Listen to the short story
The Half Friend
An old father teaches his son a valuable lesson about true friendship. A friend will stand by and help you during trying times and also celebrate.
ST16 The Half Friend
Tag: Jewish Stories
Charity and Support From Near
Tam watched one of his students sitting around the table learning. Both Tam and Chacham knew the student well enough to realize that something was terribly wrong. The student always seemed to be cheerful and enthusiastic, but now seemed to be carrying a weight on his shoulders that was too heavy for him to bear.
Tam and Chacham noticed that the student continued to come on time to learn. He continued to ask his probing questions and to come up with deep, penetrating answers. The learning must calm him and lighten his burdens.
The rabbis observed that the gloominess would cloak their student as soon as he closed his holy text to go back home. It was then that his wonder and excitement seemed to leave him.
The rabbis were afraid to mention anything because he didn’t want the student to think their questions were intrusive. After all, maybe this was just a passing thing. So for the time being, Tam and Chacham decided to keep their concerns to themselves.
As the classes continued, however, the heaviness surrounding the student seemed to overwhelm him completely, and Tam and Chacham could no longer keep their concerns to themselves.
One day as class came to end, Tam and Chacham invited the student to sit with them and with great concern spoke to the student. Chacham began, “You are a fine student and one day you will be a teacher and leader in the community. Please tell us what’s bothering you. We can’t bear to watch you go on like this any longer.
The student looked at his teachers and then dropped his eyes to the table in front of him for a few long moments until he finally gathered his thoughts.
“You know how much I love learning and how my greatest desire is to be fully involved in Torah for the rest of my life,” began the student, baring his heart. “Well, the small stipend I receive just doesn’t meet my growing expenses, even though my wife is working long, hard hours. After careful consideration, my wife and I have come to the difficult conclusion that this season will be my last one learning full-time. As you can tell, I’m heartbroken.” At those words, the student burst into uncontrollable sobs, and the rabbis stood up and hugged the student tightly in the middle of the beis midrash (house of learning).
Tam and Chacham had no words to comfort the broken student. What could they possibly tell him? About the loss it was to the entire class? About the loss it was to the world at large? That would just make him feel even worse.
After a meek attempt to reassure the student, Tam and Chacham silently left the beis medrash, deep in thought. That night, the rabbis felt so sorry for their student who wanted nothing more than to sit and learn but whose dreams and aspirations would be dashed due to finances. Why does everything in this world have to revolve around money? They thought in frustration.
Tam and Chacham thought for a long time about their student. They saw their student every day, but he was unable to study or concentrate on the lessons as he had in the past. The rabbis wondered if there was a way to help their student.
A week later, Tam came into the beis medrash, in high spirits. “You’ll never believe this!” he said loudly as soon as his eyes met his student. When he realized that many people in the beis medrash could hear him, he lowered his voice to a whisper.
“Last night, I was speaking to an old student of mine who lives far away. Explained Tam, “and he mentioned to me that he was interested in forming a Yissachar-Zevulun partnership (The relationship between the tribes of Yissachar and Zevulun whereby Zevulun deals in business and Yissachar in study of the Torah/Scriptures and holy writings.)
with someone. He has a large sum of money he’d like to invest in this arrangement and he wants to find a serious student to support so that he can share in the reward of his learning.
“I told him all about you,” continued Tam, “and he was very excited for you to be his Yissachar. What do you say? Is this something you’d be interested in?”
“I can’t believe it!” the student lightened up. “This is the best news I could possibly hope for! Of course I’d love to do that! How can I thank you for putting this together?”
“By sitting down and learning to the best of your ability,” answered Tam with a mysterious twinkle in his eye.
“Do you mind if I go out for a minute to call my wife to tell her the good news?” asked the happy student.
“Do we not learn, ‘enjoy life with the life you love’? (Ecclesiastes/Koheles 9:9) By all means share your good news with her,” agreed Tam.
The arrangement worked out beautifully, with Tam serving as the middleman. On the first of each month, Tam would present his student with a sizable sum of money, and the student was very appreciative.
One month, the student approached his teacher Tam, “I know that my benefactor wishes to remain anonymous. Still, it would mean so much to me to be able to express my appreciation to him. Do you think it would be appropriate for me to write him a letter?”
“It would be very appropriate,” encouraged Tam.
A couple of days later the student’s letter was finished, he put it in envelope, and handed it to Tam.
“Please address the envelope and send it out as soon as you can,” urged the student. “I want it to get to my benefactor as quickly as possible.”
