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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
