"Deeds of Kindness with Added Mystical Intentions"

Part 6: "Hosting Strangers"

translated and edited from

Tomer (the Palm Tree of) Devorah

of Rabbi Moshe Cordevero (the 'Ramak')

by Rabbi Moshe Miller

1. Caring for a newborn
2. Circumcision
3. Visiting the sick
4. Giving charity
5. Hosting Strangers
6. Attending to the dead
7. Providing for a bride
8. Peace-making

Offering hospitality to strangers refers to tiferet and yesod, which should be given a guest house in which to rest, namely, in malchut. For according to the mystical explanation of exile, they are wayfarers searching for what they have lost; therefore, they must be brought into that place. According to the explanation in the Zohar, this refers to the commandment fulfilled by "those who traveled talked: (Judges 5:10), that is, those who are exiled from home in order to study Torah. They cause "the guests" to busy themselves with the needs of malchut.

Similarly, all those who bring about the unification of tiferet and malchut some other way, and fix times for Torah study, cause tiferet to lodge with malchut, as explained in the Tikunei Zohar. It is necessary to prepare food and drink for the "guests" and accompany them on their way - that is, a person must bring tiferet and yesod into malchut and provide them with food there.

This is analogous to the mystical explanation of the verse "I came to My garden... I have eaten My honeycomb with My honey..." (Songs 5:1), referring to the outflow of spiritual bounty suited to the level of divine rulership of the lower worlds as it spreads forth from sweetened severities. One must also provide them with drink, according to the mystical interpretation of the continuation of the verse, "I have drunk My wine with My milk." This verse refers to the inner spiritual flow from the guarded wine and the sweetened milk, as explained in the mystical teachings; to bind tiferet to malchut, Jacob to Rachel, and gevura to netzach or hod. This is the explanation given in "Ra'aya Mehemna."

As for the precept of "accompanying them (the guests)", this means that a person and his soul should go there together with tiferet and yesod in their supernal form, accompanying them there. In addition, this implies bringing the other sefirot there to be with them, giving them a good send-off. Many things are included in this rectification.

In general, a person should make an effort to do whatever is necessary for the performance of the mundane act, simultaneously concentrating on the things to which it alludes. This way, he is sure to achieve its parallel Above, once he has become accomplished in the mystical secrets. It is even better to verbalize the secrets on which he concentrates when performing the precept, thereby fulfilling the verse "...in your mouth and in your heart to do it" (Deut. 30:14).

Next installment: Attending to the dead

Previous Installment: Giving charity

First Installment: Preface

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Rabbi Moshe-Leib Miller, a guest teacher at Ascent when he lived in Israel, was born in South Africa and received his yeshiva education in Israel and America. He is a prolific author and translator, with some twenty books to his name on a wide variety of topics, including a new, authoritative, annotated translation of the Zohar. He currently lives in Chicago.