Tag: Spiritual Storytelling
The Three Beloved Companions of the King
A king had three loyal advisors who were very close to his heart. One day, the king was told that his trusted friends were plotting to rebel against him. He was further told that his friends made fun of him behind closed doors, and that the king had misjudged them and believed them to be true.
The king summoned his three friends and commanded each, one of them to take control of a dog from the royal kennels and to care for it for three months. After three months had passed, they were to return to the palace.
The king then instructed that any money that was needed to care for the dogs would be provided from the royal treasury to the three men.
The first man took the money but did not use any of it to care for the dog. Instead, he fed the dog his own leftover food and used the money to have a beautiful gold crown fashioned as a gift for the king.
The second man gave the dog just enough food in order for it to remain alive.
The third man, on the other hand, spent all of the money on food for the dog, and the dog grew so fat that it was unrecognizable. When the three months had passed, the friends came before the king.
The first man presented the king with the beautiful gift that he had purchased. The king was delighted and, in return, gave the man a reward from his treasury that was worth many times more than the crown.
The second man showed the king the weak and emaciated dog; the king sent him home without any reward whatsoever.
When the third man displayed the overweight dog, the king —furious over the fact that the man had wasted the money by spending it so unwisely snatched the dog away from him.
There are three types of individuals in the world: The first are the righteous, who do not derive any pleasure whatsoever from materialism and employ all of their powers in the service of Hashem. With the good deeds they perform, they fashion a beautiful crown for their Creator how great is their reward!
The second group consists of those individuals who derive just enough benefit from the world in order to sustain their bodies, not a drop more or less.
The third group consists of those who waste away all of their days, pursuing the delights of this world. In the next world they will be punished for investing all of their powers in order to feed their bodies.
May all your tales end with Shalom (peace)
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Emperor Hadrian and His Desire to be Worshiped as a God
The Emperor Hadrian was a great warrior who conquered many lands and rule the vast Roman Empire. Having achieved such power, he ordered his servants to worship him as a god. The wise men among his servants said to him that he had no power over Jerusalem and the temple.
He said, Is it not written: “The L-rd is King (Is. 33: 22)
He traveled to Jerusalem and gathered his armies outside the walls of the Holy City. He called upon the people of Jerusalem to worship him as a god. Three wise men of Jerusalem came before him. One of them said: “Will you rebel against your master in His own house? Go out of His house and I will worship you as a god. For His house is heaven and earth and you are within His house. As long as you are within it I cannot worship you as a god.” The second said: “You say that you are god? G-d created heaven and earth and you too. You are nothing.” The third said: “Wait awhile, I have a message to send; after that I will worship you as a god.” Hadrian said: “What is it that you must do?” The wise man replied: “A ship of mine is now on the high seas and is about to sink.” Thereupon the king said: “I will send my ships at once to rescue yours.” The sage replied: “By the time your ship arrives, mine will have sunk. Do me the kindness and send a little wind to carry it forward.” The king replied: “Where shall I get the wind?” The sage said: “If you cannot command the wind, you are not a god, for it is written that G-d:
…created heaven and earth and the people upon it’ ” (Is. 42.5).
The king went home and told his wife all that had happened to him, and asked her to worship him as a god. She replied: “I will do it gladly, but you have a deposit which has been entrusted to you. Give up the deposit and I will do your will and worship you as a G-d.” Then the king asked: “What is the deposit?” His wife replied: “The soul which G-d gave you. Return it to the owner.” The king said: “If I give back my soul, what can I do without a soul?” The wife replied: “If you have no power over yourself, how can you have power over others and be a god?” When the emperor heard this, he felt ashamed and gave up his evil intention.
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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Noah was a Righteous Man…
“Noah was a righteous man, faultless in his generation” (Gen. 6:9), but he became “a man of the soil” (Gen. 9:20) as “he planted a vineyard and he drank of the wine and became drunk…”(Gen. 9:20-1).
So many times we hear about parties where young people have fun. Part of that fun involves drinking and other behavior that they normally would not do.
