Throughout the 40
year trek through the desert, Bnei Yisroel set up camp
in many places. Why does the Torah go out of its way to
remind us of all of these camping grounds?
It is to teach us
a great lesson about hospitality.
The wilderness is
a dangerous place, filled with poisonous scorpions, snakes and
wild animals. It is barren and devoid of water or road signs,
hot and dry, with sand and more sand, where travelers have only
the stars and the constellations to guide them. Yet, wherever
the Bnei Yisroel pitched their Sukkot (tents), the
well of Miriam provided water, they were protected from wild animals
and bugs, and the weather. As a reward, the Rabbis tell us that
in the future, the day will come when the Midbar (desert),
will be transformed into a place abundant with many waterways
and trees, in accordance with the words of the Navi Yeshayahu
(Prophet Isaiah): "I will make a wilderness a pool
of water ... I will plant in the wilderness the cedar, the acacia-tree,
and the myrtle, and the oil-tree" (Yeshayahu 41:18,19).
At the same time
Edom is also mentioned in the list of stop-offs, but for a very
different reason. The inhabitants of Edom refused to provide the
Bnei Yisroel with food, water and safe passage. Therefore,
the day will come when these cities will be destroyed and reduced
to a wilderness. As the prophet wrote: "But Esav (Edom) I
hated, and made his mountains desolation, and gave his heritage
to the jackals of the wilderness." (Malachi 1:3).
And here's the lesson:
If a desert, which has no understanding will be so greatly rewarded
by Hashem for playing host to the Bnei Yisroel,
then you can be sure that a person who opens his home to a person
in need - especially if the person is a Talmid Chacham
(Torah scholar) - will reap even greater rewards for his efforts.
It is a great mitzvah
to open your home to such a visitor and thank Hashem for
the opportunity to play host. The merit of this mitzvah serves
as protection against harm. (Talmud, Tractate Brachot,
63b). As we see when Hashem was about to bring destruction
upon Sodom, He sent Avrohom (Abraham) three Malachim (angels)
disguised as weary travelers, so that by hosting them he would
have the merit to save Lot and his household from the upheaval.
The Torah hints at this in the verse, "Hashem
had remembered Avrohom . . He allowed Lot to escape" (Bereishit
19:29). In other words, it was in the merit of Avrohom
that his nephew Lot was spared.
The sages of the
Talmud declare: "When one hosts a Talmid Chacham
in his home and sustains him from his possessions, it is as if
he had brought an offering in the Bait Hamikdash (Holy
Temple). (Talmud, Tractate Brachot, 10b).
Designed by R.A. Stone Design Associate
and
HI-TECH Computers, Inc.
(718) 253-9698
Email
address.....info@hitechcomputers.com
Page last updated - 07/01/2007
|
