….our daughters as corner-stones carved after the fashion of a palace. (Psalms 144:12)

Many years ago, in the city of Chevron there was a holy caretaker who was in charge of the keys that opened the gate of the Cave of Machpelah. He was a poor widower who had an only daughter who was kind-hearted and beautiful. The time came when young girl reached marriageable age and was betrothed to a fine young man.

The poor caretaker worked hard to save money for all of the needs of his daughter’s wedding. He bought her a fine assortment of clothes and household things for her wedding day. In the midst of his happiness, The caretaker remembered that the traditions of their community demanded he provide his beautiful daughter with a gold necklace to wear at her wedding. Sadly, he did not have enough money left to buy such a beautiful necklace for his beloved daughter. The holy caretakers heart was heavy that he would disappoint his daughter and he became very sad. The golden necklace was a matter of great pride among the women throughout the city of Chevron, and poor girls lacking the proper dress had been known to cry bitterly for shame on their wedding days, some girls even ran away because they were so embarrassed. The holy caretaker was beside himself about what to do. He didn’t tell his daughter anything, for he did not want her to be sad.

As the wedding day approached, one night the caretaker’s daughter had a dream that she was standing at the gate of the Cave of Machpelah preparing to enter so that she could pray. Because every day, morning and evening, the Jewish people say, “In the cave of Machpelah,  ’Hear, O Israel [our father].’ What you commanded us we still practice: ‘The Lord is our G-d, the L-rd is One.’ ” (Deuteronomy 6:4) (Pesachim 56a; Genesis Rabbah 98:4)

In the dream, she was, holding the keys to the gate when an old woman with long flowing hair dressed in white came up to her. The old woman’s face shined with light that warmed the girl to her very heart. The woman raised her hand and touched the caretaker’s daughter’s hair and she said to her, “This big chain, with these keys to this holy place, should be your necklace at your wedding. This necklace holds a hundred times more merit than any necklace of gold and jewels.”

Then the old woman disappeared. The caretaker’s daughter awoke and, remembering her dream, decided not to tell anyone about it.

The wedding day finally came, and the caretaker’s face was gray with sadness about not having a fine gold necklace for his daughter. Many of his daughter’s friends came to help her get ready for the wedding. After she was dressed in her wedding clothes, she called her father over, asking him if she could speak with him alone. With a warm smile on her face, she said, “Father, dear father please give me the keys to the Cave of Machpelah. They will be my wedding necklace. They have much more merit than any gold or jewels.”

The caretaker was surprised by his daughter’s request as he ran to get the keys and gave them to his daughter. Wearing the iron chain with the keys of the Cave of Machpelah, The caretaker’s daughter was radiant. People said she was more beautiful with the necklace of iron than brides of the past with gold and jewels.

From that day, Hebron’s brides wore this special “Necklace of Iron” instead of gold and jewels at their wedding.

May all your tales end with Shalom (peace)

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Then he commanded his servant, “This evening bring this man to the place where the king and all his ministers are seated. “But the older brother was full of fear, for he did not know what would befall him. Indeed he was certain that he would be killed.

In the meantime the young man went to his wife and said to her, ^“Ask your father to invite all of his ministers to come here this evening.^”

In the evening all the guests came to the banquet. They were eating and drinking and enjoying themselves when suddenly the young crown prince rose from his chair and said to the king, “Sire, I pray you listen to me, and listen all you who are seated here.” And he commanded the servants to bring the man he had cured of blindness into the room. They brought in his older brother, who was dressed in fine garments, but was trem­bling with fear for he did not know what was to be done to him.

“Come here!” the young man called out to him. “Who are you?” he asked him. “What is your name? Where do you come from? Have you a father? Have you a brother?”

To all of these questions the older brother replied, but to the last question he said: “I had a brother but he is now dead.”

“That is not true! You are a liar,” the young man cried out. All those present listened keenly to hear what he had to say, and he continued. “Look at me! Do you see me? Do you not recog­nize me? I am your younger brother.^“

The older brother was frozen with fear. But the young man said to him, “You have nothing to fear from me, as other people fear you. Only answer me this question: Whom does G-d love more —the good man or the evil?”

“The good man!” the older brother replied. “And I beg you to forgive me and not to do to me as I did to you.”

