Parashas Chayei Sara There’s a fascinating tale told in the Gemara Baba Metziah about Rav Yochanan, who was exceedingly handsome. One day, he was out at the river outside of town bathing. In the distance, stood Reish Lakish, who at the time was a gangster and a...
It was during the height of the conflict between Chasidim and Misnagdim, after the Vilna Goan had issued a cherem against the Chasidim. Rabbi Refael Hakohen Katz, one of the greatest students of the Vilna Goan, and the Rabbi of Hamburg and author of Toras Yekusiel,...
There’s a story told about Reb Simcha Bunim of Pshischa, in which he told his students the following directive. One must be constantly aware of and fear the influence of the yetzer hara, the evil inclination. To illustrate, he said, imagine the yetzer hara is...
There’s an intriguing halacha in Meseches Baba Basra which teaches that when two individuals have a dispute over the ownership of a particular item, a boat, the solution is, “kol d’alim gvar.” Whoever is stronger wins. This seems...
There’s a story told about Kurt Vonnegut who met the novelist Joseph Heller at a party hosted by a wealthy hedge fund manager. Vonnegut pointed out that their wealthy host made more money in one day than Heller would ever make from his best selling novel Catch...
