The Silent Princess – The Tale of the Tailor, the Carpenter and the Maggid

Posted on Thursday, 28, September, 2017Wednesday, 21, September, 2022 by Rabbi

This is part 2 of 4

Three men — a carpenter, a tailor, and a maggid — were traveling together and came to a desolate wilderness, and when night fell they made a campfire and prepared to sleep. But for safety’s sake they decided that each one of them would stand guard for a third of the night. The carpenter would take the first shift, the tailor the second, and the maggid the third.

“So it was that the carpenter stood watch while his companions slept. In order to pass the time, he took a piece of wood from a nearby tree, and carved a statue of a girl. By the time he finished the carving, his shift was over, and he woke the tailor to take over while he slept.”

“The tailor awoke and rubbed his eyes, and when he had wiped the sleep away he saw the lovely statue the carpenter had made. And because he liked it very much, he decided to dress it in suitable garb. So he did. He took out his work tools and some pieces of cloth, made a dress, and put it on the statue, and the clothes gave the statue the appearance of life. When he had finished his work, he saw that it was time to wake the maggid. He woke him and went back to sleep. The maggid arose and saw the statue of the girl and was startled, for it had been carved so well, it seemed to be alive. But after he touched it he understood it was the workmanship of his two companions. He said to himself: ‘The statue is so perfect, it would be fit for G-d to breathe the breath of life into it.”‘

Tailor, the Carpenter and the Maggid Tale

“Then the maggid stood and prayed, and called upon the Creator of all to bless the girl with the breath of life. And the Creator of the universe heard his prayer, and turned the statue into a living, life-size human being.”

“When the carpenter and the tailor awoke the next morning, and saw that the statue had become a living girl, each man said: ‘She belongs to me.”

“The carpenter said: “I made her and molded her and gave her shape, therefore I have the greatest right to her.”

“The tailor said: “I dressed her, and my contribution to her human appearance is greater than yours.”

“The maggid said: “I prayed and asked for life to be breathed into her, and that is the main thing; therefore, she belongs to me.”‘

Then the prince who had told this story to the witness said: “So, the question is, who do you think has the greatest right to the girl?”

“It is a difficult question, and I can’t decide it now,” said the witness. “Tomorrow I will put it before our men of judgment, and they will decide.”

“You forget,” said the prince, “that tomorrow I will no longer be alive. For I will be hanged before I hear the verdict.”

Then the princess, who had listened to the tale with great interest, could no longer remain indifferent to this matter of justice. She spoke up and said: “The right of the maggid is the greatest, and therefore the girl should go with him, for it is he who caused her to be given life, and that was decisive in her creation.”

“Thank you, princess,” said the prince, bowing to her. “I am persuaded that your verdict is the just one.”

The next morning the executioner came at dawn and started to drag the prince to the gallows despite his protests, for the executioner assumed that the princess had remained silent, as she always did. It was only when the witness intervened and confirmed that the princess had indeed spoken that the execution was put off, and the young man brought before the king.

“I find it difficult to believe that my daughter has broken her silence after all this time,” said the king. “But we’ll give you the benefit of the doubt, and allow you to spend another night with her, in the presence of two reliable witnesses, and we’ll see what happens.”

May all your tales end with Shalom (peace)

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Healing and Comforting Words

Posted on Wednesday, 27, September, 2017Wednesday, 21, September, 2022 by Rabbi

It was the practice of Tam and Chacham to walk together in the late afternoon. One day they were approached by a sick man during their walk. The sick man asked the two holy rabbis what he should do to be cured.

Chacham advised the sick man to pray to Av haRachaman (Father of Mercy) for a recovery from his pain and sickness as it is written: “Heal me, O L-rd, and I shall be healed; save me, and I shall be saved; for you are my praise. “ (Jeremiah 17:14)

The sick man looked at Chacham and quietly explained, I cannot pray very well and my voice is but a very small voice becxause of my pain and sickness.

Tam saw the pain of the sick man and comforted him by reminding him that the Moshe Rabbeinu (Moses Our Teacher) taught us in the Torah (Scriptures), “I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Choose life so that you and your descendants may live.” (Deuteronomy 30:19) Tam continued, “Be strong and of good courage; have no fear . . . for the Eternal One, your G-d, is the One who goes with you, never failing you or forsaking you. (Deuteronomy 31:5) and always remember that the words of the Holy One, blessed be He ‘I see your journey, and I bring healing. I will guide you and bring solace to you. Says the Eternal G-d: I will heal you!’ ” (Isaiah 57:18-19)

Tam and Chacham spoke for a long time with the sick man when a farmer, who had been listening said to them, said, “You’re interfering in something that’s none of your business! G-d afflicted him with illness and you want to heal him?”

