In the Jewish culture, which spans across the Jewish Diaspora, hospitality shows that a stranger will not be turned away, but instead will be welcomed into the community. Essentially, the survival of the community depended on the survival of the individual, and that spirit is still with us today. This is the culture of Jewish hospitality: You do not have to be asked, and you don't wait until you are ordered to do something. You do it of your own volition. I have experienced this firsthand, when I was in Israel. I was once lost in the old city of Jerusalem and a man stopped to give me directions. In fact, he not only explained where I had to go - he even walked with me to the next intersection, and then offered to buy me a coffee to ensure that I was really okay. He did it without any specific reason, and assumed it was the right thing to do. I had met a stranger who, for the next hour, was like family.
Hospitality exists as a natural response for me because it seems to be an inherent part of Jewish and Israeli culture. I learned during my childhood that all unfamiliar people will eventually become people we can identify. A traveler stands at the door of the house during the last moments before Shabbat, showing signs of exhaustion, sun damage, and disorientation. You don't check credentials. You pull up a chair. Food appears, somehow. Conversation follows. The phenomenon I have observed in Israel occurs when people encounter each other through bus travel, kitchen interactions, and balcony observations of busy city streets. People from historical periods required both travel and protection, so they started to receive assistance from others when they traveled. People who experienced survival and community stories during their childhood years in their 40s and 50s use hospitality to bring their values into real-world action. The first requirement involves providing food to the person. You ask questions later. The short dialogue establishes instant trust, which continues to exist after our discussion comes to a close.
Hospitality is meaningful in Jewish and Israeli life because our communities prioritize mutual support and welcoming strangers as an expression of our faith. I have seen this firsthand when planning a family trip; instead of relying on broad searches, I asked WhatsApp groups of like-minded people and was connected with a local who knew exactly what we needed. That local helped us find eateries, accommodations, and sites that fit our family and answered questions throughout our stay. A simple scenario is a stranger arriving in a city and being privately connected to a resident who guides them to appropriate places and stays available for questions, turning an unknown place into a welcoming one.