Tam took the letter from his student and left the beis medrash. Instead of depositing the letter in the mailbox, however, he inserted it into his own pocket and went to share it with Chacham — because that’s where it truly belonged.
May all your tales end with Shalom (peace)
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ST15 The Students Who Wanted to See Moshiach (Messiah)
Listen to the short story, The Students Who Wanted to See Moshiach (Messiah), about how words and pride can prevent the coming of the Messiah
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The Students Who Wanted to See Moshiach (Messiah)
The Cantonist’s Prayer
The Jewish citizens of Russia were thrust into a state of anxiety in the Fall of 1827 when Tsar Nickolas I signed the “Statute on Conscription Duty”. Tsar Nickolas I was planning to issue many laws intending to make everyone Russian. The laws included a ban on chadarim (Jewish elementary schools). The Jewish community immediately took action by sending a delegation of prominent rabbanim to Petersberg, which included Tam and Chacham.
Everyone hoped to return home to be with their families in time for Yom Kippur, but it was not to be. The meetings seemed to take forever lasting day after day. Tam and Chacham sadly realized that they would be forced to spend the holiest day of the year in the capital city of Russia.
In their search to find a place where they could daven (pray) on Yom Kippur, the Tam and Chacham learned about a group of Cantonists who would be conducting a secret Yom Kippur service and decided to join them.
Cantonists were Jewish soldiers who had been abducted from their homes and drafted into the Russian army at a very young age. The Cantonist soldiers knew very little about Torah and Jewish beliefs and ways of living, relying only on the distant memories from their few short years at home. When they would finally be released from army service at the age of forty-three, many of them would find that their parents had already died, leaving them no where to go or call home. The passage of time had dulled their memory of the Yiddish language, and many would no longer be able to communicate with their any of their relatives.
This group of Cantonists, whose service Tam and Chacham had joined on that memorable Yom Kippur, clung to their Jewish traditions and identity in the face of severe torture. In spite of all the suffering that they continued to bear because of their religion, these Jewish soldiers felt isolated from the Jewish community and completely alone in the world.
Tam and Chacham participated in the outpouring of emotion as they davened the prayers of Yom Kippur in the Cantonist service. Ma’ariv was followed the next day by Shacharis, Mussaf, and Minchah. Finally, it was time for Ne’ilah, the most important prayer of the year. In many communities, it is customary for the most prominent member of the minyan to lead this sacred prayer.
Shortly before Ne’ilah was scheduled to begin, a Cantonist, who was the spokesman for the group, approached Tam and Chacham saying, “Although you are certainly worthy of leading the tefillos, we would like to ask permission for one of our fellow Cantonists to lead the Ne’ilah service in your stead.” Then he turned to the Cantonist who was to serve as chazzan (leader of Jewish prayer) and asked show his back. The man’s back and muscular arms were covered with terrible wounds and gashes.
“Do you see this?” asked the spokesman. “They are whip-marks. As a young boy he resisted. Every morning he was placed on a bench and given at least 100 strokes of a birch, leaving him bleeding and reeling in agony. After each birching, he was sent to the infirmary where he was treated and then soon beaten again. He absorbed the abuse, did not cry out, and did not relent. You must understand that during our friend’s entire time in the army, he never once ate non-kosher food or desecrated the Shabbos. As a result, he sustained many beatings, but he never gave in. Therefore, we request that he be the one to daven Ne’ilah, since we consider him to be our worthy representative.”
Tam and Chacham were totally astounded at the tremendous self-sacrifice of the seemingly simple man standing before them, and of course, they agreed.
The Cantonist chazan began leading the tefillah and chanted ashrei, followed by uva l’Tzion. When it came time for Kaddish, he paused. Walking up to the Aron Kodesh, he began to speak in a powerful voice, baring his heart as a child speaks to his father:
“Ribbono shel Olam, Master of the Universe It is now the holiest time of the year. What do Jewish people throughout the world ask for at this time?” Answering his own question, he continued, “They ask for three crucial things:
Banai – Children Chayei – life
and M’zonei – sustenance.
we Cantonists don’t need to bother You to ask for these things.
Banai – Children: we’ll never have. When we will finally be released from army service, there will be no one to marry us! No Jewish woman will agree to marry us because we know little to nothing of Your Torah. Of course, we can’t marry non-Jewish women either. We know that we will never get married and so unfortunately, we will never be blessed with children.”
With tears filling his eyes, the Cantonist continued,
Chayei – life: what kind of life is this to live, so estranged from the rest of the Jewish People? We don’t desire a long life.
