Story Library

The Border Guard

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.

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The Fight Inside

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.

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Rice and The Chessboard

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.

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Become a Lake

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.

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What Seems Like a Curse

In a northern Chinese village, a man’s life unfolds through unexpected twists of fortune and misfortune, teaching the timeless lesson: what seems like a blessing may be a curse, and what seems like a curse may be a blessing.

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The Master Key

Rabbi Ze’ev is tasked by the Baal Shem Tov with blowing the shofar on Rosh Hashanah, using deep kabbalistic meditations. When the moment arrives, something unexpected happens, leaving Rabbi Ze’ev to rely on a deeper, more personal approach.

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A Little Drop of Honey

A king ignored a drop of honey falling from his window, dismissing it as a small matter. But that small drop set off a chain of events that grew beyond control, revealing the unexpected consequences of neglecting what seems insignificant.

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This Too Shall Pass

King Solomon sent Benaiah to find a ring that could make a happy man sad and a sad man happy. After searching, he found a simple ring with an inscription that revealed a deep truth.

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The Way Out

Lost in a forest for days, a man is overjoyed to encounter someone else, hoping to find his way out. But the stranger, equally lost, offers a different kind of guidance: an invitation to avoid his mistakes and search for a new path together.

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Story Catalog

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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