In Parshat Vayera, Avraham performs many acts of chesed, loving
kindness. As soon as he sees three strangers (who are really angels) passing
by, he rushes to greet them, feed them and make them feel comfortable. One act of chesed that we may overlook is that
when Avraham sends off his guests, he personally escorts them out. As we see in
Breisheet 18:16 “The men set
out from there and looked down toward Sdom, Avraham walking with them to see
them off.”
The Rambam in Hilchot Evel (Laws of
Mourning) 14:1 teaches:
The reward for escorting a stranger
is greater than any reward. It is a practice introduced by our father Abraham,
a way of kindness which was habitual with him. He served food and drink to
wayfarers and escorted them. Hospitality to wayfarers is greater than welcoming
the Divine Presence, as it is written in Breisheet 18:2: “He saw three men
… he ran to meet them.” Escorting them is even greater than receiving
them. The rabbis taught in the Talmud, Sotah 46b: “Anyone who does not
escort his guests is almost guilty of bloodshed.”
Local residents are compelled to
provide escorts for wayfarers just as they are compelled to contribute to
charity. The court used to provide agents to escort any person who would pass
from one locality to another. Those who shirked this duty were regarded as if
they shed blood [because of the dangerous roads]. Even if one accompanies
another the distance of four cubits, he will be amply rewarded.
What is
the reason for this extra layer of hospitality?
When
guests see that the host is going out of his or her way to escort them, even
after their visit is over, they are made to feel that the host was sincerely
happy to have them over.
Radak explains that Avraham walked
to see them off, to keep them company for a while, to accompany them. The Torah
teaches good manners, that one should not dismiss a guest abruptly, but by
walking with him indicates that one regrets the time had come to part from one
another. The rabbis taught in the Talmud, Sotah 46b that the distance one
should accompany a guest from one’s house is a mil (1.2 kilometers).
The Talmud, Sotah 46b explains the
importance of the mitzvah of providing an escort:
A Braita stated: Rabbi Meir would
say: We compel a person to escort his fellow from the city. For the reward for
fulfilling the mitzvah of escort is without limit. As it is written (Shoftim
1:24) “And the watchers saw a man leaving the city, and they said to him, ‘show
us now the approach to the city and we will deal kindly with you.’” And it is
written: “And he showed them the approach to the city.” And what act of
kindness did they do with him? They killed the entire population of that city
by the sword, but that man and his family they sent away unharmed, as stated by
the verse there.
The man who had shown them the way
went and built another town. This town was Luz which was not destroyed by
Sancheriv or Nevuchadnetzar.
The Braita concludes: If the
C’naanite, who did not even speak with his mouth and did not even walk with his
feet but merely pointed out the approach to the city caused salvation for
himself and his descendants to the end of time, then one who performs the
mitzvah to escort with his feet by actually walking the traveler, how much more
so is he worthy of unlimited reward.
Rabbi Aryeh Levin z”l whose life
story is documented in the book “A Tzadik in Our Time” was especially known for
escorting people in the streets of Jerusalem.
May the time
come soon when we can once again safely host and be hosted, giving us the
opportunity to perform the extra layer of chesed to respectfully escort our guests at
the end of their visit.
