Chanukah Storytelling by Rabbi Rock

Posted on Tuesday, 8, December, 2009 by Rabbi

People of all ages enjoy stories. They laugh, sigh, cry, and smile as they enjoy age-old lessons and tales of Jewish communities throughout the world.

In the past, Jewish storytellers (maggidim) traveled from community to community to strengthen the heart and soul of the Jewish people. The stories told of greatness, nobility, and courage, celebrating the wisdom of the ages. They celebrated Jewish heritage and tradition; while at the same time, they elevated the hopes of people for a better tomorrow.

Rabbi Rachmiel Tobesman is an old time maggid (Jewish Storyteller) who will be telling stories at Congregation Oheb Sholom (555 Warwick Dr) in Reading, Pa on Sunday 13 December at 10:00 a.m., followed by a workshop on spiritual storytelling. He will tell special Chanukah stories at Congregation Beth Abraham Anshei Sfard (6208 Wallis Ave) in Baltimore, MD at 7:00 p.m. on 14 December.

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The simple unfolding of the maggid’s stories strongly motivates a person toward the Holy One, Blessed be He. All the stories reflect the mystery, wonder, beauty, honor, tradition, and spirituality of all people. The stories contain great power to uplift people and help them on their spiritual journeys.

Please join us for a special Chanukah telling of tales of old. For more information contact Project Shalom at projectshalom1@aol.com

Can One Fix a Spirit on Chanukah

Posted on Tuesday, 8, December, 2009Sunday, 10, December, 2023 by Rabbi

“Kol z’man she’ha-ner dolek, efshar l’takain”

“As long as the candle is still lit, it is possible to fix…”

Chanukah, the celebration of lights iscelebrated by ;ighting the chanukah menoah and watching the flames. The chanukah story is often told and the hope for peace and blessing is shared. The conflict for religious freedom and the rededication of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem are remembered. Some may ask if amongst the many physical aspects (Chanukah menorahs, dreidels, latkes and Chanukah gelt) if there is a personal, internal meaning.

It was a cold, dark evening. Not a star glittered in the sky, nor did the moon light up with even the tiniest flicker. Clouds hung over the dusky sky, and a chill wind sliced through the thin walls of the simple houses. Men hurried home from Ma’ariv (evening prayer), their coats clutched about them.

The Rebbe in his long black coat, walked alone. He passed his students by hurrying out of shul through a side door before they realized it. He was lost in deep thought, and did not wish to be distracted.

“Ribono Shel Olam,” he sighed to himself. “I am getting older, yet there is still so much I have yet to accomplish. People come to me for advice, considering me a complete saint, but only You, Merciful One can clearly see my lackings – I am far from complete. What will be? There is so little time. So little time. It is said that it can take a lifetime to change a habit, and it is late. Oh, Ribono shel Olam, it is so late!”

Suddenly, a small flicker of light caught his attention. As if in a trance, he walked slowly toward the glow. He found himself before the shop of Yossele the tailor. The Rebbe entered slowly, not quite sure why he was driven to pursue the tiny ray of light that had penetrated his introspection.

Light of Hope

He stood in the doorway, fascinated. Yossele sat hunched over a tiny candle; a half finished garment in one hand and an almost invisible threaded needle in the other. In a gentle, rhythmic motion, he pushed the needle through the garment, and pulled it, drawing the thread tight. The small flame flickered to and fro as Yossele pushed the needle, and pulled it tight.

Push the needle and pull it tight…

The Rebbe stood silently for a moment, watching Yossele’s eyes squinting in concentration by the light of the candle stub.

Push the needle and pull it tight…

“Yossele,” the Rebbe spoke softly. “Yossele, why don’t you stop now? It is dark, and the night is cold.”

Yossele looked up at the Rebbe. His eyes seemed to glow with a gentle intensity that outshown the glow of the candle.

“But Rebbe,” he almost whispered, his hands never ceasing to push the needle through and pull it tight, “There is much to fix…”

The Rebbe’s eyes swept over the room, taking in the piles of clothing waiting to be mended.

