Hospitality - Sharing a Meal with Guests
6. At the beginning of a meal, the host is given the honor of reciting the blessing and cutting the bread. When the host portions out the food and serves it to the guests himself, the portions are li…
Laws of relationships
Explore Laws of relationships at Neshama Sheli: articles and reading collections about Jewish life. Discover the section and related topics for further reading.
Hospitality
Hospitality is considered a very important mitzvah in Judaism 1. This is connected not only with kindness and mutual assistance. Welcoming guests is compared to welcoming the Shechinah, bringing a me…
How to Treat Kohanim and Levites—What May You Ask a Kohen to Do?
If a kohen is among those present, he must be the first to be offered the opportunity to deliver a dvar Torah (it is customary during a meal to ask one of those present to share an interpretation of…
Treatment of Kohanim and Levites—The Mitzvah to Honor Kohanim
Treatment of Kohanim and Levites [1] Kohanim have always been responsible for the Temple service. As early as Aaron's time, a special consecration ritual was performed, after which each kohen, by vir…
Respect for Sages and Elders—One Who Assists a Teacher
47. As a rule, it is forbidden to ask a teacher or a Torah scholar to perform any kind of work. However, he himself is permitted to practice a trade or serve someone if it is for his livelihood and t…
Attitude Toward Sages and the Elderly — The Prohibition Against Disrespecting or Insulting a Sage
42. One who is engaged in Torah study must stand when he sees his teacher or another Torah scholar. 43. A sage or teacher should preferably take a route where as few people as possible will have to i…
Respect for Sages and the Elderly—Rise Before the Aged
Meeting and Greeting 30. The Torah states (Leviticus, 19-32): “You shall rise before the aged and honor an elder…” From this verse we derive the positive commandment to rise when encountering a Torah…
Conduct Toward Sages and Elders — How Not to Behave Toward a Teacher
Conduct Toward Sages and Elders 10. It is forbidden to call one's rabbi and teacher by name, even after his death. If someone nearby has the same name as one's teacher, one may not call that person b…
Attitudes toward Sages and Elders—A Person's Primary Teacher
Attitudes toward Sages and Elders 4. The Talmud says that a person's primary teacher is the one from whom they have received most of their spiritual knowledge or the keys to understanding it. He dese…
Attitudes toward Sages and Elders—Whom Should We Respect?
Attitudes toward Sages and Elders 1. The Torah states (Devarim, 6:13): “Et Hashem Elokecha tira—Fear the Almighty, your G-d.” This verse uses the auxiliary particle “et,” and our sages, as in other s…
Honoring Father and Mother - If Parents Are Divorced or Widowed
Honoring Father and Mother 88. A person is obligated to honor his father's wife (his stepmother) as long as his father is alive. The same applies to his mother's husband (his stepfather). However, af…
Honoring One's Father and Mother – A Child from a First Marriage
Honoring One's Father and Mother 83. A married woman is also commanded to honor her parents, but when she needs to be with her husband and help him, the Torah exempts her from certain actions so as n…