Then said the young man, “I shall do you no harm, for you are my brother, born of the same mother and the same father. Do not fear!”

The older brother bowed down to the younger, who said: “I shall do you no harm for our father of blessed memory com­manded us never to quarrel.” And he called one of the servants and ordered him to give his brother gold and silver and a house and to send him from the city, in which the young man lived with his wife.

And the two lived together in happiness.

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I generally post short stories of 800 words or less, but this story needs to be shared so I will post the second part on Thursday, 12 January

Once upon a time there was an old man who was a widower with two sons who had been brought up without the love of their mother. When the sons were grown up, the older twenty-two years old and the younger eighteen, their father dreamed a dream in which he was told that within seven days he would die. The father called his two sons and said to them, “Within a few days I shall die. I pray you put me on a mare and let her go as she wishes, while you follow her. Wherever the mare stops, there you will bury me.^“ 

The older son did not even want to listen to what his father was saying about his death and went away. But the younger son remained, weeping bitterly. “Remember what I say to you, my son!” the father said to the younger son. “After you have done what I have commanded you to do, you must obey your older brother. Whatever he commands you to do, you must do. For you, my son, are better than he. You must not disobey him.”

A few days after the death of the father the older brother came and said to his younger brother, “Our father is dead. Now you must give me all the money that there is in the house. And all that is in the house is mine.”

The younger son said only, “Whatever money there is in the house is yours.”

Some days passed and the older brother came again, “This house in mine,” he said. “I wish to sell the house!”

Then the younger brother replied, “Brother, as there is a G-d above us, help me at least to find a place where I may sleep. Do not leave me without a roof over my head. Do not sell the whole house!”

But his brother said to him, “There is room outside! You can sleep there, and do not speak to me any more.”

“It seems this is the will of the Holy One, blessed be He,” the young man said. “Do as you wish.” He left his home, and his brother sold the house.

Some time later the older brother returned to the city. All the inhabitants were afraid of him and showed him great respect, for he was very wealthy and they feared that he might do them evil. But in their hearts they hated him.

The older brother entered the place where his younger bro­ther was sleeping, and said to him, “How are you, brother? There is a secret matter between us. Tell me, my brother, you say, “There is a G-d above.’ Whom does He desire, you or me? The evil or the good?”

The young man feared his brother greatly and said, “G-d wishes the evil.”

“I must ask people about this matter,” the older brother said. And he called one of the passers-by. “Come here! Whom does G-d love more, the good man or the wicked?”

This man too feared him and answered : “G-d loves the wicked more!”

“Now I have won,” said the older brother. “And now seeing that G-d loves me I will put out my brother’s eyes.”And without delay he did as he had said and threw his brother’s eyes away. 

The blind younger brother wandered through fields and through deserts, but all the time he said, “This is the will of the Holy One, blessed be He. He is G-d in heaven above, and earth beneathe,” (Joshua 2:11) and in this way he wandered and wept, feeling his way in the darkness.

One day he chanced to be in a forest and stumbled into a, tree. In that forest there were many wild beasts and poisonous snakes, but they did him no harm, for a cloud went before him and behind him and protected him. The young man placed his head between his hands, and suddenly he found himself up above on a tree.

In the tree were two doves, sisters, one of them blind. All the time the young man could hear them talking to each other and he could understand what they were saying. The dove that could see said to the dove that was blind, “Take a leaf of this tree, pass it over your eyes and you will see again.”

And indeed the young man heard how the sight of the blind dove was restored and how it flew away. So the young man also took a leaf of the tree, passed it over his eyes and prayed: “The earth, O L-rd is full of Your mercy (Ps. 119:64) L-rd, L-rd, G-d merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abundant in loving-kindness and truth, (Ex.34:6) heal me, O L-rd and I shall be healed.” (Jer. 17:14) Sud­denly he could see everything. The light of his eyes had been restored. The young man took off his shirt and filled them with leaves from the miraculous tree. Then he climbed down and said to himself, “If I go back on this road, that is where my brother is. I will go in a direction where no man knows me.”

The young man came to a city, where he found out that the king had a young daughter, who, though very beautiful, was blind. The king had decreed that whoever could heal his daughter so that she could see would have her hand in marriage and receive half the kingdom as dowry, but if the man who sought her failed to cure her, then his head would be cut off.

