Story Tour

A group of wealthy merchants went into an inn located near the cross­roads. They asked the innkeeper to serve them food and drink, and knowing that his guests had the ability to pay, he has­tened to set the table for them. 

“What would you like to eat?” asked the innkeeper. 

One of them answered, “I would like a good, thick meat broth.” “I would like to eat fresh fish,” said another. 

One by one, the merchants proceeded to order tasty delicacies, each one requesting the dish that he craved. 

A weak voice was suddenly heard coming from one corner of the inn, “Please serve me bread, for I am starving!” 

The guest who had made the request was a beggar who had happened to enter the inn at the same time. 

The innkeeper left the group of merchants and quickly placed bread before the beggar. 

“Should this beggar be served before us?” asked the merchants. “Why, we are ordering a massive feast, yet you prefer to serve him first?” 

“You,” responded the innkeeper, “are ordering delicacies for yourselves. This beggar, is asking for bread in order to survive. Who knows how long it has been since he has last had something to eat.” 

There are times when individuals who pursue their cravings and desires stand in prayer and make various requests in order to increase their assets and prestige in the eyes of the world. 

Then there is the individual who tearfully requests bread for his young children. 

The Holy One, blessed be He will most certainly give his prayer preference and answer it immediately, for the man is pleading for his life and the lives of his children!

May all your Tales end with Shalom

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He who lets his voice be heard during prayer is thought to have little faith in the Holy One, blessed be He.  He who prays in a loud voice is a false prophet, as it is written:  “And they cried aloud.”  He who belches or yawns during prayer is considered arrogant.  Others say, he behaves badly and is ill-mannered. 

Berachos 24b 

A rich man suffered terribly as he could not sleep. Night after night, he lay awake in bed, as worries gnawed at his heart and did not permit him to relax. 

What worried him so? 

The rich man was a merchant who sold diamonds and other precious gems. Naturally he stored a massive amount of gems and cash in his home. 

“Indeed,” thought the rich man to himself, “my money and gems are hidden inside a large and sturdy safe; but what will be if a thief enters my home and terrorizes me into opening the safe? What will I do then?” 

This thought disturbed him greatly and he tossed and turned, unable to sleep night after night. 

One night, the rich man leaped from his bed in a state of joy, thinking that he had resolved his problem. 

He hired an expert safe maker, who constructed a wall within the safe. Behind the wall, the rich man hid most of his wealth, leaving only a small amount of cash and inexpensive gems in the actual safe. 

“If a thief will come now, G-d forbid,” thought the thief, “he will find only a pittance of money and the rest will be safely hidden away” 

From then on, the rich man slept soundly. 

When it comes to one’s Divine service, a person must act similarly. For if an individual serves his Creator visibly and publicly, he is likely to grow proud or incur an “evil eye.” The majority of a person’s Divine service should therefore he performed privately, and only a minute amount should he revealed to the public.

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There was an old shul in the neighborhood that everyone went to. The people came and prayed and lived their lives. Now there was one man in the shul who was deaf, and to everyone’s surprise he came to shul each Shabbos.

He prayed with tear-filled eyes because his son was the chazzan (cantor). Though his voice he never heard and he prays with tear-filled eyes.  Though he never heard his son’s voice, he would sit there enjoying every word. 

The deaf man watched every motion, every gesture that his son made, and would stay until  the vary end of the prayers no matter how long it took. And when the davening was over he was always the first to greet his son to tell him yasher koach , well done. 

Now right before Yom Kippur and the sun was setting fast and everyone was waiting to begin Kol Nidre, but the chazzan (cantor)  was not in the shul. There were many who began to worry and as the rabbi looked he saw the shul was full, but the deaf man’s seat was empty.

Suddenly the chazzan burst into the shul in his kittle and long tallis trailing behind. The people saw that he was wearing his white chazzan’s hat that he never wore before. As he’s rushing up to the beemah he stops at his father’s empty chair for just the briefest moment as he pulls his tallis over his head. 

It was almost  past time for the holy Kol Nidre service and the rabbi asked him why he was so late, but the chazzan answered he had to get ready for  Yom Kippur. Silence fell throughout the shul as the chazzan took his place surrounded by the holy Torah ring.  He took a deep breath and began to pray. His voice pierced the very gates of heaven and every heart  was broken. Tears flowed so much that every sin was washed away and every soul was pure for Yom Kippur that year. 

When the chazzan finished davening, the rabbi asked asked him, what was it he was thinking of That made him sing so well? The chazzan looked at him and a tear fell from his eye as he answered, “Well you know my father was deaf and last night he passed away and this is the first time that my father^‘s heard me pray^“

May all prayers be heard and everyone be inscribed and sealed for a good year

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We are taught that even if a man is greeted by the king while praying, he may not return the greeting. And even if a snake is wound around his heel, he may not interrupt his prayer. 

Once upon a time a religious man was walking across a field when the time for prayer arrived. So he stood still and began to pray. As he was praying, a general came along riding on horse­back and greeted him. But the religious man did not return the greeting and remained silent. The general waited until he had finished his prayers, then he said to him: “You scoundrel, why did you not return my greeting? 

