Radical Hospitality, Otherness, and Faith

“When I was young, I admired clever people; now I admire kind people.” Abraham Joshua Heschel

Picture this: You’re the CEO of a company, deep in a strategic call with your regional director. Suddenly, he asks for a moment and says he’ll call you back shortly. After a few hours, you reconnect, and he explains:

“I apologize, but at that moment one of our longest-standing clients arrived for a surprise visit. He’s recovering from surgery and wanted to embrace me personally.”

What would be your reaction?

This isn’t a hypothetical scenario. It happens constantly, during calls, planning meetings, or interviews.

What true place does your client hold at the center of your organization? More importantly, how well do you genuinely know them, their needs, expectations, and concerns?

There is something deeply powerful in the corporate world: the potential that exists within the relationships we build.

A few weeks ago, we discussed the concept of stakeholders, the entire network of relationships involved in your operation: your team members, their families, your suppliers, your clients, and the community surrounding your business. When we measure the impact and reach of a company, even a small one, we often touch hundreds or even thousands of lives.

Each encounter, each opportunity for connection, holds the potential to be unforgettable, surprising, and meaningful. Relationships are the stage where a company’s values are truly lived. We’re not talking about monitoring customer satisfaction metrics, Net Promoter Score (NPS), Customer Satisfaction Score (CSAT) or Customer Effort Score (CES). We are talking about genuine care and authentic appreciation for the human beings with whom we interact. This recognition shapes every relationship within an organization, from employees to consumers.

Abraham’s Lesson

Biblical tradition recounts how Abraham’s encounter with God was interrupted by the presence of three travelers passing by his tent. The moment Abraham saw them from afar, he asked God to wait, for he needed to care for the strangers.

The theological lesson is profound: Abraham, the prophet to the nations, taught that religion, transcendence, and spirituality never outweigh the opportunity to do good, welcome the needy, and ease another’s suffering. His faith was one of action, interaction, and practice.

Economist Prof. Meir Tamari offers a remarkable interpretation of this episode in corporate terms:

“Abraham’s hospitality represents the foundation of stakeholder theory.”

Behind this gesture lies a deep recognition that every human being carries a divine spark. To engage with another person is, in essence, to engage with the Divine.

As philosopher Emmanuel Levinas wrote:

“The relation with the Other is a relation with the Infinite.”

Or, in the words of my master, Rabbi Dr. Aharon Lichtenstein z”l:

“Recognition that the Other presents us with a divine imperative.” (Leaves of Faith, Vol. 2)

From Philosophy to Corporate Practice

Recognizing the divine dimension within each person elevates all relationships to another level, marked by admiration and profound respect for the being before us. In truth, this awareness extends to all creation, for everything reflects the work of the same Source.

Translating this idea into the corporate world is not a challenge but an opportunity.
How do we treat our clients? How do we want them to feel, and what memory should remain after each interaction?

As Yvon Chouinard of Patagonia reminds us:

“Real hospitality, whether to customers, employees, or the planet, means giving people what they truly need, not what’s most profitable to sell them.”

Hospitality has become a common term to describe the type of experience offered to clients.
But what we propose here goes deeper, an ethics of otherness, where a company treats every person not as a means to an end but as an end in themselves. Recognizing the irreducible value of the other means offering only the best, guided by respect and sincerity.

Writer Maya Angelou captured this beautifully:

“People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”

How do we make people feel: valued, respected, and seen? Do we keep that in mind when we answer a client’s call or respond to their email?

A Personal Experience

Some years ago, before my eldest daughter’s wedding, my wife and I accompanied her to a renowned bridal atelier in Jerusalem. The studio dressed dozens of brides each month, perhaps thousands over the years.

Yet the feeling we had was unforgettable: it was as if my daughter were the first bride they had ever served. The care, the kindness, the attention to detail. It was truly an experience of ethical otherness. Even as an observer, I felt the team’s genuine effort to exceed expectations.

It wasn’t merely “good service”, it was the recognition that my daughter, in that moment, was an end in herself, not a means to achieve sales targets. The difference is subtle — but transformative.

Examples of Ethical Otherness

Some companies have embraced this idea at their core, shaping their entire strategy and culture around creating delight. Anyone who has visited a Disney park has likely experienced it. There’s a degree of theatricality in crafting memorable moments, but one clearly senses the deep empathy instilled in their cast members through careful training. They observe attentively, anticipate needs, and create genuine magic through care.

But this ethos extends beyond entertainment or tourism. The ethics of otherness can guide any organization.

Imagine a bank that adopted this principle as its guiding practices, designing products, services, and communication entirely through the lens of genuine concern. Or a hospital that placed “radical hospitality” at the heart of its patient care. The difference would be instantly felt, not as marketing, but as moral presence.

Abraham’s Legacy

Abraham’s divine encounter was interrupted when he saw three travelers in the distance — and he didn’t hesitate. For him, every human encounter was a sacred opportunity to honor the divine spark in another person.

In today’s corporate world, we face a similar question: are we willing to pause our “conversation with the CEO” — our strategies, our KPIs, our targets — to truly see the person before us?

Abraham’s hospitality was not an isolated act; it was the foundation of a worldview where success is measured not only by what we build but by how we treat every person who crosses our path.

As Heschel wrote:

“When I was young, I admired clever people; now I admire kind people.”

Perhaps true corporate innovation lies in rediscovering this ancient wisdom:
That each stakeholder is not a means but an end.
That every interaction is a chance to create something memorable.
And that, in the end, we will be remembered not for what we sold, but for how we made people feel.