Today we will share a few stories about the Chafetz Chaim and how he viewed Hachnasat Orchim/ welcoming guests, as well as other Mitzvot between man and his fellow.
A guest once came to the Chafetz Chaim (according to some opinions, this was Rav Zalman Sorotzkin who later became a Rosh Yeshiva in Telz). The Chafetz Chaim troubled himself to make sure his guest was comfortable, setting up his bed, etc. His guest offered to help make the bed, but the Chafetz Chaim would not allow it.
He answered his guest by saying, “If you saw me putting my Tefilin on in the morning, would you offer to help? Hachnasat Orchim is no different than the Mitzvah of tefilin. It’s my Mitzvah, and it’s not for you to help me.”
In a similar situation, a man had once come into town late at night and needed a place to stay. He ended up in the Chafetz Chaim’s house, without realizing where he was. The Chafetz Chaim took care him as any good host would take care of a guest. The next morning, when he asked where the Chafetz Chaim was, the guest was shocked to learn that it was none other than his host!
He tried to apologize, but the Chafetz Chaim responded, “Am I patur/absolved from the Mitzvah of Hachnasat Orchim? It is a Mitzvah like any other Mitzvah.”
Furthermore, when the Chafetz Chaim had guests in his house on Friday night, he would not sing the Pizmon of Shalom Alechem or Eshet Chayil. He went straight into Kiddush, and saved the pizmonim for during the meal.
Once, the great Rav Yehuda Lev Chasman (who eventually became the Mashgiah of Chevron) was bothered by this, and asked why the Chafetz Chaim was skipping a song that all of the Jewish people sing?
The Chafetz Chaim answered, “The guests are hungry. It is hard for them to wait until I finish my song. The angels that I am singing the songs for are not hungry; they can wait. I would rather let the angels wait, and first feed my guests.”
That is a great way of looking at things. Of course, we can’t just make changes on our own. The Chafetz Chaim had a special understanding, to the point that he was even concerned about the concept of taking a poor man into his house- He felt that it was like a vow of sorts, to feed him. And when you have the ability to fulfill a vow, it should not be pushed off. He actually hinted to this in his commentary in Shulchan Aruch, Or HaHayim (siman 639) when it discusses the laws of Sukkot and whether or not one should wait until Hatzot when it’s raining. He says that if there are guests, one should not wait, because the responsibility to feed the guests overrides this need.
So we see from here that feeding guests, in the eyes of a great man, is not just feeding guests. It is a Mitzvah, and we have to treat it with all of the responsibilities that come with a Mitzvah.