A villager came to a רב and told him that all the other Jews had moved from his village and he is the sole remaining Jew. “How am I supposed to be מקיים תורה ותלמוד תורה?” he asked. The רב answered: "רבי חנינא בן תרדיון said that even if one person is עוסק בתורה, the
Two business partners, שלום and אריה, needed to buy merchandise from out of town. אריה took the trip and wrote to שלום about the contacts he made and the items he bought. He ended his letter by saying: אתה שלום וביתך שלום וה׳ יברך את עמו ישראל בשלום. After reading the ברכה, he responded with
The גמרא in מסכת שבת לא relates the story of the גוי who says to Hillel:למדני כל התורה כולה כשאני עומד על רגל אחת. In a clever twist on the words על רגל אחת, it has beeen remarked that בני ישראל have three רגלים, namely שבועות, פסח and סוכות. Why did the גוי who
When a new Reform Temple was built in Germany, רב שמשון רפאל הירש was invited to see it. After a tour of the building, he remarked that it reminded him of תיבת נח. "How so?" he was asked. "Because like the תיבה," he said, "מבית ומבחוץ בכופר. The building is מלא כפירה מבפנים ומבחוץ."
On שמיני עצרת, the חזן, who had a good voice but a bad reputation, prayed תפילת גשם and as soon as he was done, it began to rain. After the תפילה, he approached the גבאי and with great pride said that "Heaven answered my prayers and brought rain to the world." The גבאי responded: "I'm
When a מחלוקת arose whether a certain blemish rendered an animal a טריפה, the תורת הבית ruled that the blemish is not life-threatening and thus is kosher. The בדק הבית disagreed, attributing the ruling to the author’s lack of experience in veterinary medicine. The משמרת הבית came to the defense of the תורת הבית, stating
A man who was constantly harassing others said to a boy who had turned 18, "Have you forgotten what we learned in פרקי אבות that בן שמונה עשרה לחופה? Where is your wife?" The young man responded in kind. "Have you forgotten what we learned in that same משנה, namely בן ארבעים לבינה? Where is
A Shul which was looking to hire a new רב had each applicant come for a שבת and give a דרשה. At one of the דרשות, the applicant was disturbed to see the head of the auditioning committee doze off. After the תפילה, the רב asked the man “How can you pass an opinion on
When a מגיפה struck a town in Europe, all the Jews gathered in the בית מדרש to pray that the גזירה against them be annulled. The sounds of prayer and weeping filled the בית מדרש. But the loudest cries came from a מחלל שבת. The רב approached him and whispered in his ear: "Please lower
Leon was grazed by a car while crossing the street. Although he was able to get up on his own, an ambulance was called so that he be properly examined. After entering the ambulance, he was told to lay down and was asked if he was comfortable. “Well,” he replied, “I make a decent living.”
