Parables

Could you believe that a brilliant investment banker would be gullible enough to sell his twenty million-dollar mansion in Beverly Hills for a mere thousendth of its value? Listen to today's podcast, which exposes the sly methods of the Yetzer Hara, the evil inclination, who is capable of getting any unsuspecting person to sell his or her priceless soul for a pittance...

Here's a delightful parable I heard from the renown Novardoker Maggid, Rabbi Yankel'e Galinski, of saintly and blessed memory, about a group of drunkards. This is something to keep in mind not only while preparing for Purim and Passover, but all year long.

Imagine that a stranger knocks on your front door. You look through the peephole to see who it is, and before you know – without your permission – he walks right through the door as if it were thin air. Right away you understand that this is no human. It's an angel. He identifies himself: the head debt-collection angel from the Heavenly bank and he looks serious. Here's how to avoid situations like this... 

A bloke in the back was drinking his beer. One of the patrons in the pub hushed up the party: "The king's in the pub!" His mates thought that he was daft... This is an encouraging parable about life's difficulties.

This is a parable about our true source of vitality. A leaf thought that the other creatures who had no connection to the tree had a better life than she did. She wanted to be free and to fly in the wind. She decided to sever herself from the tree. Here's what happened:

Today's podcast is a parable about the rewards we often fail to see for the good we do. Indeed, not only do we fail to hear a "thank-you", but we get hit on the head. What's happening and why?

A chassidic parable teaches us that we don't have to live a third-class life when there are available upgrades for everyone.

A semitrailer was cruising down Florida Route 887 on the way to the Port of Miami tunnel. The driver saw a warning sign that fifteen feet was the maximum height for entering the tunnel. He was sure that his rig was no higher than 14'6" – he made a big mistake. The truck was actually 15'1"...

Our sages tell of a wise old man who sits at a crossroads and warns travelers, "There's a road whose beginning is rocky and its end is smooth, and there's a second road whose beginning is smooth and the end is rocky." The wise man is relating a fact of life that applies both to material and spiritual endeavors, as we learn in the following thought-provoking parable.

Today's 8-minute podcast is a 4-in-1:
1. It's a preparation for Succoth, telling about the significance of the Four Species;
2. It tells a traditional story, well known to Iraqi Jewry;
3. It's an ethics lesson, and -
4. It has a special message about rescinding the harsh decree of the Corona-virus pandemic.
Enjoy it, and feel free to share and download it at no charge, thanks to our wonderful supporters.

The Ben Ish Chai tells a story about two Jewish merchants from Turkey who were aboard a ship in the Mediterranean. A terrible storm hit the ship at sea and wrecked it. The ship's crew scrambled to the life boats, but the two Jews, Reuven and Shimon, were left behind. This poignant story helps us in our preparation for Passover, and for life.

A disgruntled husband went to his rabbi for an urgent consultation. "Rabbi, I want to divorce my wife," he said gravely, "I can't stand her anymore."
The rabbi prescribed a special type of medication - a happiness pill...