M’zonei – sustenance: sustenance: we don’t need to ask You for food. As soldiers in the Russian army, the tzar supports us and provides us with our needs. So what do we ask for at this auspicious time?”
As tears streamed down his cheeks, the Cantonist cried out:
“There is only one thing that we ask for!” Then, in the traditional tune that is recognized in shuls throughout the world, he called out, “Yisgadal v’yiskadash sh’mei raba – We ask that the Name of Hashem be sanctified and that His name be recognized throughout the world.”
With tears freely flowing, he continued to recite the rest of the Kaddish.
After Yom Kippur, Tam and Chacham learned from that the Cantonist’s moving words what a person should truly pray for. Instead of focusing only on one’s own personal needs, we should pray that the Name of the Holy One blessed be He should be sanctified and that we should constantly bring about a kiddush HaShem in the world.
May all your tales end with Shalom (peace)
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ST11 A Rock and the King’s Greatness
Can a person be punished for injuring the king if he does not understand the greatness and power of the king?
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May all your tales end with Shalom (peace)
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Tell it to your children, and let your children tell it to their children, and their children to the next generation. (Joel 1:3)
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ST10 The Flawed Stone
Listen to a short medieval tale
The Flawed Stone
When one looks at a gem, they don’t look at just one facet, but the whole stone….
You can also read a version of this story at
The Flawed Stone
May all your tales end with Shalom (peace)
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Tell it to your children, and let your children tell it to their children, and their children to the next generation. (Joel 1:3)
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ST9 The Peat Digger
ST8 The Rabbi and the Blacksmith
The Shabbat Lion
A widow and her four children lived in the city of Fez. Every day was a struggle to care for her children and she worked very hard in the market. Her oldest son, Shelomo, tried to help his mother by doing odd jobs, but there is only so much a young boy can do. His mother insisted that whatever he did, he was not to neglect his Torah studies.
Every week the widow would gather her children around the table on erev Shabbat and they would welcome the Shabbat Malka. There was always special food and such a feeling of peace throughout Shabbat.
Shelomo prayed and wished that the day would come that his mother did not have to work so hard. He tried real hard to keep the house neat and his brothers and sisters from arguing. One day a merchant came to the house with a letter from Fustat. Shelomo wondered who in faraway Mitzrayim (Egypt) knew his family.
He ran to the market carrying the mysterious letter to give to his mother. She took it, opened it and read it as tears trickled down her cheeks. Shelomo got angry that someone in a far off place made his mother cry.
The widow dried her tears and explained. It happened that they had a relative in Fustat who was very wealthy and left a fortune to them. She was glad about the wealth that could benefit her children, but was sad when she realized that she could not travel across the aṣ-ṣaḥrāʼ al-kubrá (the Great Desert) with her children. She would not be able to go to Fustat to retrieve the fortune.
Shelomo offered to go for his mother. The widow looked at her 12 year old son and admired his willingness, but he was still a boy. She felt that a boy could not survive a journey across the Great Desert and back. Shelomo reminded her that in a few short months he would be bar mitzvah and be considered a man in the Jewish community. The widow agreed to send her son to get the fortune in Fustat and bring it back.
The widow sold some of her jewelry and wrapped up food for her son’s journey and gave him directions and much advice. She approached a caravan leader for a ride and was assured that the caravan would stop for Shabbat, so Shelomo joined the group.
On Friday afternoon, after traveling many days through the Great Desert, Shelomo saw that the sun would be setting in an hour and the leader of the caravan was not stopping. “Excuse me sir, but are we not stopping?” he asked. The caravan leader answered, “Boy, I know this part of the desert and this is too dangerous of a place to stop.”
The sun was moving lower on the afternoon horizon. The caravan was still in the dry desert wilderness, yet Shelomo got down off of his camel, and announced that he would remain in the desert for the next day so that he would not be m’chalel Shabbat – in violation of the Sabbath Day.
“What? Are you insane?” cried his fellow travelers. “The desert is no place for a boy to remain alone. The sun is hot, the wind is harsh, the land is dry, and there are wild beasts that will tear you to pieces. There are lions in the wilderness, which will gobble you up in one bite,” the caravan members said. “Not even a camel would want to stay.”
Shelomo put his faith in the Holy One, blessed be He and stayed. The caravan members stopped arguing and continued on their way to Fustat, leaving the boy to spend Shabbat alone in the Great Desert.
