Meshaneh Makom Mishaneh Mazel – Part I Living in Yerushalayim in terrible poverty, Akiva earned his livelihood by chopping trees for firewood. His was a backbreaking, laborious occupation that brought in very little money, not nearly enough to support a wife and six children. In the winter, the work was

The Power of Tehillim One afternoon, the great Tzemach Tzedek of Lubavitch put on his overcoat and left his house alone, walking purposefully to his destination. The passersby in the street, noticing their revered rebbe walking alone, raised their eyes in astonishment. It was well known that the Tzemach Tzedek

The Light of the Menorah The following story, sourced from the firsthand account of the Jewish soldier’s diary, was recorded in the encyclopedia and later included in the sefer Pardes Chanukah. The Revolutionary War, which led to the formation of the United States of America, was fought under impossible conditions.

Reb Mendel and the Marranos Mendel was a young genius who thirsted tremendously for Torah knowledge and was constantly on the lookout for seforim that he had never come across before. His brilliant mind retained everything he learned, and no matter how many seforim he devoured, he always pined for

It began with the child of the baker, who fell ill with a seemingly routine childhood ailment. His symptoms grew worse by the hour, and two days later, the child breathed his last. A funeral was held, the child was buried, and the community mourned along with the baker’s family.

After the famed Pnei Yehoshua passed away, the community leaders were in a quandary. The Pnei Yehoshua was their rav, as well as the gadol hador. There was so much to say over, so much to mourn.  However, the Pnei Yehoshua had strictly written in his tzava’ah that he not

The gadol hador, Maran HaRav Shach, was niftar over twenty years ago, yet the effects of his eternal legacy, that of remaining true to our mesorah despite the myriad changes in the world around us, have not waned at all.  After his passing, hundreds of stories were told and retold,

Concealed within nature, Hashem created certain kinds vegetation and stones that carry hidden powers. Rabbeinu Bachaya’s commentary on Parshas Titzaveh lists a variety of stones and grasses that each contain certain segulos. For example, there is specific kind of stone that brings wealth to one who owns it. Another kind

CHAPTER ONE R’ Nesanel Hatzadik was not born with this noble title. His was a difficult upbringing, but he utilized his challenges as rungs on the ladder of his personal growth, ascending higher and higher. His difficulties forced him to work on his character and better his middos, and soon

When the holy Bach was already an elderly man, he was once traveling in the vicinity of the Town where his great son-in-law, the Taz, resided. He decided to detour through the Taz’s city to visit his son-in-law. As soon as the Taz got word of his illustrious father-in-law’s plans,