Chassidic Stories

"Quite a change, is it not?" said Abraham with a pleased smile on his face. "Yes, quite a change," the Rebbe sadly replied

I returned to my compartment in a state of confusion. The last thing I had expected from the Rebbe was a business tip

To my right sat my friend Berl, and to my left my friend Zalman. Yossel sat in front of me. The melamed was tall, with stern eyes, but with a warm and loving smile.

"Go in peace," said the Maggid to the destitute young scholar. "And remember: you must accept the very first marriage proposal that is suggested to you."

"Tell me, Rabbi," he called out anxiously, "if... if I put on tefillin, will G-d protect me?"

Their leader spotted a beautiful bird perched atop a tall tree. "Come," he said to his disciples, "I wish to capture this bird, so that we may delight in her song and gaze upon her wondrous hues"

"By the sanction of the Almighty," Rabbi Leib intoned, "and by the sanction of the congregation... we declare it permissible to pray with the sinners..."

There are 50 states in the US, said the Rebbe, and all but one allowed Jewish inmates to light Chanukah candles. "Would you believe it? It is only here, in New York State, that prisoners cannot light menorahs for Chanukah!"

"Take these and run to Haumshalagplatz. Run! Tell the kapos that your daughter is among the captured. This is an unwritten law among us -- no snatching of policemen's children"

The entire town would be paying attention to the new rabbi's first ruling. Everyone was sure to wonder: Why is the law of the Torah so opposite to common sense? "Why me and why now?" wondered Rabbi Levi Yitzchak

"We have many stories showing us the Baal Shem Tov's power to perform miracles," Rabbi DovBer pronounced. "For that, we don't need this story..."

Suddenly the front door rattled and thundered; someone was pounding and shouting outside. "Help! Help! Let me in!"

It was a drastic move, but they felt they had no choice. They fasted and recited Psalms all day. Evoking ancient Kabbalistic formulas, they asked to be given a sign that night in their dreams.

Reb Mendel couldn't imagine why a person would waste his time walking on a rope and risk falling on his head, when he could just walk on the ground like everyone else.

Zvi Elimelech's father pulled the boy aside and told him that he must promise never to tell anyone this story until the very last day of his life

Rabbi Hodakov, the Rebbe's secretary, was on the line. "The Rebbe says to tell the young woman that there is a Jew in Brooklyn who cannot sleep at night because she intends to marry a non-Jew."

"Please Rebbe," sobbed the man, "tell me how to repent. Give me a remedy. Save me from this unbearable affliction!"

The Rabbi found it hard to believe that Anschel Moses might be a thief. Perhaps Anschel Moses had merely borrowed the money when he went to Sniatyn to get married. Maybe he was already planning to return it...

"How can a human being possibly react to what he experiences as bad in exactly the same way he responds to what he experiences as good? How can a person be as grateful for his troubles as he is for his joys?"

Angels don’t say l’chaim on Simchat Torah, so they arose to sing G-d’s praises in the heavens at the usual time. They found heaven littered with strange objects: torn slippers, broken heels. "Yes," admitted the angel Michoel, "this is my merchandise"