Drinking can cause many problems and embarrassments as others just laugh. Many years ago our teachers of blessed memory taught:
When Noah got off of the ark one of the first things he did was to plant a vine. There was little in the world and he wanted to benefit from his grapes as soon as possible. As he began to plant the vine, a dark messenger came and stood before him and said to him: “What are you planting?” “A vine,” said he. “And what is that?” asked the dark messenger. “A vine,” explained Noah, “has fruit that is sweet both wet and dry, and from it men will make wine that makes their hearts joyful.” “Come,” said the dark messenger, “and let us both share in this wine.” “Let it be so,” said Noah.
And what did the dark messenger do? He fetched a lamb and slew it under the vine. After that he fetched a lion and slew it, and after that he fetched a an ape and slew it.. After that he fetched a pig and slew that that under the vineyard. And the blood of all these beasts dripped through that vineyard and watered it.
By this the dark messenger wished to let him know: As a person begins to drink wine, he is as innocent docile as a lamb. As he drinks more he becomes as brave as a lion and declares: There are none to compare with me in the world. When he drinks still more and becomes quite drunk, he becomes like an ape that stands and dances and plays and utters all kinds of terrible things in the presence of all people and does not have the slightest idea what he is doing. But once he drinks too much he becomes like a pig, wallowing in his own filth.
Now all those things happened to Noah the Righteous. And if it happened so with Noah the Righteous, whom the Holy and Blessed One Himself praised, how much more does it befall the rest of mankind!
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 Worthless Assistant
“Fear not, Abram, I am a shield for you, your reward is very great.” (Gen. 15:1).
As a young student wished to meet a holy rabbi who was looked upon as one of the gadolei hador (leaders of the generation), and learn from him.
The journey for the young student was very long and expensive, far beyond his ability to pay. Since he could not afford to travel as a passenger, he hired himself out as a Wagoner’s assistant. The driver needed someone to accompany him on the long, long trip and he welcomed the offer.
Everything was fine until the young student took a turn at the reins. Sensing a new, inexperienced driver, the horses bolted. They galloped full speed ahead. The wagon and its passengers pitched from side to side. When the wagoner had regained control of the horses, he turned furiously on his assistant:
“Don’t you know the first thing about horses? Don’t you even have enough sense to hold on to the reins, you good-for-nothing?”
And, for good measure, he gave his young assistant a number of resounding blows.
At long last, the journey was over and they had reached the village where the holy rabbi lived. And when the young man left his employer, the wagoner barely said good-bye. He was glad to be rid of his worthless assistant.
The young student made his way at once to the home of the holy rabbi lived where a different welcome awaited him. The young man’s reputation had gone before him. The more the holy rabbi spoke with him, the more impressed he became and he begged the young gaon (genius) to honor the people of the village with a lesson that Shabbos.
The news flew through the city. Everyone in the village gathered in the small wooden shul (synagogue) to hear the genius speak. And the wagoner was present, too.
When the young student walked up to the platform, the wagoner nearly fainted. He recognized the inefficient young helper who had earned his anger on the long trip. He remembered how he had scolded him, shouted at him, and even struck him! He grew flushed and pale with embarrassment as he recalled his behavior.
He trembled like a leaf throughout the lesson. After an eternity, when it was finally over, the wagoner dragged himself up to the front of the synagogue and threw himself at the feet of the young man, weeping, “Please forgive me!”
“You have nothing to feel bad about, my dear man,” the young student comforted him. “Had you scolded me about my Torah scholarship, had you struck me for being an am haaretz (ignorant boor), you would, perhaps, have been guilty of disrespect for the Torah. But you rebuked me for being a poor driver. On that account, you were perfectly justified. In truth, I know nothing about horses.”
May all your Tales end with Shalom
The King, the Thief the True Penitant
Chazal state (Berachos 34b), “R’ Ahahu said: In the place where ba’alei teshuvah (a true penitent) stand, tzaddikim gemurim (the purely righteous who have been untainted by sin) do not stand.”
There was a king who reigned over his entire kingdom with justice and wisdom. On one occasion, the king wished to discover his subjects’ true feelings regarding his rule, and so he disguised himself as a beggar, and went out in the streets.
As he roamed the alleyways, he was attacked by a band of cruel thieves. They wished to harm him, but one of the thieves, a spark of mercy for the beggar having flickered in his heart, fiercely defended him against his attackers, even helping him escape to safety.
