Kidz

And as he shouted, he began running toward the startled thief, who stood petrified and uncomprehending.

.

In the land of Midyan there lived a pagan priest, Yisro, who was greatly respected by his people. He worshiped idols of stone and wood and so did his countrymen.

Ordering his servants to take Moshe out of the pit, he had him brought to his home, where he was bathed and given fresh clothing.

The stories concerning Rav Naftali of Ropshitz are quite numerous and reveal his sharp biting wit. Rav Naftali was often persecuted and sneered at by misnagdim but the sharp mind with which he was blessed always served him in good stead in finding proper answers.

King Ptolemy of Egypt had heard that the Jews possessed the Torah, the five books of Moshe, which contained much wisdom and excellent laws. He desired to have this Torah translated into Greek so that he, too, might learn its contents.

“When I asked why she cried so much she said she came from a very religious home and feared she would be sold to a non-Jew and forced to convert.

Finally, his wife came in with the dinner that she had hurriedly prepared and which was not comparable to the wonderful repast she had given away.

While they were distributing relief to the poor, they saw a man give money to his divorced wife.

“What!” she cried. “Didn’t you know that the ring contained an expensive diamond, which was worth a lot of money?”

The communal leader hesitated for a moment because the total amount was very large and what would he do if he found it impossible to pay later?

.

.

       

You are called both sons and servants. When you carry out the desires of the Omnipresent, you are called ‘sons.’ When you do not carry out the desires of the Omnipresent, you are called, ‘servants.’

“Wisdom is better than rubies, and all things desirable are not to be compared unto her” (Proverbs 8:2). Rabi Aha explained in the name of Rabi Tanchuma ben Rabi Chiya: “My desirable things and your desirable things are not to be compared to her.”

He then complained to the emperor that the Jews were rebelling against him.

By having a powerful army ready and prepared to do battle at a moment’s notice. But he should be discreet in using the army. He should carry a big stick but speak softly.

.

Nikanos now turned to the south side only to meet a terrible disaster as the hordes of snakes and scorpions wreaked havoc on his foot soldiers.

Noticing the bearded Abarbanel in the coach, the Jew felt relieved as he entered the coach.

The agent, watching his behavior, thought to himself, “Could this man, who appears so poor, have so much oil to sell? Surely the people in town were making fun of me.”

But not everyone is destined to taste of the fruit of this world and to enjoy its vintage. Among the inhabitants of this town lived a poor man, Nachumka.

Mattisyahu knew that Antiochus would be enraged when he heard what had happened, so he and his sons fled to the Judean Hills.

Never mistreat a person, no matter how lowly he may be, for you can never know what the future holds in store for him, our sages warn us. As an example, the following story is told in the Talmud Yerushalmi.

Encouraged by those words, the judges ordered the slave to stand trial for murder.

Yehudis understood that her only hope lay in her willingness to risk her very life.

On Erev Yom Kippur, the Gaon Rav Atshal of Frankfurt (Tifereth Avraham) would usually permit the eating of every doubtful fowl, which was brought before him to decide. He would make all the doubtful cases kosher.

The Gaon, Rav Chaim of Volozhin, one of the most beloved students of the Vilna Gaon, was known to be a genius even as a child.

They protested their innocence, but the tax collector would not listen to them and they were subsequently jailed.