The Avnei Nezer zt'l once served a guest who protested, "I'm a simple person. I don’t deserve this honor." The Avnei Nezer opened the window. There was a tannery across the street. The Avnei Nezer said, "In the tannery, they process hides. But when these hides become tefillin, they become holy. Similarly, regardless of your level, now you are a chafetz shel mitzvah (an item used for a mitzvah), so now you are holy."
The Chofetz Chaim zt'l was taking care of a guest. The guest protested, "You don’t have to do this for me. Really, I can set up the room myself..." "Really?" the Chofetz Chaim replied. "And tomorrow, will you wear tefillin for me?" Hachnosas orchim is a mitzvah, and the Chofetz Chaim insisted in performing the mitzvah himself.
As a bachur, Reb Chaim Brim zt'l would often travel to Bnei Brak to speak in learning with the Chazon Ish zt'l. After their conversation, he would return home to Yerushalayim. One night, he missed the last bus back, so he had to spend the night in Bnei Brak in the Chazon Ish's home. Reb Chaim said he felt very uncomfortable that night because three great people doted over him: the Chazon Ish, the Steipler (the Chazon Ish's brother-in-law), and the Steipler's rebbetzin. The Chazon Ish gave the orders; one brought negel vasser, one brought food, another prepared a bed... Reb Chaim pleaded, "Please don’t do this for me." The Chazon Ish replied, "Since when does an esrog tell the person holding him how to be handled? Now you are a mitzvah, and you can't tell the people obligated to do this mitzvah how to perform it."
The Sar Shalom of Belz zt'l built a majestic shul in Belz. Two generations later, his grandson, Rebbe Yissachar Dov of Belz zt'l, added on the Groiyse Shtub, a large room where the tishen were conducted, and food was served to Yidden. When the construction was complete, Rebbe Yissachar Dov said, "A thousand years ago, on this spot, there lived a Yid who excelled in the mitzvah of hachnasas orchim – like Avraham Avinu. When my grandfather built the shul, this Yid thought it was time for techiyas hameisim. He got out of his grave and came to my grandfather. The Sar Shalom told him it wasn't techiyas hameisim yet, and the niftar returned to his grave. In the merit of his hachnasas orchim, which he kept with all his might right at this spot, he merited that the Groiyse Shtub be built on this location."
The Maharil Diskin zt'l excelled in the mitzvah of hachnasas orchim. Many people ate in his home, and he would often learn at the side of the room. Once, the Maharil Diskin suddenly stopped his in-depth studies and went over to the table to help an old man pull the soft parts of the bread away from the crust because it was hard for this man to eat the crust. People asked the Maharil Diskin, "You were immersed in your studies. How did you notice that this elderly man was struggling with his bread?" The Maharal Diskin answered, "How did Avraham see the three malachim approaching? He was speaking with Hashem, totally engrossed in the conversation. How could he recognize the guests? The answer is that when a person is devoted to a mitzvah, he is alert and aware of everything associated with this mitzvah – at all times." The Maharil Diskin was dedicated to hachnasas orchim. Therefore, even when he was learning, he was aware of a guest's needs.
The Gemara (Sanhedrin 103:) states, לגימה גדולה, "It is a great deed to feed other people," and the Gemara describes the rewards and benefits that go to those who perform hachnasas orchim. One is הרשעים מן עינים ומעלמת, "Hashem doesn't look at the inequities of the resha'im." When one performs the mitzvah of hachnasas orchim, Hashem doesn't think about his aveiros. The proof is Michah. The Navi (Shoftim 17) tells us that Micha made an idol and a temple for its worship. The Gemara states, "Migrav (where Michah's temple stood) was just three mil from Shilo (where Mishkan Shilo stood). The smoke of Michah's altar mixed with the smoke from Mishkan Shilo's mizbeiach. The malachim wanted to kill Michah. Hakadosh Baruch Hu said, 'Let him live, because לעוברי מצויה פתו דרכים, he gives bread to passing travelers.'" Michah had a hachnasas orchim stop on the road, and in that merit, Hashem overlooked his sins.
