

Adapated from Eli Wiesel z’l in The Gates of the Forest

Rabbi Jack Moline told us this story under the chuppah at our wedding, adapted for us from Sefer Tanchuma

A well known folk tale with a sweet ending inspired by R’ Zalman Schacter-Shalomi tz’l

Story of the Japanese King Solomon, we learned this story form Joel ben Izzy

Adapted from I.L.Peretz’s story originally written in Yiddish


A Swiss border guard stops the same traveler month after month, always suspicious of what he carries. Each time, he searches carefully — but something still doesn’t sit right.

A Cherokee elder teaches his grandson a powerful lesson about the inner struggle between good and evil, revealing that the outcome depends on which side we choose to nurture.

The king, a devoted chess player, challenged a traveling sage to a game. The sage accepted, asking for a seemingly modest reward. What unfolded next left the king facing a lesson he never expected.

A young apprentice, struggling with sadness, asks an old master for a solution. The master gives him a simple task that leads to an important lesson about how we experience pain and the importance of perspective.
R’ Zalman tz’l teaches that a good maisa – a good story – is one where the heart surprises the mind.
Please feel free to use these stories in your teaching and in your holy conversations. I welcome your gentle comments.
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