DailyHalacha.com for Mobile Devices Now Available

Click Here to Sponsor Daily Halacha
"Delivered to Over 6000 Registered Recipients Each Day"

      
(File size: 604 KB)
If a Host Tells a Guest to Leave

The Gemara says, "Do anything a host tell you to do, except leave." A guest is obliged to obey his host, unless his host tells him to leave the home.

The commentators raise the question of why a guest is entitled to remain in someone’s home against the host’s will. Seemingly, a host reserves the right to tell his guest to leave. How can we explain the Gemara’s comment?

The Sefat Emet (Rav Yehuda Aryeh Leib Alter of Ger, 1847-1905) explains that this provision was made in response to the tragic incident of Kamsa and Bar Kamsa, which the Gemara relates in Masechet Gittin. An invitation intended for Kamsa was mistakenly delivered to Bar Kamsa, and when Bar Kamsa arrived at the party, the host forced him to leave. Bar Kamsa was very embarrassed, and decided to avenge his disgrace by going to the Roman emperor and telling him that the Jews rebelled against him, ultimately causing the destruction of Jerusalem. In response, the Sages enacted this provision that if somebody comes to a function to which he was not invited, he should not be told to leave. And if the host tells him to leave, he does not have to listen.

Thus, if a person, for whatever reason, attends a function uninvited, the host should not embarrass him by telling him to leave. We should learn the lesson taught by the tragedy of Kamsa and Bar Kamsa, and ensure not to embarrass a fellow Jew, even in a case of an uninvited guest.

 


Recent Daily Halachot...
The Priceless Value of Serving as Sandak
The Connection Between Berit Mila and Speech
The Importance of the Berit Mila Meal and the Meal on the Friday Night Before the Berit
Which Kind of Kohen Should One Select for a Pidyon Ha’ben?
Pidyon Ha’ben – When is a Pidyon Required For a Firstborn Son?
Pidyon Ha’ben – May the Money be Given to a Kohenet?
The Pidyon Ha’ben Meal
If the Day of the Pidyon Ha’ben Falls on Shabbat, a Holiday, or a Fast Day
When Should a Pidyon Ha’ben be Performed for a Child Who Cannot Yet be Circumcised?
Using an Object of Value for Pidyon Ha’ben
Pidyon Ha’ben – If the Kohen Foregoes on the Money
May the Kohen Return the Money Received for a Pidyon Ha’ben?
Keeping One’s Word After Designating a Kohen for Pidyon Ha’ben
Pidyon Ha’ben – Appointing an Agent; Performing the Pidyon Far Away From the Baby
Naming a Baby at a Berit; the Permissibility of Naming an Ill Newborn Before the Berit
Page of 239
3585 Halachot found