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Features of the Month

Every month, this page features an article or story by a contemporary storyteller, rabbi, or other authority on Hasidic stories.

September, 2001

Why did the rabbi keep listening, even though he knew the anwser? What about the rabbi who did not know the answer; was he any use? A pair of Hasidic stories about listening:

1. The Shortest Way
2. The Perfect Advice

August, 2001

How can two holy men survive in the same small town? Is it trouble when a second shop opens up across the street from the store you own? A pair of Hasidic stories about abundance:

1. The Horse's Reflection
2. The Goose and the Rooster

July, 2001

The rabbi is trying to study. But how can anyone study, with all this laughing and shrieking? In The Children Playing, Rabbi Pesach Mendel (a fictititous rabbi) finds himself pondering a different holy text from the one he intended.

June, 2001

What matters more, what you do or why you do it? A pair of stories about Rabbi Levi Yitzhak of Berdichev, portraying his attitude toward intention in prayer:

1. The Return
2. The Cantor Who Lost His Voice

May, 2001

Two rabbis are imprisoned in a dark cell. Why won't one help the other? What does this have to do with styles of leadership? A traditional Hasidic story, The Prison, has been expanded and re-written by Sharon Humphries-Brooks.

April, 2001

Why won't the rabbi do his duties? Each person in the village asks him to bless the matzah, but he gives them all the same answer - except for one.This month's feature is On Strike, a story about the fictional rabbi, Rabbi Pesach Mendel.

March, 2001

Why is the rabbi's wife dancing with a doll? What does her dancing have to do with the time the rabbi lost his temper? This month's story introduces Rabbi Pesach Mendel, a fictitious rabbi from the mind of Doug Lipman - and the lesson he learns from a Wheat Doll.

February, 2001

This month features a complete re-design of this site: a new look, more convenient navigation, and an easier to read format. You can now search the site - for the name of a story, an author, a holiday, a particular rebbe, etc. And it's easier to move from article to article and story to story - they each feature a "next story (article)" link.

January, 2001

Hearing the Music

Why does the rabbi writhe when he hears the elderly former-cantor sing a prayer? An original story about Rabbi Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev.

December, 2000

Story Wrestling: Healing Through Telling Hasidic Stories.

Much has been written about the power of Hasidic stories for transforming the listener. But what about their effect on the one who tells them? Doug Lipman describes an ongoing experiment in healing.

November, 2000

The Two Generals

Rabbi Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev tells a parable to help a hasid recognize the love of God in an impious man.

October, 2000

The Missing Brother

Did you know that the famous brothers Rabbi Elimelekh and Rabbi Zusia had a long-lost, third brother? In honor of Rosh Hashanah, this tale of sincere penitence describes their tearful reunion. But they do not shed tears of joy!

August-September, 2000

The Prince Who Thought He Was a Turkey, by Gedaliah Fleer

Rabbi Gedaliah Fleer adds a distinctive flavor to this classic tale by Rabbi Nachman of Bratslav. When the Prince decides he is not a person but a turkey, what wisdom can heal his delusion?

May-July, 2000

Another pair of stories about Rabbi Levi Yitzhak of Berdichev, highlighting his attitude toward criticism of others:

1. The Rabbi's Smile
2. The Rabbi's Blessing

April, 2000

The Wind by Schlomo Carlebach and Susan Yael Mesinai.

A timeless Hasidic tale of respect for natural forces - and their relationship to holy wisdom.

March, 2000

Rabbi Gershon's Dream

A rare tale about the Baal Shem Tov and his brother-in-law, who has a dream that teaches him to find the holiness close at hand.

February, 2000

A pair of stories about Rabbi Levi Yitzhak of Berdichev, famous for his compassionate insight:

1. Pursuit
2. Loosening the Stopper

January, 2000

The Bratslav Theory of the Sacred Tale, by Arnold J. Band.

In this important essay, Band demonstrates that Rabbi Nahman and his disciples believed in the spiritual power of holy stories to change the universe. "The tales have a specific therapeutic, cosmic function: They redeem souls from the empty space."

December, 1999

Reb Baruch's Tallit by Schlomo Carlebach and Susan Yael Mesinai.

Which is the holy way, the way of restraint or the way of ecstasy? Perhaps the two ways meet in this story from the late Schlomo Carlebach.

November, 1999

The Baal Shem Tov and the Doctor, by Doug Lipman

In this new tale, a famous doctor challenges the Baal Shem Tov to a contest of healing. When it is his turn, the Baal Shem Tov asks, "Have you ever lost something very valuable?" Then the healing begins.

