With devotion and awe, the Ishah HaShunamis hosted the Navi Elisha — and in return for her kindness, merited a twofold miracle

A chill wind blew through the verdant Jezreel Valley, bringing the promise of rain. Golden fields lined the horizon; within them,  sheep grazed and bleated. In the distance, a man spotted Elisha the prophet, accompanied by his attendant Gechazi. The two were making their way to the great city of Shunem in the portion of the tribe Yissachar.

“Look!” he cried. “Here comes the navi Elisha! He has come to our city!”

“I wonder where he’ll be staying,” the man said.

“He will surely stay at the home of the Shunamite woman, the wife of the navi Ido,” the man responded. “Whenever a tzaddik arrives in the city, she begs to serve them in her home.”

“It’s no surprise,” said a third. “The Shunamite is the sister of Avishag, who was the wife of Dovid Hamelech. She owns a vast estate.”

“The prophet won’t stay there because of her wealth,” countered another. “Her greatness lies in her kindness and hospitality, her eagerness to welcome guests into her home.”

“We must learn from her,” the first man said. “Wherever you find generosity of heart, you find greatness, while he who guards his wealth too much and refrains from doing good is called an evil soul. And not only that, but through generosity, a person attains greatness in This World and in the Next.”

In no time, the rumor of the prophet’s approach spread through the city, until it reached the ears of the Ishah Hashunamis.

“A prophet is coming to our city?” she exclaimed, clapping her hands in delight. “Welcoming a tzaddik and sharing property with him is like bringing a korban tamid or bikkurim. I’ll go straightaway to invite him to my home.”

The Shunamite ran, inclined her head humbly before the tzaddik and said to him: “Please, come rest and refresh yourselves at my house. The Creator has blessed me with wealth and means — it will be my honor to host you.”

Elisha turned to his student. “I have learned from my rabi and master, Eliyahu Hanavi, not to accept anything at the expense of the tzibbur,” he said. “Eliyahu Hanavi always brought his own candles and wicks so as not to burden his hosts. I don’t want to be the beneficiary of gifts. But this woman is pleading with us from the depths of her heart — I don’t want to refuse her. We’ll go to her, even though I suspect she simply wants to derive honor from hosting us.”

Delighted at having found guests, the Shunamite returned home to fix a seudah for the navi.

“What’s bothering you?” her servants chided her. “Why are you slaving away for a seudas chag? It’s Rosh Hashanah today, when the Book of Life and the Book of Death are opened, and mortal creatures are sentenced to life or death. Is it not more fitting to fast on this day?”

“You’re right. Today is Rosh Hashanah. Today, judgment is passed on the world,” the Shunamite answered. “But today is also the day that the childless are remembered. Today is a chag for Hashem, and we eat and drink in the confidence that we will be found innocent at our trial!”

Elisha rested in the Shunamite’s home, and when morning arrived, he and his servant set off.

After he left, the Shunamite turned to her husband. “I know that the navi didn’t truly wish to stay in our home. He only did so to make me happy. I invited him because I knew that he was a holy man of G-d,” she said.