This past Shabbat morning we'd just begun services in our synagogue, which is in the Marriot hotel, when one of the housekeepers came running over.
"There's a young Jewish couple upstairs," she explained, "Can I invite them to join your prayer service?"
"Of course!" I agreed.
This young couple from Israel had recently married and were honeymooning in New York. Wanting a nice, quiet, private vacation they booked into the Marriot. They certainly hadn't planned on attending services. But when the housekeeper realized they were Jewish, knowing there was a synagogue right there in the building, she told them they should go.
Reluctant, they gave her all kinds of excuses. "We're tired...We're on our honeymoon...We aren't members...etc." So she came running down to ask me if it's ok, and when I said yes she managed to convince the couple to at least check out the place. Little did they expect to find a full Chabad house operating from the very hotel they were staying in, complete with a big minyan followed by a delicious kiddush!
Well, they stayed and enjoyed a delicious lunch with good cholent, and of course the wonderful company of our community, and they loved every moment. Their parting words were, "What a treat to do this on our honey moon."
In this week's Torah portion we read about Avraham. G-d Himself came to visit Avraham because he was sick after being circumcised at the age of 99. But in the middle of their conversation, Avraham sees strangers passing by, so he tells G-d to wait and rushes over to invite the strangers into his home! He prepares a delicious meal for them and makes sure they are satisfied and comfortable. From this incident, the Talmud teaches that the mitzvah of welcoming guests is even greater than speaking to G-d.
Often, G-d throws us opportunities to do mitzvahs. They come in all kinds of shapes and forms—sometimes via a Marriot housekeeper who is able to convince an Israeli couple to attend services and help us fulfill the mitzvah of welcoming guests.
If Avraham managed to go out of his way, even interrupting his conversation with G-d(!), when he was sick and in pain, to welcome guests into his tent, certainly we can find ways to fulfill this important mitzvah.