The young man went to the palace to save the daughter of the king. The guards laughed at him, “You have no clothes. You have nothing. How will you, a beggar, cure her of her blindness?”

The young man smiled and said nothing, but the guards denied him entrance to the palace. The young man told the guards: “G-d created medicines out of the earth, and let not a wise man reject them. (Ecclesiasticus (ben Sira) 38:2)). I will, with the help of heaven, cure the king’s daughter.”

May all your tales end with Shalom (peace)

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The Holy One, blessed be He has endowed women with a special sense of wisdom which man which lacks. (Niddah 45a) A rabbi’s daughter addressed the accusations of a Roman Emperor.

The Roman Emperor once summoned to Rabban Gamliel and accused: “Your G-d is a thief. For it says, ‘G-d cast a deep sleep upon the man [Adam]… and He took one of his ribs’ (Genesis 2:21).” Rabban Gamaliel’s daughter said, “Leave him to me and I will answer him.” Turning to the emperor she said, “Give me a judgment to avenge a wrong that was done to me.” “State your case and I shall judge” asked the emperor. Rabban Gamliel’s daughter stated “Thieves broke into our house last night and stole the silver, but they left a gold in its place.” The emperor shot back, “I wish that such thieves would come to us every day!”   Said R. Gamliel’s daughter to the emperor, “Was it not better for the man (adam) that G-d took one rib and gave him a wife who takes care of him? Is not a woman far more precious as it is written: ‘A woman of valor, who can find? For her value is far above rubies. (Prov. 31:10)”

The Emperor thought for a moment and asked: “If what you say is true, then why didn’t G-d take the rib from the man (adam) openly? Why did He put the man to sleep and take the rib like a common thief?” Rabban Gamliel’s daughter answered: “give me but one day and I shall answer you question and grant me the privilege of preparing a fine meal for you”

The Emperor looked at the girl and decreed: Very well then tomorrow I expect an answer from you.” Rabban Gamliel’s daughter reqwuested: “Bring me a fine young calf suitable for the Emperor.” When they brought her the calf, she slaughtered it, skinned it, removed the guts, then placed it upon a spit and roasted it with savoury herbs. After it was finished cooking, she took it out and offered it to the emperor to eat. “It is disgusting,” said the emperor. She replied, “By the same token, The woman would have been repulsive to the man if he had seen where she was taken and how she was formed.”

Based on Sanhedrin 39a.

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One may ask: “If a person has done many things that are bad and hurtful, can they ever be forgiven?” The Holy Word teaches: “I have blotted out, as a thick cloud, your transgressions, and, as a cloud, your sins: return to Me; for I have redeemed you.   Seek you the L-rd while He may be found; call you upon Him while He is near. (Isaiah 44:22, 55:6)”

It is told that there was a certain man who had been wicked all his life, and he was well aware that it would be very hard for his repentance to be received in heaven. On one occasion he jokingly asked Rabbi Moshe ben Shem-Tov de Leon of blessed memory (1250-1305 c.e.) whether there was any remedy for his ailment. The holy rabbi thought for some time and answered: “The only remedy and atonement for you is to accept the punishment of death as an atonement for your transgressions.”

Then the wicked man asked him: “If I do accept a sentence of death, shall I have a share in the Garden of Eden?” “Yes,” said the holy rabbi; and the wicked man pleaded: “Swear to me that my place will be near you!” Then Rabbi Moshe ben Shem-Tov de Leon swore to him that he would be near him in the Garden of Eden. When the man heard this, he gathered up his courage and followed him to the central shul (synagogue).

Once there, the rabbi ordered that hot lead should be brought to him. They brought the lead, and he puffed air at it with the bellows until the lead was boiling. Then he sat the wicked man on a bench and tied a cloth over his eyes and said to him: “Confess all your sins to our G-d and accept your death as a return for the sins with which you have angered your Creator all your life!” At this, the man burst into a great and exceedingly bitter gush of tears. Round about him stood many of the community’s elders and sages. And then the rabbi said to him: “Open your mouth wide, and I shall fill it with boiling lead.” And the man opened his mouth very wide in the presence of all the people who stood round about him, in order to accept the fullness of death and so gain life in the World to Come.