Is it not written in your Torah, “Take utmost care, and watch yourself scrupulously” (Deut. 4:9), and also, “Be most careful about yourselves” (Deut. 4:15)? Why, then, when I greeted you, did you not return my greeting? 

If I should cut your head off, who would say anything to me?” The religious man replied: “Pray, listen to my answer.” And he began as follows: “Dear Sir, if you were standing before a human king of flesh and blood and speaking to him, and another man came along and addressed you, would you answer him?” The general replied: “No, I would not answer him.” Then the pious man continued: “And suppose you did answer him, what do you think would happen to you?” And the general replied: “I would be afraid that the king might have my head cut off.” The pious man replied: “Behold now, if standing before a king of flesh and blood who lives today and tomorrow he is dead, you would be afraid of having your head cut off, how much more should I have been afraid, standing as I was before a king who is called the King of Kings, who is not a being of flesh and blood, who lives forever and does not pass away! How, then, could I have answered your greeting? I had to fear that in His anger, He might have killed me.” When the general heard how well the pious man had answered, he was well pleased with him and said to him : “You have answered me very well.” So the religious man returned home in peace. Therefore, every person should say his prayers with proper devotion, and no evil will happen to him. 

Based on B. Ber 32b-33a  Ma’asah Book #130

Tags: Prayer, Rabbi's thoughts and teaching, Stories by Rabbi
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So many people become lost in their search to serve the holy One, blessed be He. The service in and of itself is fairly uncomplicated. Simply put, “Serve Him with a whole heart and with a willing  mind.”  (I Chronicles 28:9)

The Innkeeper’s Reward 

An officer traveled at the head of a large caravan in order to perform an important task that the king had assigned him. The sun set in the middle of their trip, and spotting an inn along­side the road, they headed directly towards it. 

The innkeeper was delighted to merit the honor to host the king’s officer. He therefore tried his utmost to make his esteemed guests’ stay a pleasant one. In their honor, he arranged a table replete with various delicacies, and when they had eaten their fill, he prepared comfortable beds that would provide them with a good night’s sleep. 

Upon rising in the morning, the officer asked the innkeeper how much he owed him for their stay, and the innkeeper requested a substantial sum of money. 

The officer paid the full amount and thanked the innkeeper. He then took his place at the head of the caravan and continued his journey, quickly forgetting all about the inn and the innkeeper. 

Several days later, he arrived at another inn, and this time as ^-…^-ell, was showered with exceptional hospitality as the innkeeper went well beyond the call of duty. Wanting to please his guests, the innkeeper served them delicious food and beverages, and provided them with comfortable sleeping arrangements as well.

The next day, the officer approached the innkeeper and requested to pay for his stay. The innkeeper, however, would not hear of it. 

“Absolutely not!” he said to the officer. “It is both a pleasure and an honor that a great individual such as yourself would choose to lodge at my inn! The honor you have accorded me will be my full compensation!” 

Upon hearing the innkeeper’s heartfelt words, the officer was filled with tremendous affection for the simple man. He therefore commanded one of his servants to go and bring a particularly heavy chest from one of the wagons. Opening the chest, he removed mag­nificent jewelry and gems and presented them to the innkeeper. 

“Here you go, my dear sir,” said the officer. “This is a small por­tion of the reward that you shall receive for the loyalty that you have shown me. In addition, if you ever need anything from the king, do not hesitate to turn to me!”

The officer went on his way but never forgot the innkeeper and his kindliness.

There are two types of people who serve Hashem.

There are those who serve Hashem in the hope of receiving a re­ward. Hashem certainly looks upon his Divine service favorably, but in the end he only receives his due reward.

But there are others who serve Hashem merely for the joy of serving King of All Kings. His reward is many times greater and brings Hashem much enjoyment. 

This is what we are taught in Pirke Avos (Ethics of the Fathers) 1:3: “Be not as servants who serve the master for the sake of receiving [even a token) of reward, but rather, be like servants who serve the master not for the sake of receiving a reward”

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A holy rabbi once taught that unless we believe the holy One ,blessed be He renews creation every day, our prayers grow habitual and tedious. Sometimes we need to step back and reflect if our prayer is from the heart or is it from memory, by rote.  

There was once a shepherd and did not know how to pray. Yet every day he said: “L-rd of the Universe! You know full well that if You have beasts to herd and were to give them to me I would tend them without charge though everybody pays me; for I love You.”. 

On one occasion a learned rabbi passed that way and found the shepherd praying. “Fool,” said he, “do not pray like that!” “And how should I pray?” asked the shepherd. At which point the learned man taught him the order of the blessings, and the ^“Hear, O Israel” prayer and the other prayers, in order that he should no longer say what he had been familiar to say. But after the rabbi went away, the shepherd forgot all that he had been taught and could not recite it. He was also afraid to say what he had formerly said, because the learned man had warned him not to. 

Now in a dream at night the rabbi heard a voice that said to him: “If you do not tell him to say what he was accustomed to say before you met him, and if you do not go there, then know what evil is awaiting you. For you have robbed Me of one of those who is assured of the World to Come!” The rabbi went at once and told the man. 

Now here there was neither knowledge of the Torah nor good deeds, merely one who thought to be good. The Holy One, blessed be He regarded this as a great thing, for the Merciful One always seeks the heart.

Sefer Chasidim

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