The רב in a Russian town was a difficult man and wasn't liked by his קהילה. When the city of Pinsk was looking for a new Rabbi, this רב sought to be appointed. But the people of Pinsk knew his reputation and were looking elsewhere. The determined רב said to them: "I can show you
It was בין השמשות on ערב שבת when a great צדיק died and came up to heaven. The סנהדרי בית דין שלמעלה had already left for קבלת שבת and a מלאך was locking the doors. The צדיק identified himself and asked for the direction to גן עדן. The מלאך spread his wings and motioned to
A תלמיד חכם was once asked why people say שיכור כלוט, rather than שיכור כנח, who preceded לוט? He answered: "נח had sons and they were already grown up. But לוט had daughters for whom he still needed to find שידוכים and nevertheless got drunk. That shows that he really was a שיכור.“
A businessman married off his daughter to a בחור ישיבה and agreed to give the couple the money for a down payment on a house. Indeed, to show his good faith, he immediately placed the money with a prominent wealthy man in town to safeguard until it was needed. After the שבע ברכות, the ישיבה
A Rabbi was invited to speak to the patients at a hospital in Washington DC for the mentally disturbed. He came prepared for any reaction that might ensue, so he was scarcely surprised when the chief psychiatrist warned him to disregard any comments the inmates might offer during his address. After the Rabbi had talked
When a woman asked her husband to help with the cleaning for פסח, he said: “What am I, a קרבן פסח?” She responded in kind: “What am I, a קרבן תמיד?”
Chaim Weitzman was a sought after speaker. Sometimes, he would deliver three speeches a day - in the morning, the afternoon and the evening. “Do you deliver a different speech at each of the three events?” a friend asked. “No,” Weitzman responded. “I use the same speech.” “But,” his friend asked, “what if someone who
A Rabbi collapsed at the pulpit. A doctor was quickly called but couldn’t revive him. No one knew what to do, until one of the members of the congregation came running with a microphone and put it in the Rabbi’s hand. Miraculously, the Rabbi stood up and resumed his speech.
An אברך came to רבי אייזל חריף, seeking to receive סמיכה. After testing him and seeing that he lacks תורה and חכמה, the רבי asked him to explain why the גמרא says תנו רבנן, rather than רבנן תנו. The אברך didn't know. "I'll explain it to you," רבי אייזל חריף said. "תנו precedes רבנן because
A survey was conducted among the animals in the West Bank, asking them in the event of peace between the Israelis and the Palestinians where they would choose to live. The chicken answered that it would want to live amongst the Palestinians. When asked why, it explained that amongst Israelis it’s well fed but is