Chacham answered, “Don’t you as a farmer do the same?” Tam added, “The Master of the Universe created the earth, but you have to plow, till, fertilize and cultivate it if you want the land to produce a harvest. ‘As for man, his days are as grass’ (Psalms 103:15). The human body is the tree, the medicine is the fertilizer and the physician is the tiller of the earth. Besides ‘The L-rd created medicines out of the earth, and the sensible man will not despise them.’ “ (ben Sira/ Sirach 38:4)

Based on Midrash Shmuel 52a

May all your tales end with Shalom (peace)

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Hineni – Different Kinds of Prayer

Posted on Tuesday, 19, September, 2017Monday, 19, September, 2022 by Rabbi

During the High Holy Days, the chazzan (cantor) begins the Musaf service with the Hineni prayer (here I am), which is a very moving and private prayer. Serving as the Shaliach Tzibbur (emissary of the congregation), the chazzan, a man of great humility, pleads with the Almighty that he be worthy to represent the people of his congregation and all the people of Israel.

Shaliach Tzibbur literally means the messenger of a congregation in a public prayer, is a Jewish prayer leader in the Synagogue also known as Chazzan (Cantor). It is a weighty responsibility and not everyone is suited to the position.

In a village there lived a very wealthy man who thought that he should be chosen to lead the congregation in prayer because of his importance to everyone in the village. No one in the village was pleased with the idea, but on the other hand they were afraid of what might happen to them if they were to challenge the powerful wealthy man. So they put their troubled heads together and decided to send a delegation to ask the holy rabbi who lived in a nearby town for some advice. The holy rabbi suggested that the wealthy man, the self-appointed prayer leader should come to him for a blessing.

When in due course the self-appointed baal tefillah (prayer leader) of the village came to the holy rabbi to receive his blessing before under¬taking the weighty responsibility of leading his community in prayer, the holy rabbi asked him’ “why should you lead the community in prayer?” The wealthy man took a deep breath and began to explain how he gave a lot of tzedakah (charity), he had built many homes in the village and that he employed most of the villagers.

The holy rabbi listened and then explained, “As you know, the Torah speaks of three kinds of prayer.

There is

‘the prayer of Moshe Rabbeinu’ (Moses our Teacher);

There is

‘the prayer of King David’; and

There is

‘the prayer of a poor man.’

Now Moshe Rabbeinu was indeed ‘slow of speech and slow of tongue.’ (Exodus 4: 10) — but he was the father of the prophets and the teacher of all Israel. King David — why, he is called ‘the sweet singer of Israel.’ (2 Samuel 23:1) And as for the poor man, his heart is humble, and we know from Psalms that ‘a broken and contrite heart, O G-d, You will not despise.’ (Psalm 51:17)

“Now the baalei tefillah of our days who lead their congregations in prayer likewise fall into these same three categories. There are those who are not very musical, but they are righteous — so their prayers are ac¬cepted like ‘the prayer of Moshe.’ Then there are those who are perhaps not quite so righteous, but in their melodiousness they ‘exalt God with their throats’ — so their prayers are accepted like ‘the prayer of David.’ Finally, there are those who are neither righteous nor musical, but since they are poor and their hearts are humble, their prayers are accepted like ‘the prayer of a poor man.’

“Now as for you,” concluded the tzaddik, “we cannot say that you are especially righteous; nor can we say that you are musical; and neither (thank G-d) are you a poor man. So if you want to lead your community in prayer. I will have to pray that you merit to fit into one of these three levels. There is no need for me to explain to you that to ask heaven to make you a tzaddik a sweet singer all of a sudden would be a vain prayer. The only way I can help you, therefore, is by asking heaven to make you poor, and then at least your prayer ‘the prayer of a poor man’…”

The wealthy man thought for sometime about what the holy rabbi had said and became intensely aware of his great pride in the many sins he had committed in his arrogance caused by his great wealth. He began to cry and asked that the holy rabbi tell them how to do teshuvah in order to be forgiven. The wealthy man was at a loss on what to do.

Holy rabbi sensed the sincerity of the wealthy man and with a gentle voice asked him, “do you really want to pray on behalf of the community?”

The wealthy man, in a broken voice, answered, “I am not a particularly holy man like Moshe Rabbeinu (Moses our teacher} and I don’t have an exceptionally good singing voice like Dovid haMelech (King David), but I am a man of a poor broken spirit because of the many sins I have committed in my pride and arrogance. If I could, I still would like to lead the prayer on Rosh Hashanah so that I could be heard by the heavenly court.”

