Abraham Avinu personified the attribute of “Chesed” (Love and Kindness). He dedicated his life to spreading kindness in the world. His special Mitzvah was “Hachnasat Orchim” (hospitality).
On the third day after his Brit Mila (circumcision), the most painful day after any surgery, he went outside of his tent to look for travelers he could take care off.
For many this Mitzvah is very hard and for those who don’t keep a Torah life, it is even harder to understand.
When my family started keeping Shabbat we were introduced to this type of kindness, we came from Latin America where we were not exposed to it.
Once I received a phone call from a Rabbi that had arrived from Israel asking for help. He hadn’t found the person that was supposed to give him the key to a house in our community and was desperate because Shabbat was two hours away. At the end he and another Rabbi ended up staying with us for Shabbat. They needed to cook their own food in a special way because they were healers and had a special diet. For me it was a little challenging because I never allow anyone in my kitchen and Shabbat was almost starting. At the end everything was done so they could feel comfortable.
My daughter had a cold that wouldn’t go away for a few months already. When they saw her immediately they began giving her vitamin c. By the end of Shabbat she was cured. And I had been having some joint issues that the doctors hadn’t been able to take care off. And they also took care of it.
So to make the long story short, the question here is:”who is doing the Chesed here? The host or the guest?
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