“Rebbe,” the tailor repeated almost reproachfully, “As long as the candle is burning, one can sill fix . . .”

Push the needle and pull it tight…

The Rebbe’s eyes widened, He felt an all-encompassing lightness overtake him. He was free of his burden.

“Ribono shel Olam! Now I understand! As long as the candle is still burning, one can fix . . . and mend . . . his soul . . .

one . . .stitch . . .at a time…”

Push the needle and pull it tight…

Kol z’man she’haner dolek, efshar l’takain.

As lomg as the lights of the Chanukah menorh flicker and burn, a person can can fix, mend and repair their soul, Each person who sees the flames of the Chanukah menorah can rededicate and rediscover the beauty and wonder of faith.

May the lights of the Chanukah menorah burn bright and may the hope for peace warm the souls of everyone.

May all your tales end with Shalom (peace)

Click here for more storytelling resources

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

Please share this story with family and friends and let us know what you think or feel about the stories in a comment or two. Like us on Facebook or tweet us on Twitter

If the stories are not shared they will be lost.

Please share this story with others

An age old tradition is telling stories in the glow of the Chanukah menorah. The stories tell of greatness, nobility, and wisdom while at the same time raising the hopes for a better tomorrow.

The very backdrop to the spiritual stories is attractive to its readers allowing one to peek into the beliefs, and lifestyles of a vanishing age of a faraway world and reminding them that the messages are eternal – just as strong today as they were yesterday.

The book, Story Tour: The Journey Begins will remind readers of forgotten stories of faith that strengthen and reaffirm hope for a better world.

Buy a copy of Story Tour: The Journey Begins as a gift for someone special today. Story Tour: The Journey Begins is available from the publisher, Xlibris, Booksamillion, Barnes & Noble, and Amazon

The Flawed Stone

Posted on Saturday, 5, December, 2009Wednesday, 5, September, 2018 by Rabbi

The tales and stories of faith are filled with treasures that are becoming lost in a world where science, technology and mass media capture the attention of people. The storytellers of the sacred stories are lost in a society that looks for entertainment and not “lessons”, not many have the “gift” and few want to learn the art.

When one looks for spiritual guidance they are often directed almost exclusively to the Scriptures or House of Worship, but the beauty and wonder become lost in a deluge of religious facts and things to memorize. One’s beliefs are like a fine gem. When one looks at a gem, they don’t look at just one facet, but the whole stone.

THE FLAWED STONE

In a long forgotten kingdom, many, many years ago, there lived a very wise king who was loved by all in his kingdom. But, alas, the king had one fault, he was at times selfish.

Every night he would enter his bedchamber and lock the door. Under his bed, he kept a wooden chest and in that chest there was a magnificent stone. Every night he would take the stone out and he would look at it and as he turned it around, it caught the light in its many different sides. It was perfect.

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One night the king was distracted for but the briefest of moments and the stone fell from his hand to the ground. When the king picked up the stone, it was no longer beautiful and perfect. As he lifted the stone, he saw a crack that ran from one end to the other. The stone was flawed.

The king called for all the jewelers and gem setters within the kingdom to repair the stone, but, alas, they could do nothing. The king called for the stone and gem cutters and after looking at it they said the only way the stone could be saved was to cleave it in two along the crack and have two small beautiful stones.

The king would not hear of it, for the king was wise.

The King had a pedestal built in his throne room, and upon the stand he set the stone with a sign above it that said:

LET IT BE KNOWN TO ALL WITHIN AND WITHOUT MY KINGDOM THAT JUST AS THIS STONE IS FLAWED, SO IS THE KING. LET NO ONE BE SELFISH.

The stone sat upon the stand in the throne room for seven years. In the seventh year there came a rabbi, an old and ancient rabbi, who looked upon the stone and said: “I can fix the stone. I can make it more beautiful than it was before it was flawed.”

The guards laughed as they thought the sage was old and without skill nor reason, and asked: “How long will it take old man? A year? Five years? A life time? You don’t have many more years in this world.” The king heard what was going on and invited the ancient rabbi to look at the stone. The rabbi took the stone and carefully looked at it and said he needed but three days to work upon the stone. Then the rabbi covered stone with a black cloth and took it into a chamber which was provided for him. He closed and bolted the chamber door.