The holy rabbi took the wealthy’s man’s hand and in a soothing voice said, “you have a gift that many people do not have is that you are very educated and cannot only say the words of the prayers of the holy and awesome Day of Judgment (Rosh Hashanah), but you can understand them also. Read for me the Hineni.”

The wealthy man took a deep breath and began, “hineni he’oni mimaas” and than he began to cry, “go on” encouraged the holy rabbi and slowly the words came from the wealthy man:

It took the wealthy man over an hour to be able to say the prayer of the shliach tzibbur (leader of the prayers), but it seemed his heart had changed in his sins had been washed away by his tears. A very humble wealthy man turned to the holy rabbi and asked, “Rabbi, holy rabbi can you bless me that when I pray with everyone else that I can truly not feel any urges to ‘take revenge or bear a grudge against anyone, but love my neighbor as myself’ (Leviticus 19:18), bless me that all of my prayers should come from the inside of me.’ ”

The wealthy man left the holy rabbi that day a different person who came. On the way back to his home he gave away huge amounts of coins to all who needed and prepared himself to pray with the people and not in front of them on Rosh Hashanah that year.

May all of your prayers and the prayers of all the people this Rosh Hashanah ascend to the very throne of mercy and may hush M shower the world with health, happiness and peace. On Yom Kippur may you be sealed for a year of plenty, sweetness and love.

May all your tales end with Shalom (peace)

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Prayers in Time of Drought and the Scoffer

Posted on Friday, 25, August, 2017Wednesday, 21, September, 2022 by Rabbi

Special prayers are recited and fast days may even be decreed by the leaders of a Jewish community, in the event of a serious drought. It is particularly important to encourage people who are not so observant of Jewish religious practices to participate in these services, in the hope that they will be moved by the vulnerable position of the community and possibly become more religious. Indeed, the Talmud states that “Any fast day that does not include the sinners is not a fast” (Kerisus 6b)

It once happened that the sun shined bright and the heat touched everyone. It had not rained for a very long time and so water was scarce. In one village, the rabbi proclaimed a fast day. The rabbi tried to urge a non-observant person to join in the community in prayer that the life giving rains should come, but the “modern” Jewish person refused, saying: “You certainly do not think that the prayers of someone like myself will make any difference to G-d.”

The rabbi tried to impress upon him that the prayers of every person are important, and when someone who has wandered away from religious observance turns to G-d, his prayer is very dear to the Holy One, blessed be He.

“I take it from this,” the man answered the rabbi, “that you are suggesting that it is my sinfulness that has aroused the anger of Heaven and caused the drought. How can I be part of a community that accuses me of this! You and your kind are so steeped in superstition that you will never know what the real world is like. This is why I don’t believe in your traditions and mythology!””

The rabbi thought for a moment, stroked his beard and answered the young man: “I’m sorry you feel that way, I could not possibly think that you caused the drought. In fact, we know for a fact that it was people like you who once caused it to rain for forty days and forty nights consecutively.”

The young man laughed and responded: “ How can mouthing a bunch of words and torturing yourself with no food or water make any real changes to the world?”

The rabbi listened and explained: “Fasting and prayer make great changes to everything around us as we are taught, ‘Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke? Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter — when you see the naked, to clothe them, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood’ (Isaiah 58:6-7) It is through our old traditions that we change the world to a better place physically and spiritually.”

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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The Wonderful Healing Leaves: A Tale from Kurdistan Part II

Posted on Wednesday, 2, August, 2017Wednesday, 21, September, 2022 by Rabbi

In the morning the lad arose early, and the giant said to him: “When you leave here, you must ride on the road for seven days, until you come to a crossroads. On one of the roads it is written ‘A happy journey,’ and on the other, ‘He who follows this path shall not return.’ You must not ponder there, but take the road from which there is no return. Continue to follow this road until it comes to a dead end. This is the first danger. When you come there you must say: ‘What a beautiful path! Had I all the horses of the king I would come and dance here!’ Then the path will continue, so you can pass.

“The next danger,” continued the giant, “is a valley filled with poisonous snakes, through which no man can pass. When you come to it you must say: ‘What a beautiful valley filled with honey! If only someone brought some of this honey to the palace of the king, he would gladly eat it!” Then the snakes will disappear, and you will be able to pass.

“The third danger is a valley filled with blood and all kinds of beasts, through which no man can pass. When you come to it you must say: ‘What tasty butter! Had I the bread of the king, I would spread this tasty butter on it!’ Then the valley will dry up, and you will be able to pass.