Minutes before Shabbat would begin, Shelomo took a stick and drew a circle in the sand around himself. There he said his evening prayers and ate his Shabbat seudah (Sabbath Meal). He thought about his mother blessing his brothers and sisters in the glow of the Shabbat candles.
As he completed his seudah (meal), he saw a lion running toward him from a distance. He carefully watched the lion, but he was not afraid. He began his Grace after Meals, and as the lion approached the circle drawn around the boy, it simply stopped, crouched, and laid down. This lion did not come to eat the boy. The huge lion came to watch over him.
In the morning, Shelomo awoke, prayed the Shacharit prayers, ate his meal and sang Shabbat songs. The lion kept watch throughout the day. After Shabbat, the lion approached the boy and crouched down. Shelomo understood that the lion was hinting that he should sit on its back. He placed his bags on the lion’s back, mounted the lion, and the lion galloped off with the boy across the desert.
Soon Shelomo and his bags caught up with the caravan. The members of the caravan were shocked and frightened, and many ran and hid behind their camels. They were not only surprised to see that the boy Shelomo had survived the desert, but he was riding on a lion and was able to overtake them in their journey across the desert.
“Come join us as we continue on to Fustat and we will definitely stop on Shabbat,” the caravan leader told Shelomo. He soon came to Fustat and returned to his mother in Fez under the watchful eye of the lion.
The widow was overjoyed at the return of he son and with the fortune they provided for many needs of the poor of Fez. Everyone came to celebrate the bar mitzvah of Shelomo and his mother said – “my son is a man.”
May all your tales end with Shalom (peace)
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Tell it to your children, and let your children tell it to their children, and their children to the next generation. (Joel 1:3)
Rachmiel Tobesman is a motivational speaker and Maggid (spiritual Storyteller). He is available for speaking engagements or storytelling, Click here to contact us
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The Shabbos Blessings and Special Guest
Once, there lived a young couple named Ora Chaya and Avigdor. Avigdor was a peddler. Six days a week he would travel on foot from town to town, selling his merchandise. Ora Chaya stayed home and looked after their little cottage. On market days, she would go into town and sell vegetables from their garden. But on Friday afternoon, no matter how far he had traveled, no matter how little he had sold, Avigdor always made his way home, so that he and Ora Chaya could be together to celebrate Shabbos – the holy Sabbath Day.
As the sun inched down, Ora Chaya would recite the blessing and kindle the Shabbos candles. Together, they would welcome the Shabbos Kallah (Sabbath Bride) into their humble home, singing:
“Lecha dodi, likras kaloh penei shabbos nekabeloh… Boi vesholom ateres ba-alah, gam besimchoh uv’tzoholoh toch emunei am seguloh, boi kalah, boi, kalah; toch emunei am segulah, boi chalah, boi chalah.”
Come, my Beloved, to meet the Bride; let us welcome the Shabbos… Come in peace, O crown of her Husband, both with songs and gladness; among the faithful, the beloved people, come, O Bride, come, O Bride.
In the glowing light, they would bless each other in the ancient words:
May the L-rd bless you and keep you;
May the L-rd make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you; and
May the L-rd turn his face toward you and give you peace. (Numbers 6:24)
Avigdor would then sing the ancient tribute to his wife:
Eishes chayil mi yimtza ve-rachok mi-peninim michrah
Batach bah leiv ba’alah ve-shalal lo yech’sar…
Piha pas’echah ve-chachma ve-soras chesed al leshona.
Tzofiyah halichos beisa ve-lechem atzlus lo socheil.
A woman of valor, who can find? Far her value is far above that of rubies. Her husband’s heart trusts in her and he shall lack no fortune… She opens her mouth with wisdom and a lesson of kindness is on her tongue. She looks after the conduct of her household and never tastes the bread of laziness. (Proverbs 31: 10-11, 26-27)
Only then would Avigdor recite the Kiddush over the wine, recalling the Seventh Day, the Creation of the World and how G-d blessed it. Only then would they break open the warm challah that Ora Chaya had baked. They would join hands across the wooden table, smiling at each other, they knew that no matter how hard life might be, they would always have this holy day to share for all their years together.
