The Guest Who Gave a Gift

It was a cold, late winter night in the town of Gostynin.

A Jewish businessman, unfamiliar with the area, was wandering through its narrow streets in search of a place to rest. As he passed one house, he noticed a light in the window. Without hesitation, he knocked firmly on the door, hoping someone would take him in for the night.

What he didn’t know was that he had arrived at the home of the great tzaddik, Rabbi Yechiel Meir of Gostynin, famously known as “the Good Jew of Gostynin.”

Rabbi Yechiel warmly welcomed the unexpected guest, offering him a hot drink and some cake. But it was clear the guest was still hungry. With no real experience in the kitchen, the Rebbe searched his home and found two pots: one with uncooked porridge, the other with leftover chicken fat. He mixed them together and placed the odd combination in the oven.

To someone as hungry as this traveler, it was a feast.

He ate gratefully, unaware of the unusual ingredients – or of who had cooked it for him.

After the meal, the Rebbe offered the man a bed to sleep in – without mentioning that it was his own bed, and that he himself would be staying up the entire night to make room.

The next morning, they walked together to shul.

It was only after davening, as the guest chatted with other locals, that he discovered to his shock and embarrassment where he had actually stayed – and whose bed he had taken!

Ashamed and emotional, he ran to the Rebbe and cried:

“Rebbe, please forgive me! Had I known whose home I was in, I never would have troubled you like that!”

But to his surprise, the Rebbe replied:

“I will not forgive you.”

The man froze.

Then the Rebbe smiled gently and said:

“Unless you promise me one thing: that every time you come to Gostynin – you stay at my home.

You see, the people here respect me too much. They won’t let anyone stay with me. But you gave me the gift of fulfilling the holy mitzvah of hachnasat orchim – welcoming a guest.

So please… don’t apologize. Just promise to keep giving me that gift.”

⸻

Message:

Sometimes, when we feel like we’re a burden – we may not realize that we’re actually giving someone else the chance to do something holy.

The smallest things – like needing help, needing warmth, needing kindness – may be the very way we bring blessing into someone else’s life.