“After this,” the giant went on, “you will come to a palace, guarded by a dragon and a viper. If their eyes are open, it means they are sleeping; if their eyes are closed, they are fully awake. Wait until their eyes are open, and then you will be able to pass. From there you must enter the palace, and walk down the corridor until you come to the queen’s door, which is guarded by four lions. If their eyes are open it means they are sleeping; if their eyes are closed, they are awake. Now, the door to the queen’s chamber, which they guard, is made entirely of bells, and when it is opened the sound of the bells wakes the lions. I will give you two packages of cotton with which to muffle the bells. When the eyes of the lions are open, muffle the bells and open the door. There you will find the queen sleeping, for when she sleeps all the beasts sleep with their eyes open, and beside her bed grows the tree with the healing leaves. Fill one bag with the leaves, and also fill your pockets, for they are very precious. Then go to the queen and exchange rings with her. After that, when you return, you must do everything you did before, but in reverse order.”

The lad listened closely to what he had to do, and when the giant had finished telling him, he gratefully thanked him and set off down the road. He acted according to the giant’s instructions, so he was able to continue on the path that ended, and to cross the valley filled with snakes and the one filled with blood and beasts. And when he reached the palace he waited until the eyes of the dragon and the viper were open, which meant that they were asleep, and he entered the palace. So too did he wait for the four lions to open their eyes, meaning that they too were asleep, and he entered the chamber of the queen, who was sleeping on her bed. And beside her bed he found the tree with the wonderful healing leaves, its branches reaching to the ceiling, its roots growing beneath the floor. Then the lad filled a big sack with those leaves and his pockets as well, and exchanged his ring with that of the queen. And on the way back he did everything he had done to get there, but in reverse. So it was that two weeks later he returned with the bag full of leaves and the queen’s ring on his finger, and came to the inn run by the two princes.

Now when the princes saw the sack, they asked the lad what was inside it, and he told them the whole story, although he forgot to mention that he had exchanged rings with the queen. Then the two princes pretended to be very friendly, and invited him to spend the night, and he agreed.

But while the lad slept, the two princes threw a drug into his eyes to blind him, and put him in a sack and left him in a closet in the inn. They themselves took the bag of the healing leaves and set out to return to the palace of the king. And when they arrived the king’s blindness was cured by the healing leaves, and he appointed the two princes to be his ministers, and rewarded each of them with one third of his kingdom.

Meanwhile, when the lad awoke and found himself in a sack, he did not give up hope, but struggled until he had managed to free himself. But when he did, he discovered he was blind, and he was deeply grieved. Then he remembered the healing leaves he had kept in his pockets, and took some of them and rubbed them against his eyes, and his sight was restored. After that he returned to his wife, the king’s youngest daughter, and said to her: “I have brought the healing leaves.” But to his surprise she laughed at him and said: “The two princes brought them back long before you, and the king has regained his sight.” And the lad understood that his long quest had all been in vain.

Now it happened that when the queen of the Land of No Return awoke from her sleep, she saw that her ring had disappeared, replaced by another, and that many leaves were missing from the tree. She immediately unrolled her flying carpet, and searched high and low for whoever had taken her ring and the leaves. After searching in many places, she heard of the king who had been cured of his blindness, and when she arrived at the palace she threatened to send the dragon to destroy the city if she was not told how the cure had come to pass. Then the princes came forward and showed the leaves to her in the presence of the king. She said: “Tell me where you got them from.” And they replied: “We found a forest and picked the leaves off a tree.” “They are lying!” hissed the queen. “Beat them!”

Just then the lad arrived at the palace and told the queen how he had obtained the leaves, and showed her the ones he still had left, which he had carried in his pockets. Then the lad showed the queen her ring, and she knew that he was telling the truth. But she wanted to know how the princes had returned with the leaves before him, and so the lad told her all that had happened, and all the trouble that they had caused him. After that the lad gave back the ring to the queen, and she got on her flying carpet and returned to her kingdom. And the king, who had heard all that the lad had said, now understood what had really taken place. He banished the two princes and invited his youngest daughter and her husband to live in the palace, where the young man soon became his most trusted minister, and they all lived happily ever after.

May all your tales end with Shalom (peace)

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The Tzaddik of the Forest

Posted on Sunday, 23, July, 2017Wednesday, 21, September, 2022 by Rabbi

In the holy city of Sfas (Safed) there lived a holy rabbi who was said to know all of the revealed and hidden Torah, all the holy writings, and the Zohar by heart. A wealthy and educated merchant in Sfas owned a large orchard, several fields, and two ancient forests. Now this wealthy merchant had a beautiful he had great difficulty in finding a worthy groom for her. No one was a fine enough scholar. Then it happened that he heard of the holy rabbi, and he was determined that such a learned man would be his son-in-law. With the help of a shadchan (a person who arranges marriages) the betrothal was made.