The king returned to his palace and, some time later, arranged a lavish seudas hada’ah (lit., a feast of thanksgiving.), to which he invited all of the ministers and distinguished members of the kingdom. He also invited the thief who had saved him from the clutches of his partners.
The thief sat there in his simple attire and felt rather uncomfortable in the presence of the ministers who were dressed so elegantly. The ministers as well stared at the thief in utter bewilderment:
what place did this lowly individual have at the king’s feast?
The king noticed the puzzled expressions on the faces of the ministers. He therefore called over the thief and sat him down alongside him in a display of great honor. He then related to his guests what had transpired and how this thief had saved his life.
So too, it is in relation to repentance. The Torah states (Hoshea 14:2), “Return, Israel, unto Hashem your G-d.” When an individual repents and becomes a ba’al teshuvah, he draws closer to Hashem like the thief who, through saving the king, repented and in effect anointed the king over the entire land. In a similar vein, when a ba’al teshuvah overcomes his yetzer hara, he annoints Hashem King of the world as a result. The prophet Joel taught that one should “Rend your heart, not your garments and turn to the L-rd” (Joel 2:13) In this world “a king of flesh and blood insists upon having his decrees carried out. Hashem, the Holy One, blessed be He, does not act so, for He desires one’s repentance, so that He can have any excuse to annul His decrees” (Rosh haShanah 57a). It is good when one thinks about repentance and follows it with action and deed.
For the sake of one true penitent, the whole world is pardoned. (Yoma 86b)
l’Shana Tova May Everyone Be Blessed with a Good and Sweet Year
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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Rosh haHashanah: Forgiving A Debt
In a certain city lived an very wealthy merchant who sold a lot of goods to the merchants living near his home town.
When it was time for the fair to be held, the merchant let everyone know that he wanted to travel to the fair so he could buy new and outstanding goods. For that reason the wealthy merchant urged all who owed him money to come and pay their debts.
Among those who owed him money was a merchant whose home had unfortunately burned down. All of his property had been consumed in the flames as well, leaving him penniless.
He was utterly distressed and ashamed at the thought of having to face the wealthy man. “How can I have the nerve to come before him empty-handed?” he asked.
“Just go to him and tell him the truth. There is nothing better than that!” advised his friends.
The merchant listened their advice and set out to see the wealthy man.
Sitting in the wealthy man’s waiting room, the poor merchant was unable to control himself and began to cry bitterly. The sound of the crying touched the wealthy man’s heart, and he asked to know why the poor man was crying. Soon after, the merchant’ s sad story was told to him.
The wealthy man felt pity for the unfortunate merchant; when the man was brought in to him he embraced him and and lovingly explained:
“Do not feel the least bit distressed. I hereby completely forgive you of your debt.” He then tore the bill of debt into shreds.
The merchant abundantly thanked the wealthy man and went on his way. The matter soon became known to the members of the community and. eventually spread to the public at large as well.
Among those who heard about it was a crook who decided to swindle the wealthy man.
He traveled to the wealthy man’s home, and upon taking a seat in the waiting room, began to wail loudly.
“What are you crying about?” shouted the wealthy man.
“I desperately need two thousand rubles,” he cried. “I beg of you, please give me the entire sum.”
“I am very sorry,” answered the wealthy man, “but I am simply unable to give you such a large amount of money.”
“But you forgave the other merchant from a debt of an equal amount,” insisted the disappointed crook.
“You fool,” said the wealthy man. “That individual owed me a great deal of money, and I knew that he did not have a penny to his name with which to repay me — what would I have gained had I not absolved his debt? Will I get my money back? That is why I forgave his debt. But as for you, I have absolutely no business with you – why should I acquiesce to giving you a sum of two thousand rubles? Should I give it to you simply because you are crying?”
The prayer, Unsaneh Tokef, speaks of many dire situations one may face during the year but concludes with the verse:
“But Repentance, Prayer and Tzedakah (charity) avert the severe decree.”
When a person repents honestly, he regrets his misdeeds, and cries to the Holy One, blessed be He that He forgive him for his sins — G-d immediately forgives him. But if a foolish individual thinks to himself, “I will sin, repent, sin again, repent once again, and even cry over my sins afterwards” — his repentance will not be accepted!
