The Arizal’s Greatness During the times of the holy Arizal and Rav Shlomo Alkabetz, the Baal Lechah Dodi, there was a woman who suddenly developed a strange and unexplained illness. She took to her bed in terrible pain and seemed to be suffering from hallucinations. A thorough medical examination did

Preserving the Chain The Midrash brings a story about an elderly man whom it calls a chassid, one who does mitzvos not just according to the strict letter of the law, but also above and beyond the basic halacha. This chassid, whom we’ll call R’ Binyomin, was already seventy years

Yossel was a wealthy talmid chacham who lived in Galicia. Although he was not a chassid, he had heard about the Baal Shem Tov, and one day, he suddenly found himself with a burning desire to meet with him. He instructed his driver to prepare the horses for a long

Shabbos in Siberia My older brother, R’ Paysach Krohn, has merited to write many books that were well-received in the Jewish world, such as The Maggid Speaks series, and Around the Maggid’s Table. The following is a story from Around the Maggid’s Table which I read recently. The Second World

Torah Through Tears Avrohom Abish was a sweet and delightful child, but he could not read. This was in the days before dyslexia and reading problems were diagnosed issues, and Avrohom Abish’s inability to read stumped his parents and those around him. His brothers and all the other children in

Sacrifice and Salvation Part 1 When the poverty that was the only reality in Eastern Europe became too much for the Sender family to bear, they made the difficult decision to emigrate to America, the land of diamond-studded streets and golden bridges. It was during the nineteen-twenties, and news of

The Rebbe’s Mechutan The Noam Elimelech, Rav Elimelech of Lizensk, was a tremendous oheiv Yisroel. In fact, his love for his brethren ran so deep that he had the power to turn people toward teshuvah. Under his loving direction, he ensured that people who strayed in certain areas were brought

The Police Chief Our story begins on a Friday night in the year 5536 (1776) in the historical city of Prague. It was Shabbos Shuvah, the Shabbos between Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur. Fraida sat in the dim candlelight of her one-room apartment, doubled over with agonizing pain of childbirth.

Waters of Protection Rav Pinchos Koritzer would relay the following story on Purim, since Purim is a time of miracles. Back during the middle ages, when the influence of the religious leaders on the non-Jewish population was tremendous, priests posed a terrible threat to klal Yisroel. Through their fiery sermons,

The Ransom Eliezer was one of the Talmidei HaGra, one of the disciples of the great Vilna Gaon, and from the early settlers of Yerushalayim in his generation. He and his wife made the treacherous journey across land and sea, together with a few other of the Gaon’s students, and