At this, the said rabbi took a spoonful of warm rose honey and dropped it into his mouth and said to him: “May your sin depart from you and your transgression be atoned!”

The man, his heart sincere and broken began to cry at once in bitter grief: “Holy rabbi! For the honor of our Maker, the King who is King of Kings, the Holy One, blessed be He slay me now indeed, so that I may not see the evil of losing my soul; for why should I live. My sins have mounted higher than my head, from the sole of my feet to the crown of my head, there is no sound place in me; so what have you done to me? Why have you deceived me?”

The holy rabbi answered him: “We are taught: “The L-rd is near to all those who call upon Him, to all who call upon Him in truth (Psalms 145:18) and The spirit of man is the lamp of the L-rd, searching all his innermost parts. (Proverbs 20:27). As long as the lamp of your spirit burns, there is time to make repairs. Do not dread and have no fear, for G-d has already seen all your deeds.”

Thereafter the man never left Rabbi Moshe ben Shem-Tov de Leon’s house of study and spent his days in fasting and true repentance.

May all your tales end with Shalom (peace)

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There were once two brothers who lived in the South, and they were very wealthy. One of them married a wife, while the other devoted himself body and soul to serving the Holy One, blessed be He with all his heart and with all his soul. He went to the site of the Holy Temple and lived there, saying, “The Temple of the Holy One, blessed be He has been destroyed, so I shall likewise be destroyed and shall not take a wife, nor shall I rejoice in the world. Since the Temple of the Holy One, blessed be He is like a mourner, I shall also behave like a mourner.”

On many an occasion he used to go to his brother to wish him well. Once he went to his brother’s house to wish him well and did not find him there. Now that day his brother’s wife was washing clothes and had taken off all of her jewelry which was worth more than ten thousand dinars, and she placed it in front of her when her husband’s brother came to wish his brother well, he entered the courtyard and did not find him there. When his brother’s wife saw him, she felt ashamed in his presence and went away. In the courtyard grew a very tall tree, a kind of palm. A certain bird made its nest in the uppermost fronds of the tree. When she went away so her brother-in-law should not see her, she left her jewels behind. When the good man found nobody there, he went his way, but the bird came down, took the jewels and placed them in its nest.

When the husband returned from the market, he found his wife crying and tearing her hair. “Why are you crying?” He asked and she told him, “I was washing clothes and took my jewelry off and placed it down in front of me. A little later I looked for it but could not find it and I don’t not know who could’ve stolen it.” “Who entered the courtyard?” He asked. “The only one who came in that I know of,” said she, “was your brother and no one else could’ve taken.” “He abandoned and renounced all the contentment of this world,” said her husband, “and his inheritance and his money and all that belonged to him in order to go and serve the Holy One, blessed be He with full love, yet you say my brother was the one who stole your jewels?” At this, she advised, “take him before the sages and let him swear when an oath.” He listened to his wife and went and looked for his brother and then led him to the sages and began to tell them the story, “this is what happened to the best of my knowledge.” They said to him, “if a man abandons all ease and contentment of this world, can he steal your wife’s jewels? Nobody like this saintly person is going to do such a thing.”

The matter came before Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakkai, and he said to the pious brother, “what do you say? Will you take an oath?” And he answered, “Yes, I will swear truly and have no fear of anything.” Then Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakkai said to him, “Satisfy him with your money and do not take an oath.” But he answered, “No, sadly, I must take an oath in order that people should not say that I am to be suspected of wrong doing.” And he was prepared to take an oath even though G-d might punish him for doing so.

Then Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakkai said to him, “Come back to me tomorrow morning.” And when he himself went home, he prayed, “L-rd of the universe, you are well aware of all that is hidden and you know about this matter. Deliver him from his transgression.” Then he heard a divine echo, “Rabban Yochanan ben Zakkai, go to his brother’s courtyard. There you will see a tree, and in the treetop you can find the thing of which the man has been suspected.” They went and found the jewelry there.

Rabbi Yochanan the Zakkai was very astonished at this. Since the pious brother had merely said that he would swear to the oath that he had not robbed or stolen had been suspected, how much more so one who swears falsely and profanes the Name of the Holy One, blessed be He that is why the Bible says, “And you shall not swear by My name falsely, and profane the name of your G-d” (Leviticus 19:12).