May you all be inscribed and sealed for a good year in the Book of Life
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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Repentance and the Captive Prince
The rabbis of old taught that:
“In the place where those who return and truly repent stand, the purely righteous who have never sinned can not stand.” Berachos 34b
The Captive Prince
A king had two mighty and courageous sons. One day, the king went out to battle his enemies, and his two sons went with him as commanders in his army. Each son led his soldiers into battle. The sons fought with much strength and bravery, but the enemy was able to surround one of the sons. The battle raged on, but at the end he was taken captive by the enemy. The king’s son suffered in the enemy prison, starving and deprived, and after a full year, he finally succeeded in digging a tunnel so that he could escape from the dismal prison. The prince ran away, crossing over rivers and lakes, and trekking through forests and over mountains. After a while, he finally returned to his father’s home. How great was the happiness and joy in the king’s palace upon the prince’s return. Large celebrations were held in his honor, and the king sat him to his right and showered him with gifts. Without a doubt, this son’s joy is ten times greater than a son who had never left his father’s home.
This is the identical happiness that a person feels when he returns in complete repentance to his Father in Heaven. His joy is ten times greater than one who has never sinned, for only once a person has saved himself from sin can he truly perceive the taste of “captivity.”
L’Shana Tova May Everyone Be Blessed with a Good and Sweet Year
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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Repentance Out of Love
Rosh HaShanah (the Jewish New Year) is coming very soon. This is a time for all Jewish people to reflect and seek forgiveness for deeds of the past year. Repentance is the goal of every Jewish person during this time of the year. One can repent out of fear or out of love for the Holy One, blessed be He.
Repentance Out of Love
The rabbis of old taught that (Yoma 86b):
“Great is repentance out of love, for it turns sins into merits.”
Explaining the lofty level of repentance that is motivated by love of the Holy One, Blessed be He and why it is preferable to repentance motivated by fear of the Holy One, blessed be He is indeed a difficult task. It is brought down that once:
A thief came upon the idea to steal from the king’s treasury, and he spent many days figuring out how he could dig a tunnel beneath it. Having completed his passageway, he would enter and fill his sacks with the many treasures that lay inside the vast room. He finally worked out a plan and, one night, dug a tunnel.
His planning had not been exact enough, and instead of leading to the king’s treasury, the tunnel led into the great hall next to it. The thief entered the dark corridor and felt around, but did not find any riches at all. He was very disappointed and so he turned around and escaped before the sun came up.
That very same night, a different thief attempted to break into the king’s treasury as well. He, too, dug a tunnel, but unlike the first thief, he managed to successfully enter the treasury and fill his sacks with the king’s treasures. Before he left, however, he stopped for a moment and thought,
“How could I be so bold as to steal from the king himself? Why, I am obligated to honor him”
The thief emptied his bags completely and escaped to his home. When day broke, the king’s subjects noticed that there were two openings that were dug into the palace walls, but the careful investigation revealed that not a thing was missing from the treasury.
The king very much wanted to know the reason behind this strange occurrence, so he ordered that a full investigation be made by his trusted sheriff. In a very short time, the king’s sheriff brought the two thieves before him, and the king interrogated them, asking them to explain their actions. “I will not deny it,” said the first thief. “I entered the king’s treasury but did not find a thing. Since I feared that daybreak was near, I escaped in order to save myself.” The king immediately ordered that the thief be taken to the dungeon.
“I,” confessed the second thief, “entered the treasury and even took whatever I could. Suddenly I realized and understood that what I was about to do was a very bad thing which was an insult to the king’s honor. Out of love for the king, I decided on the spot to not follow through with this wicked deed.” When the king heard this, he sent the man home and even granted him many gifts.
So, too, in relation to repentance, it is a great honor to the King of the World when a person repents out of love!
LaShanah Tovah
Rosh HaShanah is just a few days away. People all around the world are trying to make amends for mistakes of the past year.
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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Prayer – A Matter of Life and Death
A group of wealthy merchants went into an inn located near the crossroads. They asked the innkeeper to serve them food and drink, and knowing that his guests had the ability to pay, he hastened to set the table for them.
“What would you like to eat?” asked the innkeeper.
One of them answered, “I would like a good, thick meat broth.” “I would like to eat fresh fish,” said another.
One by one, the merchants proceeded to order tasty delicacies, each one requesting the dish that he craved.