DEUT1217 The Torah expresses great condemnation of the citizens of Moab and Ammon, "because they did not meet you [the Israelites] with food and water on your journey after you left Egypt…" [this verse]. In the talmudic discussion of this verse, Rabbi Yochanan comments on the capacity of inhospitality to "repulse those who would otherwise be near, while [timely hospitality] draws near those who would otherwise be distant" (Sanhedrin 103b).