The ancient rabbi lifted his hands towards the heavens and he began, “Ribbono shel Olam, Master the universe, give me the strength and the skill to complete the task before me.” For a day and a half the rabbi prayed, and for a day and a half scratching, scraping, and sounds of broken glass was heard from that chamber.

When the third day came everyone who was anybody gathered in the throne room. Every eye watched as the black cloth was slowly removed from the stone and there were oo’s and ah’s for the stone was indeed more beautiful than it was before it was flawed.

For you see from the crack the old and ancient rabbi had etched leaves and out of the top of the stone the rabbi had carved a perfect thirteen petalled rose.

When the king saw the stone he admired its magnificence and realized that it was indeed more beautiful than it was before it was flawed. He walked slowly through his palace marveling at the stone and realized that anyone might want the stone and would become jealous and selfish. He finally came to the courtyard and took the stone from his left hand and put in his right hand, reached back and threw it with all his might into the heavens. The stone went higher and higher until it was seen no more, for it disappeared into the heavens.

But this is not the end of the tale. For you see that that stone sits in the Crown of Glory. When one looks at a gem stone, one does not look at each facet as an individual, but at the whole stone. If one facet is flawed then the whole stone is flawed.

Each person of faith is a facet in the stone and that sits in the Crown of Glory, and the day is fast approaching when every person of faith shall join hands. On that day they will be so strong that no force shall be able to separate them.

Let us all pray for that speedy day to arrive.

May all your tales end with Shalom (peace)

Click here for more storytelling resources

Tell it to your children, and let your children tell it to their children, and their children to the next generation. (Joel 1:3)

New – Listen to the stories every Wednesday evening on the Story Tour Podcast on

Google Play or ITunes

Please share this story with family and friends and let us know what you think or feel about the stories in a comment or two. Like us on Facebook or tweet us on Twitter

If the stories are not shared they will be lost.

Please share this story with others

Healing Words for a Sick Person

Posted on Sunday, 29, November, 2009Tuesday, 16, November, 2010 by Rabbi

A student once asked his teacher, “Is there anything a person can do to lessen his desire for revenge, since the Torah forbids acting vengefully?” The teacher thought for a moment and answered, “Do something to improve yourself. When you become a better person, it will torment your enemies to no end.”

It is well known that a sick person’s attitude can have a major effect on the course of their illness. Optimism improves recovery, whereas depression contributes to a decline in health. So many times have people recovered from very serious illnesses by just having a positive attitude and cheerful disposition.

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One time a father pleaded with him to give his daughter an amulet because she had been diagnosed as having a very serious and incurable disease. He was not able to refuse the request of the worried father. So Rabbi Landau took a blank piece of parchment, sealed it in a leather container, and told the father that his daughter should wear the amulet continually for one week and then open it. If the letters had disappeared, that would be a sign that she would recover.

How thrilled everyone was to see the parchment blank at the end of the week! Convinced that she would recover, the young woman indeed did.

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Oz and Teshuvah: Return to Self and Spirit

Posted on Tuesday, 3, November, 2009Tuesday, 1, August, 2023 by Rabbi

The Wizard of Oz, one of the most beloved movies of all time, celebrates its 70th birthday this year. The movie contains essential spiritual lessons, that are often overlooked. The concept of teshuvah (repentance) leads to spiritual growth and understanding.

Great is repentance, for it brings healing to the world… .

Great is repentance, for it brings redemption to the world.

