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