Emor - Lag ba'omer 5778

"וביום השביעי שבת שבתון מקרא קודש כל מלאכה לא תעשו"(כג,ג)

Giving Directions on Shabbat?

It was Shabbat afternoon in Jerusalem and Danny was heading towards shul for a Torah shiur, when a car pulled over near the curb. The driver rolled down his window and called out to Danny, “Hey, can you tell me how to get to Bialik Street? I've been driving around here for a half hour already and still can’t find that street!”

Tazria-M'tzora 5778

"זאת תהיה תורת המצורע" (יד,ב) -
"אמר ר"ל: מאי דכתיב זאת תהיה תורת המצורע, זאת תהיה תורתו של מוציא שם רע" (ערכין טו)

Self Defense

 Shlomi had a good job in a pleasant office. He was very hardworking and successful. Until…one morning his coworker in the adjacent cubicle glared at him with contempt. Then, at lunch, he heard other coworkers whispering and pointing at him. The kind receptionist reluctantly shared with Shlomi that Eli (presumably jealous of Shlomi’s success) started a false rumor in the office that Shlomi committed a serious offense.

In memory of Rav Ronsky - 7th of Pesach 5778

Lying in order to perform a Mitzva

Shimi is a soldier in “Tzahal” (the Israeli army). One afternoon, while his unit was doing lengthy but routine training exercises, he realized that he was going to miss his opportunity to daven mincha. Earlier that afternoon his unit was given its mandated allotment of time which enables the religious soldiers to daven mincha. 

Vayikra 5778

"היוצא בימי ניסן וראה אילנות שמוציאין פרח, אומר: בא"י אמ"ה שלא חיסר בעולמו כלום וברא בו בריות טובות ואילנות טובות ליהנות בהם בני אדם".
(שולחן ערוך אורח חיים, סימן רכו)

A Brilliant Idea for the “Blessing of the Trees"

  Shlomi came to visit his sick father early in the month of Nissan.

vayakhel-p'kudei 5778

"שֵׁ֣שֶׁת יָמִים֘ תֵּעָשֶׂ֣ה מְלָאכָה֒ וּבַיּ֣וֹם הַשְּׁבִיעִ֗י יִהְיֶ֨ה לָכֶ֥ם קֹ֛דֶשׁ" - 

אמר רבי יוחנן משום רבי יוסי: כל המענג את השבת נותנין לו נחלה בלי מצרים.
(שבת דף קיח עמוד א)

The Promise of a Tzaddik

Rabbi Eliyahu Broide z”l was a rabbi in a Tel Aviv neighborhood and was very involved in “kiruv”(bringing Jews closer to Hashem).

Tetzave - Purim 5778

The boy who saved the day

For several years, Shmulik and Eli had a troubled relationship and it continued to deteriorate. This year, for Purim, Eli came up with another little plan to humiliate his former friend, Shmulik.

T'ruma 5778

"ועשו ארון עצי שיטים" (כ"ה, י') -

כל מבנה בית הכנסת וצורתו מכוון כנגד בית המקדש. ארון הקודש ובו ספרי תורה - כנגד קודש הקודשים ובו לוחות העדות וספר תורה שבארון.
(מכתב סופר ח"ב, ס' א')

The Aron Hakodesh that fell

 Last year, in the Belz Hasidic Yeshiva in Boro Park (aka shtiebel 39), they were doing renovations.

Sh'mot 5778

"ותחיין את הילדים"(א,יז)

About 25 years ago in Israel, a family had a very sick little girl. Her only chance for recovery was to be treated by a special doctor in America. The family placed ads asking for donations to cover the cost of the trip and the treatment which was $150,000.

Vaychi 5778

"ועתה אעלה נא ואקברה את אבי" (נ', ה')

Great recipe - wrong place?

In the early days of the State of Israel, there was a man who came to Kibbutz Na’an named Yakov Topor. He worked as a baker there and went on to become famous in the kibbutz, and eventually in many parts of Israel for his delicious cinnamon yeast cake. It became known as “Yankele’s yeast cake”.

Vayigash 5778

Donate to Yeshivot or to Kiruv?

(from the book "טובך יביעו")

There was a very wealthy man, Mr. Levy, who gave many thousands of dollars to charity every year, to different yeshivahs. One day he was approached by a man, Yossi, whose organization does kiruv, reaching out to many non-observant Jews to teach them and hopefully draw them to Torah observance. Yossi asked Mr. Levy if he could also donate to