G’milut Chasadim Lesson 5
Welcoming Guests:
Hachnasat Orchim
INTRODUCTION
In this lesson, the students will learn about the mitzvah of welcoming guests, hachnasat orchim. In the
Book of Genesis, which the students study in the CHAI Level 1 Torah strand, we find many examples
of our Patriarchs and Matriarchs performing hachnasat orchim. For instance, Abraham and Sarah welcomed three people into their tent (Genesis 18:1–21), and Rebekah gathered water for one of Abraham’s
servants and his camels (Genesis 24:15–20). There are also many instances in the Talmud of hachnasat
orchim. In the Babylonian Talmud, Taanit 20b, we read, “The Gemara gives yet one more example of
Rav Huna’s praiseworthy customs: When he would sit down to eat bread, he would open his door, and
say, ‘Whoever is in need of food, let him come and eat!’” The mitzvah of welcoming guests is central to
Jewish teaching. It teaches us graciousness and generosity, two important values for our children to learn
at an early age.
Using storytelling, drama, art, and music, students will study a midrash about how Abraham and Sarah
welcomed the three people mentioned above into their tents and why such an act makes them Jewish
heroes. We have taken the liberty of reinterpreting and expanding the story to capture the children’s
imaginations. It should be noted that the subject of hospitality and being kind and welcoming to others
needs to be treated with care for children of this age, who are not in a position to make discerning judgments about their own safety. You may want to discuss with the students any such distinctions that you
think would be important for their personal safety.
ENDURING UNDERSTANDINGS
• We have a responsibility to perform personal acts of g’milut chasadim in order to make the world a better and holier place.
• I am a part of the ongoing story of the Jewish people when I perform acts of g’milut chasadim.
ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS
1. Why do we perform acts of g’milut chasadim?
2. What difference do we make when we do g’milut chasadim?
3. How do my actions affect the people around me?
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4. What is an act of g’milut chasadim and how can I do it?
5. What can I learn about g’milut chasadim from the story of the Jewish people?
6. How does performing acts of g’milut chasadim make me a part of the ongoing story of the Jewish people?
QUESTIONS
TO
BE ADDRESSED
1. What is a Jewish hero?
2. What does a Jewish hero do?
3. What can we learn from the Torah about Jewish heroes?
4. How can I be a Jewish hero?
EVIDENCE OF UNDERSTANDING
• Students will identify behaviors of biblical heroes that are acts of g’milut chasadim.
• Students will relate the behavior of Jewish heroes to their own behavior.
LESSON OVERVIEW
• Set Induction (10 minutes)
• Story and Activity Stations (35 minutes)
• Are These People Heroes? (10 minutes)
• Conclusion (10 minutes)
MATERIALS NEEDED
• CHAI Level 1 CD, track 25, “Always Room for One More.”
• Costumes: sheets, headdresses, sandals, beards, etc.
• At least 5 chairs.
• Sheets.
• Bucket or pitcher.
• Towel.
• Juice and cookies for the students.
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• Markers.
• Mural paper.
READING RESOURCES FOR TEACHERS
Arcus, Lorraine Posner. Torah Alive! An Early Childhood Torah Curriculum. New York: URJ Press, 2004.
Dunn, Mark, Joel Eglash, and Alane Katzew, eds. The Complete Jewish Songbook for Children, Vol. II.
New York: Transcontinental Music Publications, 2004.
Maisel, Grace Ragues, and Samantha Shubert. A Year of Jewish Stories. New York: URJ Press, 2004.
LESSON VOCABULARY
hero/gibor
Someone who does something brave, kind, or generous. A Jewish
hero is considered to be someone who exhibits either inner strength
or outer strength to make the world a better place.
,Iu§m¦nqv²u§m¦n
A commandment, an obligation, a Jewish responsibility.
rIC°d
mitzvah/mitzvot
s¤x¤j
Kindness.
chesed
oh¦j§rIt ,©x²b§f©v
The mitzvah of welcoming strangers.
hachnasat orchim
LESSON PLAN
SET INDUCTION (10 MINUTES)
1. Sing or play the class welcome song.
2. Review with students the act of g’milut chasadim that they last studied. If you asked students to complete the At-Home Activity from their booklets, invite students to share their answers and pages now.
