The Aibishter's Cook
He described himself as God's cook, whose work was to feed whoever came.
A teaching ofRav Yeshaya Steiner of Kerestirהרב ישעיה בן משה שטיינרProfile ›
Reb Shayele had a name for himself that put his whole life in a single image. He called himself the Aibishter's kecher, the cook of the Holy One. A cook does not own the food and does not choose who has earned it; he stands at the pot and serves what has been entrusted to him. By calling himself this, the Rebbe taught that his house, his table and his time were never his own, and that every guest who came through the door was Hashem's guest. This is why he could not bring himself to turn anyone away, even a rude visitor who smoked on Shabbos. When he was asked to do so, he answered that a Yid is never sent away from Kerestir. The same view that made him a servant of Heaven made him free of any need to judge the people he fed. For him, greatness did not mean standing above others, but standing at the stove with a ladle in hand.
Source: The Jewish Link, "Ahavas Yisrael", 24 June 2021 (his own words, "the Aibishter's kecher", and his reply on sending a guest away).
Think of a gift you have, such as a home, a skill, a car or a free evening, and ask who it was really entrusted to you for. Today, use it for someone who cannot repay you. Offer a ride, a meal, an hour of help with a task. Do not wait to be thanked and do not sort people into the deserving and the undeserving first. A cook at the pot simply asks who is hungry. See what changes in your own mood when you think of yourself as the steward rather than the owner.