So it was that the holy rabbi met both his bride and his father-in-law for the first time on the day he was married. Under the chupah (wedding canopy) the holy rabbi took the hand of his bride and said, “And I will take you for my wife forever; I will take you for my wife in righteousness and in justice, in steadfast love, and in mercy.” (Hosea 2:19) The love between the holy rabbi and his bride was a deep one, which had been ordained in heaven.

Every day after the morning prayers, the holy rabbi rode a horse into one of the forests, and he was not seen again until the sun was about to set and it was time for the afternoon prayers. What he did in that forest was a mystery. The wealthy merchant saw that the holy rabbi treated his daughter well and that she always appeared to be happy, so he never questioned his ways of his son-in-law.

Now the wealthy merchant hired two Jewish men to serve as the foresters of the two ancient forests he owned. Each had a cabin in one of the forests, and there they watched for those who sought to poach, illegally hunt or cut down the trees. They would walk through the forests as they patrolled for trespassers. One day, one of the foresters saw a horse tied to a tree and when he went closer, he saw the merchant’s son-in-law lowering himself into the dark, putrid insect-infested waters. What kind of mikveh (ritual bath) was this?

The holy rabbi spent a long time in those waters, and when he came out of the water, he dressed, untied the horse, and rode out of the forest. Then the forester came out of hiding and saw, to his amazement, that those waters had turned completely pure. He bent down and drank from them, and the waters were clear and sweet. And he realized that he had witnessed a miracle of one of the hidden saints.

So it was that the forester secretly observed the holy rabbi as he made his way through the forest, and he saw many other kinds of miracles take place. Whatever barren tree he sat beneath soon had blossoms appear on it, and whatever path he walked on had flowers spring up overnight. All of nature welcomed his presence as if he were an angel. He quietly went on his way hidden from the eyes of people, healing whatever was sick or dying with a power that seemed to spring from his very being. The holy rabbi searched for the scattered sparks in that holy forest, so that he could gather them so he could repair the world.

Now that forester was childless, and when he told his wife about the miracles he had witnessed in the forest, and then told her husband that the holy rabbi was a tzaddik nistar (righteous hidden holy man). She begged him to go to the hidden tzaddik and ask for his blessing so they could have a child of their own. One day, when he could not hold himself back any longer, the forester approached the holy rabbi and said, “I know that you are a tzaddik nistar, who hides his ways from the world. There is only one thing I would ask of you, and if you help me, I promise never to reveal your secret. All I ask is that you pray for my wife and me to have a son.” The tzaddik saw that his secret had been discovered, and he blessed the forester, “Ribonno shel Olam, Master of the Universe look down on the sadness of your children, and remember them, and grant them a child.” He then promised the man that within a year he and his wife would be blessed with a baby boy. At the end of the year the forester’s wife gave birth to a healthy son.

The forester was overjoyed at the birth of his son and kept his word and never revealed the secret of the holy rabbi. Then one day his friend forester, who watched over the other ancient forest, came to visit him. This forester’s life had been tragic, for each of his sons had died before reaching the eighth day. He said: “I see that G-d has blessed you and you have had a son. May there be many more blessings. Tell me, was there anything you did to make this possible? Perhaps you can help me so that I can be blessed as well.”

Now the forester had no intention of breaking his promise, but at the same time he wanted to help his friend, the other forester. He thought for some time and answered: “I will help you on one condition—that you not ask any questions but do whatever I tell you to do.” The other forester quickly agreed to these terms, and the first one explained: “What we have to do is to switch places, so that you will patrol my forest, and I will patrol yours. Then everything will be all right.”

So it was that the foresters switched places, and after a while the second forester observed the ways of the holy rabbi, who brought miracles to pass wherever he went. When he saw these miracles, the forester understood why the other had advised him to switch places. One day he slowly approached the tzaddik of the forest and told him of the disaster that had haunted the birth of every one of his sons, and he asked for his blessing, that his future sons would live.

The tzaddik was silent for a long time, and at last he said: “Do you remember that when you were young you went with some friends to swim in the river and to wash in its waters? There was a large tree near the shore of that river, and at the bottom of the trunk, near the roots, there was engraved the image of a hand. And you had the urge to laugh and play around. So you took a ring and placed it on the finger of the hand and said Haray at mekudeshes….Behold you are consecrated to me, the wedding vows.”

