Everyone in the village was excited as a very holy rabbi was coming for a short visit. The entire community was ready to greet and receive a blessing from the holy rabbi.

A wave of emotion and joy moved through the waiting crowd as the holy rabbi climbed down from his carriage. Many people called out a cheery Shalom Aleichem, while others tried to give a welcoming handshake.

Every day, a long line of people stood in front of the house where he was staying. Among them were Torah scholars who sought his help in resolving difficulties that arose in their studies, while others came to receive his blessing or advice about matters in their personal lives.

One woman, Esther Feiga burst into tears as soon as she entered the holy rabbi’s room. She had nine sons, eight of whom were both dedicated and successful in their Torah studies in the yeshivah. But she was upset about Moshe Dovid, her fifteen-year-old, who was struggling in the study of Torah and other holy writings. Nobody could understand why, since he was a clever lad, who did excellently in his secular subjects, such as grammar and math.

The holy rabbi listened carefully to her concerns. He thought for a few moments and then said, “The greatest authorities in Jewish law have written that one must be exceedingly careful that young children should not taste any forbidden foods, since such foods can dull and coarsen the mind towards Torah.”

Esther Feiga was startled at the implication that her son could have eaten something not kosher, but she did her best to keep her face impassive. The rabbi nevertheless picked up on her thought and said gently, “Perhaps it happened once without you knowing it, and that is why he has so much trouble understanding the Torah.”

“What can we do about it then?” asked Esther Feiga, still shocked at the idea.

“Let him persevere in toiling in the study of Torah, despite his hardships, and the Holy One, blessed be He will help him,” responded the holy rabbi.

Esther Feiga’s husband was disturbed to hear their son had eaten non-kosher food. How could it be? Their children never ate anything other than what they received at home. He called Moshe Dovid and asked him if he had ever eaten anything outside of the house. The boy answered that he never had, but his father asked that he think about it more thoroughly. Finally, Moshe Dovid remembered that once, many years before when he was much younger, something had happened one cold wintery day.

He and his friends were going home from school when they passed the village inn, they saw that a wedding was about to take place. One of the members of the wedding party noticed them, invited them to come in, and offered them something to eat. To the best of his memory, he took a bit of chicken-lentil soup.

His parents were surprised to hear about the incident, especially after so many years had passed, but they did not see how it explained what the holy rabbi said to them. Both the innkeeper of the inn and the shochet (ritual slaughterer) who slaughtered meat for him were known to be very strict in their observance of kashrus (kosher laws) and true G-d fearing men.

The confused father was determined to pursue the matter till the end. He hurried over to the innkeeper and discussed the matter with him. The innkeeper willingly took out his old record books to try to identity exactly whose wedding it was that took place on that cold wintery day.

It turned out to not be so difficult after all. In looking through the ten year old ledger, he found it clearly written that second wedding of Isaac Abromovitch was held at the inn and that the groom had paid the entire bill in advance.

The father of Moshe Dovid knew Isaac Abromovitch very well. He was an uncouth man, not exceptionally observant, who lived in a house at the outskirts of town. Nevertheless, this information still did not solve the family’s mystery. The food had been prepared under the control of the inn, not the married couple.

So the father decided to go next to the house of the shochet. The shochet received him politely asked what was the reason for the surprise visit. Upon hearing that the matter concerned the wedding of Isaac Abromovitch, the shochet was visibly distressed.

“Oy, oy!” he cried out. “Once again I have to rake that open wound!”

Moshe Dovid’s father was startled by his words. His ears picked up as the shochet proceeded to supply details.

“I made a mistake in the slaughter of the chickens for that wedding. Not that I actually made any mistakes in the procedures,” he hastened to explain. “But something was very wrong. Only, I didn’t know it at the time. Not until a few days after that wedding.

“Walking in the street, I was met by one of the men who study Torah all day in the shul (synagogue). As I passed by him he gave me a hard stare and said, ‘Who would have thought? A respected Jew sells his soul in pursuit of monetary gain! Unbelievable!’”

“I was shocked to hear such words directed at me. I stared at him, seeking in utter confusion. He said, ‘We heard that you were the one who slaughtered chickens for the wedding of Abromovitch. Surely you knew that some of the most learned rabbis of our time issued a decree forbidding him to remarry until he properly divorced of his first wife, in which the get, the bill of divorce, turned out to be invalid.’”

“My whole body began to tremble involuntarily as the man took out of his pocket a copy of the letter from the rabbis, saying:

I was astonished and disturbed to hear of this deed which should never be done among Jews, which was done in your domain. How can a divorce be sanctioned if the get is invalid according to the Torah? …Therefore you must take upon yourselves to prevent this man from marrying another woman, Heaven forbid, until the problem is fixed. And if, Heaven protect us, such a wedding should be announced, to decree upon all the shochtim in the area a rabbinical prohibition against slaughtering any animals or fowl. If they should transgress and slaughter, all the meat is to be considered treif (not kosher) and forbidden to eat.

“When I saw that letter with my own eyes,” continued the shochet, “I was beside myself with horror. Even though I had known nothing and heard nothing about the problem with the divorce, I was embarrassed at having transgressed the instructions of the rabbis. I decided to undergo dozens of fasts, which I did, but I still don’t feel as if I have atoned for my error.”

The next day the entire story spread quickly through the village. Everyone was amazed by both the power of decree of the rabbis, and the acute Divine inspiration of the holy rabbi.

Chicken Lentil Soup

INGREDIENTS

 

4 tablespoons shmaltz, margarine, or olive oil		2 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 large onion, diced		1/8 – ¼ Teaspoon Cayenne if desired
2 medium stalks celery, diced		½ teaspoon coriander
2 medium carrots, diced		1 teaspoon allspice
2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced		2 tablespoons tomato paste
2 teaspoons kosher Salt		12 cups (3 quarts) water
Freshly ground black pepper		2 cups dried lentils
1 teaspoon ground turmeric		1 1/2 to 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs
1 1/2 teaspoons smoked paprika

INSTRUCTIONS

Mix spices (salt, pepper, turmeric, paprika, cumin, cayenne, coriander and allspice) in a small bowl

Heat the shmaltz, margarine, or olive oil in the bottom of a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat.

Sauté the onion, celery and garlic until soft. Add carrots

Season the vegetables well with spice mix and sauté another 3 – 5 minutes.

Cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables have softened, about 10 minutes. Add the tomato paste and stir to coat the vegetables. Cook until the tomato paste darkens and sticks a bit to the bottom of the pot, about 2 minutes more.

Add the lentils and 1 cup of water. and cook 3 -5 minutes.

Add the rest of the water and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to maintain a very gentle simmer and add the chicken.

Cover and continue cooking for 1 ½ to 2 ½ hours, checking periodically to make sure the soup isn’t bubbling too vigorously.

Taste and season with more salt and pepper as needed.

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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