“Can I ask you a question?" the first snake asked. "You and your dumb questions!” replied the second. “What is it this time?" "Do you know whether or not we are venomous?" asked the first snake. "What difference should that make to us?!" said the second. "It makes all the difference in the world to me," said the
An אברך who was learning שחיטה couldn’t remember whether שחיטה comes before בדיקה or בדיקה comes before שחיטה. He went to the market and heard the cries of a Jew: “אוי ואבוי, הגנבים שחטו אותי.” The אברך went over to the unfortunate man and asked him: “Did they first שחט you and then do the
R’ מאיר שפירא once solicited a wealthy man to help support his Yeshiva. He was unsuccessful. The man refused his request. רב מאיר said, "I think that I can now understand a difficult גמרא. Yesterday’s דף says: ישראל קדושים הן. יש רוצה ואין לו. ויש שיש לו ואינו רוצה How can it be that מי
A wealthy and arrogant miser refused to give צדקה but loved to pray before the עמוד, even though he didn't have much of a voice. Listening to him pray, רבי אייזל חריף observed: "The גמרא teaches ישראל קדושים הן: יש רוצה ואין לו. ויש שיש לו ואינו רוצה. You can say that this גביר is
Rabbi Lefkowitz was cleaning his attic when he found a box with more than a $1,000 and 6 eggs in it. He went downstairs and asked his wife about it. She told him that every time he gave a bad דרשה, she would put an egg in the box. "Well, that’s not so bad,” he
A boor became wealthy and was given a seat of honor in the בית כנסת next to the רב. After תפילת מנחה on שבת, he asked the רב why does צדקתך say אדם ובהמה תושיע ה׳? What's a בהמה doing next to an אדם? The רב replied: "I don't know. Perhaps you should ask the
One year, יהודה ליב גורדון invited to his פסח סדר a מומר with whom he was friendly. The מומר reciprocated by inviting גורדון to his Easter dinner. As they sat down to eat at the convert's home, גורדון observed: "Look at the difference between our סדר and your סדר. We say the הגדה until late
A מלמד was testing his student. “הכל שוחטין,” the boy said, “We can שחט all living things.” “שייגעץ!” screamed the מלמד. “Can you שחט me too?” “No,” the student replied. “The גמרא says חוץ מחרש שוטה וקטן.”
A man who studied שחיטה asked the רב for קבלה. The רב tested him and said: "You are a בקי in הלכות שחיטה but I have concern about חוץ." The prospective שוחט responded: "רבי, I take upon myself all the חומרות so that the שחיטה not be חוץ." The רב answered him: "That's not the
In discussing the importance of being in a תורה environment, a רב once noted that it is well known that when רבקה was pregnant, ויתרוצצו הבנים בקרבה. בשעה שהיתה עוברת בתי כנסיות ובתי מדרשות יעקב מפרקס לצאת. And עוברת על בתי עבודה זרה, עשו מפרקס לצאת. "But," the רב asked "why was יעקב rushing to