The forester grew pale when he heard this, for he himself had forgotten about that foolish thing. He lowered his eyes and admitted that it was true, and the holy rabbi explained: “At that moment an evil spirit that lived in that place was wed to you. And since you married someone else, this evil spirit comes and kills your sons because you betrayed her and didn’t fulfill the wedding vow”

The forester was staggered by these words, and he said: “I remember that day as if it were yesterday. Afterward I was ashamed of what I had done, and I put it out of my mind until now. Please, tell me, what must I do in order to free myself of that evil spirit?”

The holy rabbi told the forester that he had to say a special teffilah (prayer):

The holy rabbi continued, “I will write the get, the bill of divorce, for you, and you must take it to the same place, and put the get into the hand engraved there, and you must say: ‘The holy rabbi commands you to divorce me.’ “

The forester went there, found the place where the hand was engraved, and he did as the holy rabbi told him to do, and at last he was freed of that spirit. And the sons who were born to him after that all thrived.

May all your tales end with Shalom (peace)

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A Journey to the Tree of Life

Posted on Wednesday, 12, July, 2017Thursday, 1, February, 2024 by Rabbi

The holy rabbi would go out into the forest by himself each day. What he did there was a great mystery to his students. One morning, the holy rabbi asked three of his students if they would like to go with him into the forest. All three of them eagerly agreed to go.

The students climbed onto the wagon, and the holy rabbi himself served as the driver. Never once did he crack the whip, but the horses responded to his presence by racing forward, and it seemed to the students that the hooves of the horses and the wheels of the wagon never touched the ground.

After some time they arrived at a beautiful forest that none of the students had ever seen. Without saying a word, the holy rabbi dismounted, unhitched the horses from the wagon, and motioned for the students to follow. Now they wondered why he did not rack-up, (secure horses to a fixed object by means of a halter and lead rope) the horses to nearby trees, and one of the students asked the holy rabbi if he wanted him to do it for him, and the holy rabbi answered: “It is not necessary to tie up the horses here, but if you are worried about them wandering off, you could stay here with them until we return.” The student did not want to miss any lesson from his teacher and did not want to left behind.

Never had the students seen a forest like this. The trees were so ancient that some of them were so wide that their span was wider than all of them together and so high that they seemed to reach into heaven. When one of the students tried to see the top branches of an especially tall and magnificent tree, he saw a nest high in its branches and a golden bird of such great beauty flying into the nest. The student stood rooted in that place, marveling at the sight of the shining golden bird. He hoped to learn secret words of holiness as it is written, “for a bird of the air may carry your voice, or some winged creature tell the matter. (Ecclesiastes 10:20) Meanwhile the other students continued into the forest, leaving their companion behind.

A little further on they came to a still, clear pond filled with the deepest blue water. The students saw the holy rabbi lean over and peer into the pond, and they wondered what holy things he saw. They each decided to look into the pond as did their holy teacher. What they saw was not their images, but a divine presence that seemed to gaze back at them from beneath the waters. Now the students were greatly amazed at what they saw and raised their eyes to ask the holy rabbi to explain the images they saw, but when they did, they saw that he had already left the pond, and one student hurried off to catch up with him. The other student remained staring at that angel, for he understood that it was his own guardian angel he was seeing, and he could not tear himself away from the remarkable sight.

Further in the forest they came to trees that seemed to be shimmering as if they were on fire, yet they were not consumed. The last student wanted to stop to explore this strange sight, but the holy rabbi barely paused to glance at the trees and continued on his way. The last student, remembering well the vision of Moses at the burning bush, (Exodus 3:2) remained behind, trying to understand the mystery of that fire, and he did not notice that the holy rabbi had left him behind.

In this way hours or days passed, and the three students were lost in the mysteries of that forest. Then, all at once, they found themselves back at the Beis haMidrash – House of Study, where they had started their journey. They could not understand how they had gotten there, and when they looked to the holy rabbi for an explanation, he said: “When Moses left Egypt he knew that some of the Children of Israel would never reach the Promised Land. And, indeed, some of them crossed the Red Sea but were no longer present at the giving of the Torah, and some who were present both when the sea was crossed and the Torah was received did not reach the Promised Land. So it is that I brought you with me into Paradise where “there is a tree of life for those who do His will.” (4 Maccabees 18:16). Sadly the further we went, the fewer were those who followed. When I came to the Tree of Life, I found that all of you had lingered behind.”