Often on a Friday afternoon, Ora Chaya would see Avigdor walking down the road with a friend, or some poor stranger who had nowhere to go for Shabbos. “We may be poor,” they would say to each other, “but we always have enough to welcome travelers or people in need to our home. There is always enough flour for the challah. There are always enough coins to buy the wine and the candles. We always have enough to welcome the Shabbos Kallah to our home. “
One year, the winter was colder than usual. A heavy snow had fallen, and for weeks the roads were covered with high drifts. Then the snow melted, and the mud made the roads impassable. It was hard for Avigdor to go on his usual rounds. Ora Chaya too, could not make her way to the marketplace. Little by little, the money they had saved for hard times had to be spent, until one week, they had almost nothing left. Finally, the roads began to dry. A warm and gentle spring sunlight began to shine on the frozen hills and valleys, and one day, old Avigdor threw his sack on his shoulder and set off to earn what he could for the week.
Ora Chaya bent over their patch of land and began to weed and hoe for the spring planting. On Friday morning, she set off for town to buy what little she could with their last coin. On the way, she met the town melamed (schoolteacher). He stopped her and said, “Good morning, Froy Ora Chaya. Over the winter, many of our books were damaged by the cold and melting frost. Could you give something for their repair?” Without a moment’s hesitation, Ora Chaya dropped her last coin into the melamed’s outstretched hand — for what could be more important than the learning of children?
Then she turned and made her way home. Surely, she thought to herself, there will be enough at home for our Sabbath meal. Sadly, when Ora Chaya reached home, there was little to be found. She searched in every corner. High up in the cupboard, she found an old bottle of wine, and two white candles. But search though she might, she could not find a speck of flour anywhere in the house. Soon Avigdor would be coming home, and there would be no challah in the house for the Sabbath! Never before had such a thing happened to them. Ora Chaya thought of running to a neighbor, but it was too late. In all the time she had spent in her search, the sun had been setting. It was almost sunset and she saw Avigdor coming up the road and with him was a guest. He must have met some poor traveler on his way, and now, she had nothing to offer them. No food had been prepared, and there was no challah!
Quickly, Ora Chaya set the table for three. She set the candlesticks in the middle, along with the Kiddush cup and the bottle of wine. The challah plate sat on the table. Oh, how empty it looked! Ora Chaya said a quick prayer to herself. “Somehow,” she whispered, “Ribbono shel olam (Master of the Universe) will provide.” Right outside the doorway, she spied two round stones. In a flash, Ora Chaya picked them up and put them on the challah plate, covering them with the embroidered cloth they always used. At least when Avigdor and their guest entered, it would feel like Shabbos!
Avigdor opened the door. With him was an old woman, her head covered with a broad kerchief. “See Ora Chayaleh, this poor woman was lost on the road. I have brought her here to spend the Sabbath with us.” Ora Chaya could not speak. She could not bring herself to tell Avigdor the truth: that their one pride and joy, their lovely Sabbath ceremony, would be flawed and lacking. She closed her eyes and recited the blessing over the candles. They sang the ancient prayers to each other and welcomed in the Sabbath Queen. Avigdor recited the Kiddush. All the while, their guest, the old woman, sat with her head down, not speaking a word, only whispering “Amen” after each blessing.
Then Avigdor reached out his hand to uncover the challah loaves. Filled with shame, Ora Chaya put one hand over her mouth and reached out to stop him. “No Avigdor! They are only — ” when, quick as the wind, the old woman lifted off the cover herself. And there, on the plate, sat two golden, sweet-smelling loaves of challah, warm and shining on the table.
Ora Chaya stammered, “But, they were only stones, just a moment ago!”
The old woman let her kerchief fall. As she raised her eyes, she seemed to grow taller and younger. Avigdor and Ora Chaya stared at her in awe. Her hair shone brighter than the light from any candles, and a garland of flowers wreathed her head. It was the Shabbos Kallah, the Sabbath Queen herself, who had come to visit them!
She spoke to them, and her voice was sweet as a nightingale’s singing in the morning. “How often have you welcomed me into your house, with joy and gladness. Each Sabbath, you bless each other and the Creator of the World with love and peace in your hearts. How often have I longed to reward your faithfulness, and your kindness to others. Now I have a blessing for you:
May the Holy One, blessed be He watch over you both and keep you well, to perform many mitzvos (religious deeds). And when your days on earth have ended, may you celebrate Shabbos, together in Gan Eden (Garden of Eden, paradise), for all time to come.” And with that, she touched their bowed heads, waved her hands once over the candles, and vanished into the spring night.
Avigdor and Ora Chaya clasped their hands together. As they stood across from each other, gazing at one another in wonder, it seemed that the light of a thousand stars shone in each other’s eyes, and the peace of Shabbos surrounded them.
May all your tales end with Shalom (peace)
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Tell it to your children, and let your children tell it to their children, and their children to the next generation. (Joel 1:3)