Cooking from Scratch

 HH

Saba Yisroel's wife, Esther (Mindel) was a true woman of valor, her father beat her trying to persuade her to demand a divorce, but she was obstinate in her loyalty to Saba. They were destitute, and they lived through times of famine when it is estimated that at third of the population of Israel succumbed to starvation, disease, and extermination by the ruling Turks and the local arabs. This did not deter Saba from bringing home guests to feed, in addition to his large family. Esther was a master of conjuring up food, delicious food without any budget. She would get the fish heads from the fish market for free, and she knew how to maximize whatever meat was left on them to make delicious soup. She also had different delicious recipes for mallow - khobiza in Arabic - a wild grass, which she was able to gather from open fields, and once an arab confronted them saying that it was his field, and so they got permission from him, and from then on specifically gathered from that field.

One time Saba brought some guests, and before he entered the house, he went in and asked his wife, saying that he came across some people who were stranded with nothing to eat, would it be alright for him to bring them - not telling her that they were waiting by the front door. Esther said certainly. Saba said, are you sure, how will you come up with food for them. Esther said she had a fish or two, and she could cut in half, and then there is the other side, and then in half... so Saba went to the door and let them in.

She was also an excellent seamstress and made her own clothes.

One time on the anniversary of passing of Esther, Saba told Sharon T. that he must honor and be grateful to his righteous wife saying - you owe her your life, because everything I merited was in her merit, and without her, you would not have me. You must honor her as you would your own mother.

Na Nach Nachma Nachman MayUman

Real Kindness

HH

The Baal Shem Tov made it known that there is nothing greater than doing even a little favor for someone, and when Rabbainu once spoke about the greatness of the mitzva of hospitality, and his daughter asked him how it was possible to fulfill it, he answered, “What do you think? There’s a guest! A little more tablecloth… another piece of challa…” (Siach Sarfay Kodesh 2:97, and see Bi’air Mayim Chaim, Va’yairu 18:8 cited there). However, don’t think for a moment that this was the entire enterprise of our forefather Abraham and the other holy tzadikim. Rabbainu revealed in Likutay Moharan (Torah-teaching 31) that all charity and kindness is deficient, and is only complete with the essential foundation of faith which is the underlying main factor in the importance of charity. And in Torah-teaching 53 Rabbainu revealed that the reason why the holy tzadikim were so busy running after people to return them to the faith, was to complete and perfect their da’as (holy realization of knowledge), see there. So although it is in fact true that Abraham was very busy doting on his guests and doing his utmost to pamper them, that was a very superficial aspect of what he was really doing. The Zohar revealed that every guest that came his way, immediately he began to pray for them and set out to purify them and rectify them. As soon as they walked into Abrahams property, if they were impure, the ground would split apart from beneath them and they would fall directly into a mikva, and Abraham would commence praying and working to rectify them. This is the real kindness and charity, this is the way of the holy faith.

Na Nach Nachma Nachman MayUman

B"H Gilad's Hospitality Windowsill -- ב"ה פינת חלון של געלד נ"י