging people to bring shared plates.
This weekend, around the world, is known as The Shabbat Project, which encourages us to consider the importance of Shabbat as a time to stop and share the oneg, the joy of a meal beyond family, with community. We should remember that Shabbat though, comes every seven days and provides a wonderful opportunity to open our hearts and homes to the other. If it is not logistically possible this Shabbat for you to fulfil the mitzvah of welcoming the stranger, or the other, into your home, at least light Shabbat candles and let the light into your life, and other possibilities may unfold. For we recall that “In the beginning there was light” and that “the light of the candle reminds us of the soul of the person” and ultimately, that one mitzvah will lead to another mitzvah.
This Shabbat, and every Shabbat, may we feel the presence of God in the light we create, in the soul of the other.
Shabbat Shalom
Rabbi Jeffrey B. Kamins OAM