Yoma 86a

Everything teems with richness, everything aspires to ascend and be purified. Everything sings, celebrates, serves, develops, evolves, uplifts, aspires to be arranged in oneness.

haRav Avraham Yitzchok Kook, zal

In the popular children’s story, The Wizard of Oz, Dorothy, a young girl who is injured, has a powerful healing dream in which she is carried far away from her home in Kansas by a powerful tornado. Throughout the dream she longs to return home, but before she can find her way back, she must journey to the land of Oz. Dorothy’s journey to Oz, accompanied by her three companions, the Tin Man, the Scarecrow, and the Cowardly Lion, becomes a legendary quest for wholeness and healing, in which the four travellers seek to acquire the character trait each of them most needs in order to be whole. The Tin Man seeks a heart, the Scarecrow, a brain, and the Cowardly Lion, courage. Though she is not conscious of it as she sets out on her journey, Dorothy needs to find her own inner source of power. Whether Frank Baum, the author of the Oz legends realized it or not, the Hebrew word oz implies “strength.” Dorothy’s journey to Oz is, indeed, an attempt to reclaim her power and inner strength. It is only when she faces her deepest fears and takes back the power she has been projecting onto powerful others, like the Wizard of Oz and the Wicked Witch of the West, that Dorothy is able to reclaim her own inner strength and find her way home. And as Dorothy and her companions courageously overcome the many obstacles in their path, they discover that, in fact, they already have within them the very power or trait that they thought they lacked.

The spiritual quest for wholeness is a lot like the journey to Oz. When we first begin to awaken, we realize just how far From home, or our true selves, we really are. ‘We long to return, but we don’t know the way back. We may begin our journey by following a spiritual path (the Yellow Brick Road) or seeking out a teacher/rebbe/spiritual guide (the Wizard). On the way we may meet up with fellow seekers. But eventually, like Dorothy and her companions, we come to realize that the strength we seek outside ourselves already exists within us. We only need to turn inward to discover our courage, heart, and wisdom. By focusing our kavannah, or spiritual intention, then, on our deep longing to return (“there’s no place like home”), we find our way home.

In Jewish teachings, the pathway home to our true nature is called teshuvah. Though typically translated as repentance, teshuvah actually comes from the Hebrew root shav, to return. The implication is that we all have within us a reference point for wholeness to which we can return a spiritual essence encoded within our souls that enables us to remember who we really are. Teshuvah is not something one does once and for all; rather, it is a lifelong journey, a journey of spiritual homecoming.

May all your tales end with Shalom (peace)

Click here for more storytelling resources

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

Please share this story with family and friends and let us know what you think or feel about the stories in a comment or two. Like us on Facebook or tweet us on Twitter

If the stories are not shared they will be lost.

Please share this story with others

The Worst of Curses

Posted on Monday, 26, October, 2009Sunday, 22, July, 2018 by Rabbi

It is so hard to maintain faith in a society that is so focused on science, technology and material things. The simple answer is to ignore the voices that would lead one away from their faith. They can’t find the words to describe a sunrise or the majesty of a mountain, all they can do is speak of the technical aspects.

The beauty and wonder as seen and felt by those of faith cannot be explained. The magnificence of a simple act can leave lifelong impacts on this world and the next.

There was a man who used to curse and belittle a certain holy man, who was never unhappy. The man used to curse him and hope that he would lose his life and all his money. He also cursed him with the wish that he would commit many sins in order that he should lose his share in the World to Come. Then the holy man felt sad.

“Why did you become gloomy?” his students asked, and he said to them: “When he insulted me he did not affect me and I had no desire for honor. When a man dies he has no benefit from his honor. When he cursed me with the hope that I should not benefit from anything in this world—that all passes away in any case. But when he cursed me with the wish that I should not enjoy the World to Come, and that I should rebel against the Holy One, blessed be He then I was concerned for fear that he would cause injustice. And so I prayed that the voice of those who curse should not be heard, but rather the voice of those who bless.”

May all the voices that cause conflict, pain and curse be silenced and may we all join together in prayers of faith.

May all your tales end with Shalom (peace)

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Click here for more storytelling resources

Tell it to your children, and let your children tell it to their children, and their children to the next generation. (Joel 1:3)

New – Listen to the stories every Wednesday evening on the Story Tour Podcast on

Google Play or ITunes

Please share this story with family and friends and let us know what you think or feel about the stories in a comment or two. Like us on Facebook or tweet us on Twitter

If the stories are not shared they will be lost.

