Welcome to the Mussar HaTorah Podcast where we learn to be the best version of ourselves through the Mussar we can find in the weekly Parsha. This is Season 1; Episode 2: Parshas Pinchas 5784.
One of the things we see in this parsha are the various korbanos musaf that we are required to bring on various holidays. For the Chag of Succos we see an interesting thing the number of cows starts at 13 and decreases by 1 until we get to the last days at 7 cows.
Rashi (29:36) quotes a midrash which tells us that the Torah is teaching us the proper way for hosting a guest at your home. Just like the number of sacrafices goes down, there should also be a decline in the type of food offered to the guest. You start with the best things and eventually you serve the guest just vegetables.
Why should this be the proper way to treat a guest? *Rav Sholomo Wolbe* gives an explaination from Rav Avroham Grodzinski. This is teaching how we should make a guest feel comfortable and part of the family.
At first you have the guest in your dining room where you eat only on Shabbos and Yom Tov. Slowly the guest becomes a member of the family eating what they eat and in a more intimate setting like the kitchen table.
There are many opportunities for chesed which need a deft hand so that the person being helped is left with a good feeling. For example: Reuven needs help but it too embarassed to ask for a donation or a loan. Shimon, his good friend, came up with a plan to help Reuven. While visiting Reuven, Shimon starting acting nervously. Reuven asked him what was wrong and Shimon replied that there was an elderly man who he visted that had just passed away. The man had given him a large sum of money to give out to people who needed funds. Shimon was nervous to carry around so much money and he wasn't sure if he would be able to distribute it effectivly. Reuven told him not to worry because he needed the exact amount that Shimon had on him. When Shimon gave him the money, it was Reuven who thought he was doing the big favor!
It doesn't matter if you are hosting a total stranger or helping out a good friend. The meaning of chesed is helping a someone in a way that will make them feel comfortable and at east.
Have a wonderful Shabbos!
