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...
What is the Proper Procedure For Making Up a Missed Reading of Shenayim Mikra Ve’ehad Targum?
How Should One Respond After Dreaming That He Committed a Sin?
The Obligation to Visit and Keep in Touch With One’s Parents
Hashkaba for an Infant; Which Name to Use When Reciting the Hashkaba Prayer
The Prohibition of Stealing From a Non-Jew, and Stealing Small Amounts of Money
Alenu – Pausing Before the Words “Va’anahnu Kor’im”
Seniut – Restrictions on Interaction Between Men and Women
Who Bears Liability When a Car Hits the Car In Front That Had Stopped Short?
Must One Stand When an Elderly Person Passes Near Him During Tefila?
The Proper Sequence When Listing the Names of the Matriarchs
Structures and Images That One May Not Make or Keep in the Home
Rosh Hashanah – Covering the Shofar While Reciting the Berachot
Must One Recite Birkat Ha’Torah Before Reading Biblical Verses as Prayer?
The Status of Wine That Was Looked at by an Idolater
The Sin of Mishkav Zachur (Homosexuality)
Page of 239
3585 Halachot found