Please share this story with others

Philmont, Horses and Rosh haShanah

Posted on Sunday, 20, September, 2009Monday, 19, September, 2022 by Rabbi

On Rosh Hashanah we are very aware of the Divine aspects of justice, mercy and faith. I was reflecting on a cavalcade from this past summer when I remembered a story about a horse that taught a very important lesson.

At first G-d thought to create the world through the quality of judgment (din), but realizing that the world could not endure at this level. G-d added on the quality of compassion (rachamim).

—Midrash Bereishis Raba 12:15

One Friday morning a group of Chasidim (members of Jewish sects that observe a very strict form of orthodox Judaism) set out to spend the Sabbath with their teacher, a holy rabbi. Reb Dovid, whose deep love for animals earned him a reputation as a gifted horse whisperer, was among this group of students. After encountering several obstacles and delays on their way, the group arrived just as the sun was about to set Friday afternoon. Fearing they would be late for Sabbath prayers and miss the holy rabbi’s teachings, the group hastily abandoned their horse and carriage and ran off to the synagogue everyone that is, except Reb Dovid. When the holy rabbi realized that Reb Dovid was missing, he sent the others to look for him. Where did they find him? In the livery, feeding the horses. When they asked him what he was doing there, he responded that all the others had run off without thinking to feed and water the horses, who were weary from the demanding journey, and so he had stayed behind to do just that.

Reb Dovid was a chasid in the truest sense of the word, a lover of the Divine, and his love for G-d was expressed through his deep compassion for all creatures and all living things. It was absolutely clear to Reb Dovid that by observing the mitzvah of tzaar ba’alei chaim, the commandment to prevent the suffering of animals, he would obtain more closeness to G-d than by seeking spiritual upliftment in the synagogue. Reb Dovid understood that it is in the expression of compassion the love and care we extend to all living things—that we find the divine presence; for ultimately compassion, or rachamim, as it is called in Hebrew, is G-d’s very essence.

Jewish mysticism teaches that we come close to G-d only when we “walk in G-d’s ways”-that is, when we embody the divine quality of compassion. In the following midrash, the thirteen attributes of divine mercy revealed to Moses at Mount Sinai form the template for the practice of compassion:

“Walking in all His ways . (Deut 5:22). What are the ways of the Holy One? “A G-d compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in kindness and faithfulness, extending kindness to the thousandth generation, forgiving iniquity, transgression and sin” (Ex. 34:6). This means that just as G-d is gracious and compassionate, you too must be gracious and compassionate. . . Just as G-d gives freely to all, you too must give freely to all. Just as G-d is loving, you too must be loving.

Spiritual development, according to the rabbis, is measured by how much compassion and mercy we exemplify.

May all your tales end with Shalom (peace)

Click here for more storytelling resources

Tell it to your children, and let your children tell it to their children, and their children to the next generation. (Joel 1:3)

New – Listen to the stories every Wednesday evening on the Story Tour Podcast on

Google Play or ITunes

Please share this story with family and friends and let us know what you think or feel about the stories in a comment or two. Like us on Facebook or tweet us on Twitter

If the stories are not shared they will be lost.

Please share this story with others

Rodef Shalom Pursuer of Peace

Posted on Thursday, 10, September, 2009Tuesday, 18, October, 2011 by Rabbi

It is taught that Hillel said: “You should be of the disciples of Aaron, loving peace and pursuing peace, loving your fellow man, and drawing them near to the Law.” (Pirke Avos 1:12) Peace is not passive, It doesn’t just happen, It requires action, and pursuing peace must be an active consistent process.

We learn from the words of King David in the Psalms, “Depart from evil, and do good. Seek peace and pursue it” (Psalm 34:15). The Torah does not obligate us to pursue the mitzvos, but only to fulfill them at the proper time and at the appropriate occasion.

Peace however, in Jewish tradition, must be sought at all times. Both at home and away from home, we are obliged to seek peace and be proactive in pursuing it.