May all your tales end with Shalom (peace)

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The Cottage of Lights

Posted on Saturday, 10, June, 2017Wednesday, 21, September, 2022 by Rabbi

There once was a Jewish man who learned “Justice, justice, you shall pursue (Deuteronomy 16:20) and so he decided to travel throughout the world to find justice. He knew that somewhere in the world true justice must exist and he was determined to find it. He went from town to town and village to village, and everywhere he went, he searched for justice, but never could he seem to find it.

He thought that he may find true justice as he traveled across the many streams and rivers as he had learned “let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.” (Amos 5:24) Sadly all he found was that his feet were wet. He climbed steep hills and mountains that touched the heaven and then trekked through many valleys in the hopes of finding true justice as he studied and faithfully believed that “Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains; your judgments are like the great deep.” (Psalm 36:6)

He journeyed for many years going from place to place, until he had explored all the known world except for one last great forest. He entered that dark forest without hesitation, for he had seen many frightful things in his travels. He went into the caves of hermits and thieves, but they taunted him and said, “do you expect to find justice here?” He went into the woodland huts of foresters and hunters, but they looked at him with questions in their eyes.

The man went deeper and deeper into that forest, until at last he arrived at a little clay shack. Through the window he saw many flickering flames, and he was curious about them. So he went to the door and knocked. No answer. He knocked again. He pushed the creaky door open and stepped inside.

As he stepped inside the cottage, the man realized that it was much larger on the inside than it seemed to be from the outside. It was filled with hundreds of shelves, on every shelf there were dozens of oil lamps some of those lamps were made of gold, silver or fine cut glass, while others were made of simple clay or tin. Some of the lamps were filled with oil and the flames burned brightly, while others had very little oil left.

Suddenly an old man wearing a long white robe and a long white beard appeared before him. “Shalom Aleichem, my son” the old man said. “How can I help you?” The man replied, “Aleichem Shalom. I have going everywhere searching for true justice, but never have I seen anything like this. Tell me what are all these lamps?”

The old man said, “each of these lamps is the light of a person’s soul. As long as the flame continues to burn that person remains alive. But when the flame burns out that person’s soul takes leave of this world.”

“Follow me,” the old man said, and he led him through that long labyrinth of the cottage, which the man thought must be endless. Finally, they reached a low shelf and there the old man pointed to a clay lamp and said, “that is the lamp of your soul.”

Now the man took one look at the flickering flame, and a great fear fell upon him. The wick of the lamp was very short there was very little oil left. The man feared that at any moment the wick would slide into the oil and sputter out. He began to tremble. Could the end be so near without him knowing of it? Then he noticed the clay lamp next to his own, but that one was full of oil and the wick was long and straight and its flames burned brightly. “And who’s lamp is that?” The man asked.

I can only reveal each man’s lamp to himself alone,” the old man said and he turned and left.

The man stood there, quaking. All at once he heard a sputtering sound, and when he looked up, he saw smoke rising from another shelf, and he knew that somewhere, someone was no longer among the living. He looked back at his own lamp and saw that there was only a few drops of oil left. Then he looked again at the lamp next to his own, so full of oil, and a terrible thought entered his mind.

He stepped back and looked in every direction for the old man, but he didn’t see him anywhere. Then he picked up the lamp next to his own and lifted it up above his own. At that instant, the old man appeared out of nowhere and grabbed his arm with an iron grip.

The man closed his eyes because it hurt so much. When he opened his eyes, he saw the old man was gone, and the cottage and the candles had all disappeared. He found himself standing alone in the forest and he heard the trees whispering his fate. All the time wondering, had his lamp burned out? Was he, too, no longer among the living.

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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Alexander the Great and a Fair Judgment

Posted on Friday, 28, April, 2017Friday, 24, January, 2025 by Rabbi

Alexander the Great set out across the Mountains of Darkness led by a certain pearl that gave light before him. Now the king of the lands to be found there came to meet Alexander and honored him greatly, and did whatever he desired. One day as the two kings sat together with their crowns on their heads, two men appeared before the king. And one of them said to him: “By your leave, my lord, I purchased a certain piece of land from this man and wished to erect a building on it. When I began digging, I found a very great treasure hidden there. So I said to him: ‘Take you the treasure because I only purchased the land from you, but the treasure I did not buy.’ “

Then the other said to the king: “By your leave, my lord, when I sold my land I sold him all that was to be found therein from the nethermost deeps to the heights of the sky. And just as he does not wish to rob or steal, so I too do not wish to rob or steal.”

Then the king said to one of them: “Have you a son?” “Yes, my lord,” said he. And he asked the other: “Have you a daughter?” And he answered: “Yes, my lord.”