3. Explain to the students that today we are going to talk about another way that we can be Jewish heroes
in our everyday actions. Ask the students to share some of the ways that they have learned that they
can be Jewish heroes. (Possible answers: following Hillel’s teaching: “Do not do to other people what you
would not want anyone to do to you,” following derech eretz by being polite and kind; doing t’shuvah by
saying you are sorry and sincerely trying to do better.)
4. Hand out the student booklets for this lesson. Read page 1 to them and invite them to follow along.
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LEARNING ACTIVITIES
Story and Activity Stations (35 minutes)
1. Explain to the students that to learn more about hachnasat orchim (welcoming guests) we are going to
learn a story from the Torah. Tell the students that it may be a story that they already know (the story
is introduced in Lesson 4 of Level 1 Torah strand as well).
2. Set up the classroom in advance so that there are three separate areas. The class will move together
from area to area as you tell a story about Abraham and Sarah. Here is how to set up each area:
• Area 1: Drape a large sheet (or two) over several chairs to create a tent. Place a chair outside the
tent. Have a tray of cookies inside the tent. Put an empty bucket or pitcher and a towel on the floor.
• Area 2: Place three chairs next to one another. Have a cup of juice for each child.
• Area 3: Place mural paper and markers on several tables.
3. Invite the children to come and sit in a circle at Area 1 to listen to a story. The story that the students
will study is also discussed in Lesson 4 of the Level 1 Torah strand. If the students have already learned
the story, you may want to begin by asking them what they remember about Abraham and Sarah’s
tent in the desert.
4. Ask for volunteers to act out the following story. Assign volunteers to the following roles: Abraham,
Sarah, and three strangers. Provide the children with costumes (sheets, headdresses, sandals, beards,
etc.), if available. The teacher will narrate the story while the actors play out the scene and the rest of
the students watch and listen. As the teacher narrates and moves from one area to another, the students and actors should follow.
Abraham and the Visitors
Start at Area 1. Abraham should be sitting in the chair in front of the tent. Sarah should be in the tent.
A long, long, long time ago, our ancestors Abraham and Sarah—and all their servants and all their
sheep and all their camels and all their cows and all their goats—lived in tents in the middle of
the desert.
One day, as Abraham was sitting outside his tent, he saw three visitors coming toward him. He
couldn’t believe his eyes! Three visitors in the middle of the desert! He thought he was imagining
things!
The strangers had walked a very, very long way through the desert and they were completely
exhausted. They were probably hot and sweaty and tired and very, very thirsty. Just imagine how
you would feel if you had been walking through the hot desert for hours and hours and hours.
Abraham ran to greet the visitors and to make them feel welcome. He was very kind to them.
“Shalom,” he said to the visitors. “You must be very tired after your journey through the desert.
Why don’t you rest here for a while?”
Abraham leads the three visitors to the seats at Area 2. The class follows.
Just imagine how surprised they were that Abraham was willing to be so kind to them. They
couldn’t believe how friendly and welcoming Abraham was. They were very grateful. They were
so exhausted from their journey, and they just couldn’t wait to sit down.
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The three visitors should sit in the chairs.
Ask the class, “What do you think the first thing was that the visitors did when they sat down?” (Possible
answers: rested, fell asleep, yawned and stretched, asked for something to drink.)
Just imagine that the very first thing that they did when they sat down, before they did anything
else, was that they took off their sandals! Their feet were really sore from walking in the desert for
so long, and they just couldn’t wait to take their sandals off.
Ask the students playing the three visitors to remove their shoes or pretend to remove their shoes.
When Abraham saw this, he went to get some water to wash their dusty feet. The strangers simply couldn’t believe Abraham’s kindness.
Have the student who is playing Abraham go back to Area 1 and pick up the empty bucket or pitcher and
towel. The student should hand it to one of the visitors. The visitors should pretend to wash and dry their
feet.