It seems that almost everyone, Jewish and non Jewish is familiar with the Hebrew word for peace, shalom. It is one of the most beautiful and important words in the Jewish vocabulary. We are told in Pirke Avos to meet every person with a friendly greeting. Therefore it has become customary in Jewish tradition to greet one another with the words “shalom Aleichem” (peace be unto you). The Talmud (Brachos 6b) instructs us that one who does not return a greeting is called a robber. The inverted order aleichem shalom (upon you let there be peace) is the customary response to the shalom aleichem greeting. When we bid farewell to people we say tzais’chem le’shalom leave in peace. Each week as another Shabbos arrives and candles are lit at sundown we greet each other with shabbat shalom may your Sabbath be a peaceful one. Even when a person dies, our wish is that the deceased rest in peace.

The word shalom derives from the Hebrew word shalem, meaning “whole” or “complete.” It also signifies welfare of every kind, including security, contentment, sound health, prosperity, friendship, peace, and tranquility of mind and heart. By contrast, the English word “peace” comes from the Latin word pax, that means “quiet.”

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(to see this post with the Hebrew references click below)

Rodef Shalom

The Treasure

Posted on Saturday, 22, August, 2009Monday, 11, January, 2021 by Rabbi

There are many paths people walk. Along the way there are many wonders and adventures. Many will discover treasures that they did not know they had….

There once was a poor man. He worked everyday from sun up to sun down, but no matter how hard he worked, he could not earn enough to support his family. One night he dreamed that there was a great treasure under a bridge in a faraway village. In the morning he told his wife of his dream and she said that maybe this was a good sign and that he should travel to the faraway village.

He traveled to the faraway village and stood near the bridge, and watched as people walked across the bridge. Towards evening the traffic on the bridge had slowed to nothing. So the poor man decided to go and get the treasure.

As he stepped onto the bridge he saw an officer coming from the opposite side. The poor man decided that no matter what he would tell the truth. The officer passed by and asked,

“I see that you are a stranger here, What is your business?”

The man decided that it would be best to tell the whole story and ask for help, hoping that [the officer] would share the treasure with him. He told the officer the entire story.

The officer replied,

“A poor person is only concerned with dreams! I also had a dream. In my dream I saw an old house with a red door and the window on the right was cracked. Inside the house was a woman and children crying because they had no food. Now in this house is an old iron stove and on the stove was a beat up copper kettle and behind the stove there is a hole in the wall. In that hole there is a treasure.”

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In relating his dream, the officer accurately described the poor man’s house. He rushed home, and tried to push the iron stove, but he couldn’t. He called his wife and they both pushed and pushed and were only able to push the stove a little. The children joined and soon the stove was pushed away from the wall and sure enough there was a hole in the wall and they found a treasure of golden coins.

The poor man noted, “Now I know that I had the treasure all along. But in order to find it, I had to travel to the faraway village.”

The same is true in serving the Holy One, Blessed be He. Each person has the treasure, but in order to find it, he must travel to a teacher or guide.

May all your tales end with Shalom (peace)

Click here for more storytelling resources

Tell it to your children, and let your children tell it to their children, and their children to the next generation. (Joel 1:3)

Please share this story with family and friends and let us know what you think or feel about the stories in a comment or two. Like us on Facebook or tweet us on Twitter

If the stories are not shared they will be lost.

Please share this story with others

Looking Beyond Ourselves

Posted on Friday, 19, June, 2009Monday, 27, April, 2020 by Rabbi

Here at Philmont, many people come each day to the Jewish Chapel, yet very few are Jewish. One may ask, why have a service if so few are Jewish? The answer is simple we all share many similar teachings and beliefs. We need to look beyond ourselves.

On tuesday we had 18 Jewish people at the Chapel. Just think a minyan and chai. What a brocha (Blessing)!

Two important questions are raised throughout Jewish history: What is our obligation to other Jewish people? What is our obligation to the world at large?

haRav Abraham Yitzchok Kook answers that the two cannot be addressed as separate matters: “Love for Israel implies the love for humanity.” Yet the choices of emphasis in one’s life are often complicated. At times of national distress we will focus on Jewish concerns. Great world issues will induce a more universal response. The role of the Jewish people in the history of the world is intricately intertwined. The Jewish people have always recognized, as the midrash teaches, that to drill a hole in one’s own side of the boat dooms the entire vessel.

