It was Motzai Yom Kippur. All the congregants had already left shul to break their fasts, but the holy rebbe, Rav Levi Yitzchok M’Berditchev, remained behind. Wrapped in his tallis, his face a flaming red, he retreated to his private study at the rear of the bais medrash. The minutes

When the queen took to her sickbed, the entire country was heartbroken. She was not the stereotypical queen, high and removed from the ails of her people. Queen Maria possessed an extraordinary heart and utilized her position as the wife of the highest ruler in the land to do good

Rav Yonasan Eibshitz was a great tzaddik who lived in Prague. He authored the Urim V’tumim, Yaaros Dvash, and myriad other seforim. He was a brilliant talmid chacham and a leader of klal Yisroel. After the terrible spiritual devastation wrought by Shabsai Tzvi on klal Yisroel, the global Jewish community

The following is based on a parable from the Chofetz Chaim. As it has happened many times throughout our history, difficult decrees were enacted against the Jews in the country where Gidalya resided. To save his son’s life, both physically and spiritually, Gidalya made the difficult decision that the best

Rav Yom Tov Lipman Heller, author of the Tosfos Yom Tov and other seforim, lived in the era of the Acharonim. He had a son, Reb Shmuel, a young man who took ill at the prime of his life. The Tosfos Yom Tov’s suffering, as he watched his son wither

The Ben Ish Chai was a great Sephardic mekubal who was fluent in all aspects of Torah. He authored many seforim in Halacha, agadah, mussur, kabbalah, and drush. He also published a volume with stories, since often a story is the most effective way to give over a message. The

Henoch’s life was not an easy one. He suffered through a difficult childhood, and as he got older, his difficulties just seemed to get worse. He had a strained marriage, lived in poverty, and found it difficult to get along with others. Although Henoch tried to have emunah that this

The friendship between Zev and Elchonon went back years. They grew up together in the same shtetl, made trouble together at cheder, and shared the same youthful dreams of making it rich someday. Their rebbi, to say the least, didn’t appreciate their get-rich planning as much as them. He constantly

The following story is printed in the sefer Ahavas Chaim. Our generation is blessed with an abundance of talmidei chachamim and Torah resources, and a significant percentage of the community are learned scholars. In previous centuries, however, it was not this way. Only the few gedolei hador and the local

Rav Chaim Yosef Dovid Azulai, better known as the Chida, was a tremendous talmid chacham who lived in the eighteenth century. The Chida was extremely well versed in all aspects of Torah, both hidden and revealed, and authored well over one hundred seforim. The Chida would learn in his bais