Rav Yaakov Yitzchok Horowitz, the Chozeh of Lublin, kept an open house. He himself served his guests, who were from all walks of life. One day a poor man came to the house and the Rebbe served him a meal. When the guest had finished his meal, the Rebbe cleared the table and brought the empty plate and utensils into the kitchen. The poor man was astounded and said, “Rabbeinu, I understand that the Rebbe occupies himself with hachnossas orchim in order to fulfill the mitzva. But why does the Rebbe clear the table himself? Doesn’t the Rebbe have gabboim in the house?
The Rebbe answered, “Taking out the shovel and the pan from the Kodesh Kodoshim on Yom Kippur was also honorable avoda for the Kohen Godol.”
On another occasion, a guest arrived in the middle of the night. The Chozeh tended to him himself, serving him a meal and preparing his bed. The guest was unrefined and his strong smell indicated that he had neglected to bathe in the recent past. The next morning, the servants in the house wanted to send him on his way due to his strong odor. The Rebbe said to them, “Don’t wake him; let him sleep until he wakes up on his own. Hashem provided me with the opportunity for hachnossas orchim, and you want to ruin it and snatch it away from me?” (Nifle’os Harebbi, Siman 90).