Then Abraham brought them something to drink and offered to have a meal prepared for them
while they rested.
Serve juice to all of the children. Tell the student playing Sarah to go into the tent at Area 1.
While they were having something to drink, Abraham rushed into the tent and said to his wife,
Sarah, “Sarah. Come quickly. We have company—three visitors who were passing by in the desert.
Please help me prepare a meal for them so that they will not be hungry when they continue on
their journey.” Sarah quickly baked some loaves of bread while Abraham arranged the rest of the
food. They all shared a delicious meal together.
Have Sarah come out of the tent holding the tray of cookies. Give each student a cookie to eat.
5. Debrief the dramatization by asking the following questions:
• Ask the students who played the three visitors, “How did you feel when you saw Abraham’s tent in
the distance?” (Possible answers: happy, relieved, thirsty, nervous.)
• Ask the student who played Abraham, “What did you think when you saw the three visitors
approaching?” (Possible answers: surprised, happy, worried.)
• Ask the students who played the three visitors, “How did you feel about the way Abraham welcomed you?” (Possible answer: happy that he was so kind.)
• Ask the student who played Sarah, “What did you think when Abraham asked you to help prepare
a meal for them?” (Possible answers: surprised, happy to help strangers.)
• Ask the class:
° Do you think Abraham and Sarah acted like heroes? Why or why not?
° What did Abraham do that made him a hero? (Possible answer: He was kind and welcoming and
generous to the visitors.) Ask the students, “Who remembers the Hebrew phrase for welcoming
guests? (Hachnasat orchim.)
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° What did Sarah do that made her a hero? (Possible answer: She showed kindness and generosity to
the strangers by helping to prepare a meal for them.)
6. When everyone is done eating, move to Area 3.
Area 3: Group Art Project Theme: Hospitality (Hachnasat Orchim)
7. Ask students to share an experience from their own lives when they either welcomed someone or
were welcomed by someone. Ideas may include: when they started a new class or activity and people made them feel welcomed; when they had a playdate at someone’s house for the first time and
how the family made them feel welcomed; when they came to temple on Shabbat and how they were
welcomed.
8. Ask students, “How did it make you feel to welcome someone? How did it make you feel when
someone else welcomed you?”
9. Ask each student to draw a representation of their hospitable encounter on the mural paper. You can
then help each student to write a one-sentence explanation for his or her picture.
10. The group project can be hung in a public area for all to learn about hachnasat orchim, welcoming
strangers.
Are These People Heroes? (10 minutes)
1. Explain to the students that in class today, we learned about how Abraham and Sarah welcomed visitors into their home and this made them heroes. We have learned in earlier lessons that there are
many ways to be a Jewish hero—when we are kind, generous, and caring, we are Jewish heroes.
2. Ask children to open their booklets to page 2.
3. Tell them that in this activity they have to decide if certain people acted like heroes. You are going
to read them a scenario. If they think that the person you tell them about acted like a hero, they
should circle the happy face next to that person’s story. If they do not think that that person acted
like a hero, they should circle the unhappy face next to that person’s story. There are seven scenarios
in total.
4. Read each statement and ask the students to circle the appropriate symbol. Answer any questions the
students might have.
5. When you are done reading all seven scenarios, do a quick check by asking, “How many chose the
happy face for the first scenario? Why?” Discuss each of the seven scenarios.
CONCLUSION (10 MINUTES)
1. Sing or play the song “Always Room for One More,” track 25 on the CHAI Level 1 CD. Ask the children to listen carefully to see if they can tell what the song is about.
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2. Ask the students to tell about a time when they had a guest in their home and what they or their family did to make the guest feel comfortable, like Abraham and Sarah did for the three visitors. Remind
the students that when we welcome guests and make them feel comfortable, we are doing an act of
g’milut chasadim, and we are acting like Jewish heroes.
3. Show the students the poster entitled “Jewish Values for Our Lives.” Point out the values they studied about or mentioned in class today.
4. Sing or play the class good-bye song.
5. Tell students to take their booklets home. If you would like, ask students to complete the At-Home
Activity and bring it to your next class session.