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One can always find comfort in their service to the Holy One, blessed be He as their emunah (faith) is strengthened.

One should serve the Holy One, blessed be He with modesty and humility. We learn in Kedushas Levi: “It is right that a person should be modest in their service of the Holy One, blessed be He, as it is written in the Morning Prayers, “Let a man fear the Lord in private….” But in order to lift up the holy sparks that are hidden in others, it may be necessary to reveal his own fear of the Holy One, blessed be He, for by this means he may turn them also to the fear of the Holy One, blessed be He. And this was the purpose of Israel’s wandering through the desert.”"

One’s service to the Holy One, blessed be He is private and is no concern of others for no one can duplicate the service of one’s heart.

Many many years ago there was a drought in Eretz Yisrael. The skies were clear and the sun shined brightly. Water was scarce and the children cried from thirst.

The holy rabbi of Sfas called for a community fast and everyone was to be in the shul (synagogue) to prayer that haKadosh Baruch Hu (the Holy One, blessed be He) be merciful and bless the land with life giving rain.

The people prayed and fasted, but the skies stayed clear and no rain came.

That night as the rabbi slept he dreamed that the rains would come if the shopkeeper would lead the morning prayer.

In the morning when the rabbi woke, he dismissed the dream because the shopkeeper was not very learned and was not knowledgeable enough to lead the community in prayer. That day the sun’s heat was great

The same dream came to the rabbi again that night. This time he knew there was something special about the shopkeeper.

As everyone gathered in the shul (synagogue) in the morning, the rabbi called the shopkeeper and told him to lead everyone in prayer.

The shopkeeper looked at the rabbi and saw that he was serious and could not understand why he was to lead the prayer. The rabbi knew he could not even read all of the words of the morning prayers. The shopkeeper looked into the rabbi’s eyes once more and then burst out of the shul.

Many saw the shopkeeper as he ran out of the shul with his tallis (prayer shawl) waving behind. After sometime he returned carrying something hidden in his tallis. He went up to the aron kodesh (cabinet where the Torah scrolls are kept).

The shopkeeper opened the aron kodesh, kissed the sefer Torah and then removed from under his tallis the scales from his shop. Silence fell over the shul as the shopkeeper raised his hands towards the shamayim and began “Ribbono shel olam, Master of the Universe, hear me now. If I have ever mistreated anyone in my shop, let these scales be witness against me. Every day when I look at these scales I see Your holy name. As I look at the right pan I see a “yud”, the right pan and arm, a “hay”; the center post, a “vov”; and the left arm and pan, a “hay”. When I see Your holy name I think of the Torah and the many wonders You have provided to b’nai Yisrael. In your infinite mercy please grant the rains so that the people of Israel can sing your praises.

The skies grew dark and the rains came. The people wondered and asked the holy rabbi why this simple shopkeeper’s prayer was answered and not that of the community.

The holy rabbi answered that one should serve The Holy One, blessed be He with modesty and humility and many times our daily avodah becomes mechanical and it done by rote. The shopkeeper sees the greatness of The Holy One, blessed be He everyday and therefore serves him always in the words of the shema, “b’chol levavacha, uva’chol nasfshacha, uva’chol me’odecha (with all your heart, and all your soul and all your might)”

Let us all pray we can find comfort in our daily prayers as did the simple shopkeeper did many years ago in Sfas.

May all your tales end with Shalom (peace)

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Listen among your brothers and judge righteously (Deuteronomy 1:16)

Everything is written in the Holy Scriptures, and fortunate is a person who bases his conduct in lifestyle when the Scriptures teachings.

There once were two merchants one Jewish and one not and they came before the village Rabbi to settle a monetary dispute. The non-Jewish merchant claimed that the Jewish merchant had barred money from him, but the Jewish merchant denied that he owed him anything. The holy Rabbi sentenced that the non-Jewish merchant was truthful.

After hearing the arguments of both sides, he told them that he had to leave for a few minutes, and ask them to discuss the matter between themselves in the meantime.

Since both merchants had gone to the local synagogue, and both of them thought that the holy Rabbi had left the synagogue.

But in truth the holy Rabbi had not left, he gone up into the women section, and was listening to every word both of the merchants were saying.