Among the fowl deemed nonkosher in the Bible is a bird called the chasidah (Leviticus 11:19). Remarking on the strange name, Rashi writes that the name chasidah comes from chesed, “kindness.” Why kindness? Because this particular bird acts kindly toward its kin, but not towards any other.

The Kotzker rebbe asks, “If the chasidah is kind toward its kin, why is it unkosher?” His answer: “To be kosher, you have to be kind not only to your own kin but to all.”

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

Please share this story with family and friends and let us know what you think or feel about the stories in a comment or two. Like us on Facebook or tweet us on Twitter

“Kol z’man she’ha-ner dolek, efshar l’takain”

“As long as the candle is still lit, it is possible to fix…”

The Rebbe in his long black coat, walked alone. He passed his students by hurrying out of shul through a side door before they realized it. He was lost in deep thought, and did not wish to be distracted.

Suddenly, a small flicker of light caught his attention. As if in a trance, he walked slowly toward the glow. He found himself before the shop of Yossele the tailor. The Rebbe entered slowly, not quite sure why he was driven to pursue the tiny ray of light that had penetrated his introspection.

Push the needle and pull it tight…

The Rebbe stood silently for a moment, watching Yossele’s eyes squinting in concentration by the light of the candle stub.

Push the needle and pull it tight…

“Yossele,” the Rebbe spoke softly. “Yossele, why don’t you stop now? It is dark, and the night is cold.”

Yossele looked up at the Rebbe. His eyes seemed to glow with a gentle intensity that outshown the glow of the candle.

“But Rebbe,” he almost whispered, his hands never ceasing to push the needle through and pull it tight, “There is much to fix…”

The Rebbe’s eyes swept over the room, taking in the piles of clothing waiting to be mended.

“Rebbe,” the tailor repeated almost reproachfully, “As long as the candle is burning, one can sill fix . . .”

Push the needle and pull it tight…

The Rebbe’s eyes widened, He felt an all-encompassing lightness overtake him. He was free of his burden.

“Ribono shel Olam! Now I understand! As long as the candle is still burning, one can fix . . . and mend . . . his soul . . .

one . . .stitch . . .at a time…”

Push the needle and pull it tight…

Kol z’man she’haner dolek, efshar l’takain.

As lomg as the lights of the Chanukah menorh flicker and burn, a person can can fix, mend and repair their soul, Each person who sees the flames of the Chanukah menorah can rededicate and rediscover the beauty and wonder of faith.

May the lights of the Chanukah menorah burn bright and may the hope for peace warm the souls of everyone.

May all your tales end with Shalom (peace)

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

Please share this story with family and friends and let us know what you think or feel about the stories in a comment or two. Like us on Facebook or tweet us on Twitter

If the stories are not shared they will be lost.

Please share this story with others

An age old tradition is telling stories in the glow of the Chanukah menorah. The stories tell of greatness, nobility, and wisdom while at the same time raising the hopes for a better tomorrow.

The very backdrop to the spiritual stories is attractive to its readers allowing one to peek into the beliefs, and lifestyles of a vanishing age of a faraway world and reminding them that the messages are eternal – just as strong today as they were yesterday.

The book, Story Tour: The Journey Begins will remind readers of forgotten stories of faith that strengthen and reaffirm hope for a better world.

Buy a copy of Story Tour: The Journey Begins as a gift for someone special today. Story Tour: The Journey Begins is available from the publisher, Xlibris, Booksamillion, Barnes & Noble, and Amazon

THE FLAWED STONE

In a long forgotten kingdom, many, many years ago, there lived a very wise king who was loved by all in his kingdom. But, alas, the king had one fault, he was at times selfish.

One night the king was distracted for but the briefest of moments and the stone fell from his hand to the ground. When the king picked up the stone, it was no longer beautiful and perfect. As he lifted the stone, he saw a crack that ran from one end to the other. The stone was flawed.

The king would not hear of it, for the king was wise.

The King had a pedestal built in his throne room, and upon the stand he set the stone with a sign above it that said:

LET IT BE KNOWN TO ALL WITHIN AND WITHOUT MY KINGDOM THAT JUST AS THIS STONE IS FLAWED, SO IS THE KING. LET NO ONE BE SELFISH.

