Knock-Knock

The Ushpizin In Our Lives

September 2015

One Never Knows Who is Knocking at Our Door

We all have secret and mysterious visitors from time to time.

Sukkos is the perfect time to share surprising stories and amazing events involving sudden and unexpected guests.

Indeed, after the Zohar (emor) teaches us about the seven ushpizin, he then states that the food ‘set aside’ for them should be given to poor guests, for one can not sit in the shade of a Sukkah and not also help the needy.

However, this is just the tip of the iceberg. One of the earliest recorded and most celebrated moments of ‘guest-hood’ is when Avraham invites three strangers into his home. According to many, although visited often by melachim, in this case Avraham and Sarah did not know that these were angels, rather they thought these were simple orchim (Rashi, 18:16 s.v. lishalchem).

 The gemara (Rosh Hashana 11a) teaches us that this event took place on Sukkos.

But the correlation does not end there.

The midrash (Bamidbar Rabba, 14) interprets the pasuk (Bereishis 18:4) “…v’hishu’uh’nu tachas ha’etz –and (you shall) recline beneath the tree” as referring to a sukkah that Avraham had built in honor of the chag! (See shu’t Seridei Eish 2:53 who questions how mitzvos dependent on past events could have been observed before they even happened)

The meforshim understand this midrash literally, as both the Avnei Nezer (likkutim, p. 131) and Rav Chaim Kinevsky (Taamei D’kra, Vayeira) seek to discover how an attached tree would have been kosher for Sukkah useaccording to halacha.

With the above in mind – some stories.

The Longist Shachris

Last year, at around this time, my shochein tov in this magazine, Rav Mordechai Kamanetzky shlita, asked if I would speak to his talmidim at yeshivas South Shore. It was the then 15’th anniversary of 9-11.

Try as I might, I can not recall that words that I spoke, but I do remember with great clarity the words spoken by another presenter that day.

Eli Polatoff, is a leading Hatzalah member in the Five Towns, and was an individual who arrived at the scene of the Twin Towers almost immediately. He shared the following amazing story –which he heard from someone who was there.

Every morning across from the World Trade Center there was a minyan for shacharis. This allowed these individuals a quick walk after davening to their offices in the WTC.

This was not a known or advertised minyan, and every day the same dozen or so people –and only them –would arrive.

One idle Tuesday morning a stranger, oddly, showed up. He asked for the amud as, he explained, he was in aveilus.

As he rose to lead them they realized, or thought, that they had made a huge mistake. This fellow was schlepping out the selichos. He drew each word of supplication and, later, he did the same throughout the davening.

We have all been in these shoes before. We roll eyes, share knowing glances with our friends at the minyan, as if to say: look at this guy, ‘Mr. Frum’ who is going to make us all late for work.

Indeed, they were alllate for work that morning. I am sure your guessed it, it was the morning of 9/11/2001.

That man saved their lives.

Over the past 15 years each member of this private minyan has searched for this mysterious visitor to their minyan –one of the only visitor they ever had.

They have yet to locate him. He was never seen or heard from again.

The Chasam Sofer’s Guest

The Chasam Sofer was had an unusual hakpada. He would only make a beracha if there was someone there to answer amein.

Late one evening the Chasam Sofer woke up with a aching thirst.

He went to to fill a cup of water, and then searched his home to see if there was anyone awake who could respond to his beracha.

Nobody was.

As he was contemplating what to do, there was a sudden, and light, knock at his door. He opened it to find one of his prized talmidim standing there.

“I am so sorry to bother rebbe. I knocked softly so as not to wake anyone, as I was hoping rebbe would still be up learning.”

“Go on” replied the Chasam Sofer.

The bochur continued, “I was troubled by a deep concept that rebbe related in shiur this morning. Try as a might I simply can’t fathom it, and I simply can’t relax until I understand this bit of Torah. Can the rebbe explain it to me one last time?”

The Chasam Sofer could not have been more delighted. “With pleasure! But, please, first would you do me a favor? Please answer amein to my beracha.”

And so, the Chasam Sofer received his amein and the bochur his explanation.

The next morning after shachris, the Chasam Sofer went over to the bochur to thank him.

“You probably were nervous knocking softly on my door so late, but I want you to know how much I appreciate it. I was musing the halachic allowance of breaking a neder of not saying a beracha without an amein, and then you showed up!”

Confused, the bochur looked at the Chasam Sofer and said earnestly, “I have no idea what rebbe is talking about. I did not come to rebbe’s house last night and indeed slept through the night”!

Three Cities-One House

If my wife did not witness this next story, nobody would believe it.

Several years ago two young single women from Maryland were coming to Niagara and wanted to know about accommodations for Shabbos. My wife, not wanting them to stay in a strange hotel alone, invited them to spend Shabbos in our home.

Sitting down to the seuda Friday night I asked what they did for a living and how they knew each other. They explained that they both taught in a frum girls’ high-school and were on break. Both being single, they decided to combine their resources and go on a trip together.

We talked a little about teaching in general and their school in particular. The guests became very passionate. They explained that the main job of a teacher – especially one in limudeo kodesh – is to forge relationships outside of the classroom and teaching.

One teacher gave the example of a particular girl-who is going through some challenges-with whom she is struggling to build an outside the classroom relationship. Her mission for the year is to build a bond with her.

 Now, Friday night, in the midst of a Shabbos meal, a knock on the door of the rabbi’s house is usually a sign of an emergency. So I was alarmed when during the soup someone was at the door.

Standing there was a young man in his twenties and his sister. The man explained the strange events that brought him to my house.

He was driving with his sister from NY to Toronto for Shabbos. Due to a confluence of events their trip took longer than they had planned and they realized that they will not be making it before Shabbos.

As the sun was about to set they got off of the highway and pulled into the first hotel they found. With no food or provisions for Shabbos, they pulled back the curtain in their room see a sign across the street that said “Young Israel of Greater Buffalo”, along with davening times and the name of the rabbi.

They ran to the front desk, asked for a phone book, found my name and address, got directions and…here they were looking for a hot Shabbos meal!

What a zechus!

Could there be a better example of true orchim?!

During this time that I was by the door, my wife and house gusts were continuing the seudah, none the wiser to the amazing story of hashgacaha pratis they were about to hear.

But soon, I too would be stunned.

Inviting our new guests into the dining room I announced, “Everyone! You won’t believe this siyatta d’Shmaya…”

As our new company walked into the dining room the eyes of one of the teachers met the eyes of the young lady. Both of their mouths fell to the floor. After what seemed like days of awkward silence, I asked “Do you two know each other?”

“Yes, she is my student!” Later the teacher explained further: when she was opining about the need to develop a relationship with students outside of the classroom, it was this particular girl that she had in mind!

If we open our doors to our homes and minyanim, we can never know who Hashem will cause to come through!

The correlation between Sukkos and guests runs even one fascinating step further, in that it was the merit of hachnasas orchim that we were gifted with this chag.

The midrash (Berishis Rabba, 48) teaches that Hashem said to Avraham, because you told the three orchim “…and (you shall) recline beneath the tree”, therefore I will repay your children…in this world with the yom tov of Sukkos!

The midrash ends that it will be this very merit of hachnosos orchim that will alight in the time of Moshiach, as it says (Yeshayahu 4:6) ‘and a ‘Sukka’ (i.e. Tabernacle) for shade…”

May we merit to perform this great mitzvah, and seethe gifts and stories that it brings, and be zocheh to reap from its ultimate reward.

Chag Kosher V’Sameach!