A heated argument erupted between them and the holy Rabbi heard the non-Jewish merchant shouting at the Jewish merchant, “are you not ashamed of yourself? You know very well that you borrow the money from me, and how can you claim that you don’t owe me anything?”

“It’s true that I barred money from you,” the Jewish merchant responded, “but I am under a lot of financial stress right now, and I don’t have the money to pay you back.”

The holy Rabbi went back down into the synagogue and ruled in favor of the non-Jewish merchant, rebuking the Jewish merchant for his contemptible behavior.

Later he explained that he had derived the strategy of leaving the merchants alone and listening to their conversation from the first listen among your brothers and judge righteously, which implies that in order to judge fairly, a judge has to listen to what both sides say to each other.

The simple meaning of the verse is that a judge has to listen to both sides equally and not give preferential treatment to one side. For we learn to “Execute truth, justice, and peace within your gates” (Zech. 8:16)

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A wealthy man was set to embark on a lengthy journey to a dis­tant land. He therefore packed many belongings, as well as food for the way, piling everything into his magnificent coach.

Before he set out on his journey, he called his loyal servant and explained, “I am leaving my home for an extended period of time, and I am ap­pointing you to faithfully watch over it. I have but one request: that you take extraordinary care of my private office, as its contents are very dear to me. Please take extra-special care of it!” The servant agreed, and the wealthy man boarded his coach and set off.

When the clouds of dust from the coach settled, the servant entered the house and thought, “I wonder why my master ordered that I carefully guard his pri­vate office, there must be an item of great value hidden inside.”

The servant entered the wealthy man’s office and found a huge wooden chest sitting in the corner. The chest immediately caught his eye.

The servant opened the chest and saw a beautiful trea­sure consisting of silver and gold, precious gems, and pearls. But much to his surprise, the entire treasure was cov­ered with mud.

“How odd,” the servant thought to himself. “On one hand, my master cautioned me to take special care of his precious treasure, yet on the other hand, he himself is so careless with it that he allows it to become filthy with mud.”

So it is with man. When the time will come for man to stand in judgment before the Heavenly Court, the innermost parts of his heart are examined. Were the thoughts in his heart pure, and did he serve G-d with love and honesty? For the heart is the most precious trea­sure contained within man’s body, and if it is revealed that his heart is covered with filth and mud, it is clue to the mundane thoughts that fill it.

How terrible will his humiliation and shame be at that moment.

Therefore, during Rosh haShanah and Yom Kippur we beseech the Holy One, blessed be He “who forms the hearts of all, who considers everything they do” (Ps. 33:15) Create in me a pure heart, O G-d, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. (Ps. 51:10) — Master of the Universe, please make our hearts contain only love and awe for you and not any alien thoughts!

May all your tales end with Shalom (peace)

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One day, a great rabbi and teacher traveled abroad. Along the way he met a man who greeted him and the rabbi returned the greeting. Then the man asked: “Holy rabbi, where do you come from?” The rabbi answered: I come from a town where there are only scholars and scribes.” Then the man asked: “Would it be the will of G-d that you could live in our city, I would gladly give you 100,000 gold coins, pearls and precious stones.”

The rabbi thought for a moment and replied: “My dear son, if you would give me all the money and all the jewels that are in the whole world, I would not live in a place in which there is no Torah (Scripture). I would live only where there is study of the Holy Word; for when a man dies, there goes with him neither gold nor silver nor precious stones, but the Torah (Scriptures) accom­panies him to the other world, as we find it written in the verse of the Bible (Prov. 6:22): “When you go into the other world, it (the Scriptures) will guide you and will follow you even to your grave, where it will keep guard over you, and when you wake up, in the other world, it will plead for you before the L-rd!” Therefore I ask not for money; as King David said in his book of Psalms. G-d said to David: “Your study of the Law is much dearer to Me than 100,000 gold coins” (Ps. 119:72). And G-d says further: “All the silver and all the gold are Mine, and I can make rich whomever I wish” ‘ (Hag. 2:8).

Therefore a person should always study the Torah (Scriptures) and not run after silver or gold. For even when a person thinks he has much money, G-d can cause him to lose it in the twinkling of an eye. And when a person studies the Torah, G-d can make him rich. Therefore every man should try to increase his knowledge of the Torah (Scriptures) and should trust and confide in G-d Almighty, who can always provide for him.

based on Avos 6:8

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