The stone sat upon the stand in the throne room for seven years. In the seventh year there came a rabbi, an old and ancient rabbi, who looked upon the stone and said: “I can fix the stone. I can make it more beautiful than it was before it was flawed.”

When the third day came everyone who was anybody gathered in the throne room. Every eye watched as the black cloth was slowly removed from the stone and there were oo’s and ah’s for the stone was indeed more beautiful than it was before it was flawed.

For you see from the crack the old and ancient rabbi had etched leaves and out of the top of the stone the rabbi had carved a perfect thirteen petalled rose.

But this is not the end of the tale. For you see that that stone sits in the Crown of Glory. When one looks at a gem stone, one does not look at each facet as an individual, but at the whole stone. If one facet is flawed then the whole stone is flawed.

Each person of faith is a facet in the stone and that sits in the Crown of Glory, and the day is fast approaching when every person of faith shall join hands. On that day they will be so strong that no force shall be able to separate them.

Let us all pray for that speedy day to arrive.

May all your tales end with Shalom (peace)

Tell it to your children, and let your children tell it to their children, and their children to the next generation. (Joel 1:3)

New – Listen to the stories every Wednesday evening on the Story Tour Podcast on

Google Play or ITunes

Please share this story with family and friends and let us know what you think or feel about the stories in a comment or two. Like us on Facebook or tweet us on Twitter

If the stories are not shared they will be lost.

Please share this story with others

May all your tales end with Shalom (peace)

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

Please share this story with family and friends and let us know what you think or feel about the stories in a comment or two. Like us on Facebook or tweet us on Twitter

If the stories are not shared they will be lost.

Please share this story with others

The beauty and wonder as seen and felt by those of faith cannot be explained. The magnificence of a simple act can leave lifelong impacts on this world and the next.

May all the voices that cause conflict, pain and curse be silenced and may we all join together in prayers of faith.

May all your tales end with Shalom (peace)

Tell it to your children, and let your children tell it to their children, and their children to the next generation. (Joel 1:3)

New – Listen to the stories every Wednesday evening on the Story Tour Podcast on

Google Play or ITunes

Please share this story with family and friends and let us know what you think or feel about the stories in a comment or two. Like us on Facebook or tweet us on Twitter

If the stories are not shared they will be lost.

Please share this story with others

On Rosh Hashanah we are very aware of the Divine aspects of justice, mercy and faith. I was reflecting on a cavalcade from this past summer when I remembered a story about a horse that taught a very important lesson.

At first G-d thought to create the world through the quality of judgment (din), but realizing that the world could not endure at this level. G-d added on the quality of compassion (rachamim).

—Midrash Bereishis Raba 12:15

Jewish mysticism teaches that we come close to G-d only when we “walk in G-d’s ways”-that is, when we embody the divine quality of compassion. In the following midrash, the thirteen attributes of divine mercy revealed to Moses at Mount Sinai form the template for the practice of compassion:

Spiritual development, according to the rabbis, is measured by how much compassion and mercy we exemplify.

May all your tales end with Shalom (peace)

Tell it to your children, and let your children tell it to their children, and their children to the next generation. (Joel 1:3)

New – Listen to the stories every Wednesday evening on the Story Tour Podcast on

Google Play or ITunes

Please share this story with family and friends and let us know what you think or feel about the stories in a comment or two. Like us on Facebook or tweet us on Twitter

If the stories are not shared they will be lost.

Please share this story with others

We learn from the words of King David in the Psalms, “Depart from evil, and do good. Seek peace and pursue it” (Psalm 34:15). The Torah does not obligate us to pursue the mitzvos, but only to fulfill them at the proper time and at the appropriate occasion.

Peace however, in Jewish tradition, must be sought at all times. Both at home and away from home, we are obliged to seek peace and be proactive in pursuing it.

(to see this post with the Hebrew references click below)

There are many paths people walk. Along the way there are many wonders and adventures. Many will discover treasures that they did not know they had….