Then the king said: “Give your son to his daughter, and give the whole treasure to both of them!” And so they did.

Alexander laughed, for it seemed strange to him. “Why are you laughing?” the king asked him. “Have I not judged well? Have I not done well?” Then Alexander answered: “You have judged well and done well. But in my kingdom I would not have judged in that way.” “And how would you have judged?” asked the king; and Alexander said: “If it had happened in my kingdom, the king would have slain them both and taken all the money.”

Then the king of those lands said to him in astonishment: “Does the sun shine in your kingdom?” “Yes,” said he. And the king asked again: “Do you have cattle and sheep and goats in your kingdom?” “Yes,” said he. Then the king said to him: “It is only because of the cattle that the people live and find sustenance.” Just as it is written: “Man and beast the L-rd will aid” (Psalms 36:7).

Based on Sefer Alexander haMokdoni

Y. Bava Metzia 118c and Bava Metzia 32b

May all your tales end with Shalom (peace)

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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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A Sandwich at the Seder

Posted on Sunday, 9, April, 2017Wednesday, 21, September, 2022 by Rabbi

The holy rabbi welcomed everyone and seemed to be able to talk to anyone. He took time to hear what each person had to say. No matter what anyone did, he would always find something positive to say. He believed in treating everyone kindly, no matter how much his patience was tested.

A merchant came to the holy rabbi because his son no longer wanted to follow Jewish customs, traditions or rituals. One year, during the Seder, as the family recited:

And the family was about to make a sandwich of matzah and maror for korech. To everyone’s surprise, the boy pulled from his pocket two slices of bread and some meat, and made himself a sandwich. His father started to cry: “How dare you bring bread to my Seder?”

“I’m hungry after reading the Haggadah, besides what difference does it make if I eat bread or matzah? I’m sure the holy rabbi wouldn’t mind. the boy answered. The father in his anger, jumped up from the table and grabbed his son. “Oh that’s what you think. Let’s go ask him.” The whole family marched to the holy rabbi’s house, the father leading the boy by the ear. “Rabbi,” the man said, “even you would not tolerate what my son just did. He ate bread at our Seder. I have four sons, rabbi, and I don’t have to tell you which one he is.”

Everyone room was shocked; everyone, that is, except for the holy rabbi. He smiled at the boy and asked if it was true.

“Of course, rabbi. I was hungry so I made myself a sandwich.”

“Don’t you know that on Pesach Jewish people don’t eat bread,” asked the holy rabbi. “Well, rabbi,” the boy responded, “to be totally honest, I don’t really believe in all this Seder stuff. What difference could it possibly make if I eat bread or matzah?”

The entire room was silent. Only the boy’s mother could be heard crying in the doorway. “Please come here,” the holy rabbi invited. The boy walked slowly, afraid that this time he had gone too far. As he approached the table, the rabbi hugged him. “Such a fine boy,” he said to the father, “and so honest too,” he added to the mother.

“Come here my boy and have a seat by me at the Seder table”, the holy rabbi instructed as the surprised parents watched. “He’s ready to admit what he did and he’s acting according to his beliefs. Such a fine, honest boy must sit with me at my Seder. I have so much to learn from him! Just one thing though.” The rabbi turned to the boy and said, “There’ll be no sandwiches at this Seder table – unless you make them with matzah.”

The shocked merchant, lost for words, asked, “Why?” The holy rabbi closed his eyes for a moment and answered, “The Torah speaks of four children, including your son. The Holy One, blessed be He spoke to all the Jewish people at Sinai, when He said: ‘I am the L‑rd Your G‑d.’ Those words were inscribed into the depths of the soul. In other words, in spite of your son’s distance, the Torah considers him connected to the Jewish people.”

“We learn in our holy writings that a Jewish person cannot lose their Jewishness. (Sanhedrin 44a) Regardless of the degree of his disengagement from Judaism, the Jewish spark lives on within him.”

In today’s day and age, there is almost no such thing as a renegade Jewish person! Those who do not observe Jewish practices and the like, cannot be faulted, since many of them never really experienced Judaism. In the past, there were those who had a choice and chose to rebel…. But too many children were never told about Jewish traditions and rituals in such a manner that would translate into observance. They cannot be blamed for their disinterest…

The yetzias Mitzraim (Egyptian Exodus) was incomplete. It will only be fully realized in the time of Moshiach (Messiah), a time that will be ushered in by uniting all Jewish people — including those who seem most distant—and revealing their inherent connection to the Holy One, blessed be He, their inner “wise child.”

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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