October, 1999

The Rich Man, adapted by Gedaliah Fleer from the stories of Rebbe Nachman

"One day a rich man decided to let others benefit from his wealth." So begins this parable adapted from the famous Bretslaver teaching tales.

September, 1999

Tents in the Wilderness by Susan Yael Mesinai

"The deepest and the most obvious" truths are transmitted through Hasidic stories. "The story represents another way of knowing. It addresses itself, not to our hunger for information, but to the need to confirm what we already know."

August, 1999

A story and its commentary:

• The King and the Wise Man, by Rabbi Nachman of Bratslav.
  Rabbi Nachman's surprising tale of a king in search of another king's portrait - and
• Commentary on "The King and the Wise Man" by Arnold J. Band.
  Band interprets the story as a comic exploration of the paradox: if the world is imperfect, can its Creator be perfect?

July, 1999

A series of three stories about questions:

1. Who Has the Answer?, in which students are sent to Reb Zusia with a question he claims to know nothing about;
2. What is the Problem?, in which the questions of Rabbi Yisrael Salanter address the root causes of a Hasid's joblessness, and
3. How Do We Know? in which the Baal Shem Tov gives his students a question they can use to test another rebbe's authenticity.

May/June, 1999

Under the Bed, by Schlomo Carlebach and Susan Yael Mesinai

"A soul who needs fixing has to come back into the world and look for a zaddik to help him. Naturally, if he was close to one while he was alive he will have no problem, because his soul is still attached to that zaddik. But what happens to a person who was never attached to a zaddik during his lifetime?"

April, 1999

The Chandelier, by Gedalia Fleer

Rebbe Nachman told this parable of a master craftsman. When he showed a particular work to the other chandelier makers, they all had criticism - which told more about them than about him.

February/March, 1999

Letting the Story Choose Me, by Doug Lipman

During performances, images from Hasidic stories seemed to pop up in Lipman's mind. If he told the story that popped up, he was rewarded by a deep response from at least one listener. One day, however, a story seemed to take over a performance, and no one stepped forward to say, "That story was for me."

January, 1999

The King and the Emperor by Rabbi Nachman of Bratslav

This is a prime example of Rebbe Nachman's original genre, "The Hasidic Fairy Tale." It features a bold and clever princess. Translated by Arnold J. Band.



December, 1998

Commentary on "The King and the Emperor" by Arnold J. Band

According to Band, this story of cunning and adventure on the journey back home actually portrays the return of the Shekhinah, a part of the divine presence, back to her home.

October/November, 1998

Life Stories: Gedolim Ma'aseh Zaddikim by Moshe Rosman

Gedolim Ma'aseh Zaddikim is an early collection of stories about the Baal Shem Tov. In this essay, Moshe Rosman shows that these stories may be more historical and less legendary than some other early collections - and, in fact, may change our understanding of the nature of the Baal Shem Tov's contributions. An excerpt from Rosman's Founder of Hasidism: A Quest for the Historical Ba'al Shem Tov.

September, 1998

Life Stories: Shivhei Ha-Besht

Shivhei Ha-Besht, or "In Praise of the Baal Shem Tov," is the earliest published collection of stories about the founder of Hasidism. In this essay, Moshe Rosman takes a new look at the question, "What can these stories teach us about the actual life of the Baal Shem Tov?" An Excerpt from Rosman's Founder of Hasidism: A Quest for the Historical Ba'al Shem Tov.

August, 1998

The Forgotten Story

The classic tale of the Baal Shem Tov's storyteller, who, after his teacher's death, tells the tale that only he can tell.

July, 1998

Transmigration of Souls: Part Two by Gedalyah Nigal

Part two of Nigal's important essay on gilgul, or transmigration of souls, as it relates to Hasidic stories - including numerous short versions of Hasidic stories. An excerpt from Nigal's book, Magic, Mysticism, and Hasidism.

June, 1998

Transmigration of Souls: Part One by Gedalyah Nigal

Part one of Nigal's important essay on gilgul, or transmigration of souls, as it relates to Hasidic stories - including numerous short versions of Hasidic stories. An excerpt from Nigal's book, Magic, Mysticism, and Hasidism.

May, 1998

The Baal Shem Tov Reveals Himself and Prayers That Were Sung in the Fields

Two stories of the Baal Shem Tov, both from the classic story collection, Mimekor Yisrael, by Micha Joseph Bin Gorion. The first story shows the Baal Shem Tov as an apparently ignorant villager at the moment of revealing his great holiness. The second tells of the Baal Shem Tov's explanation why one of his hasidim had to spend the holiest day of the year alone.

March/April, 1998

Magic, Mysticism, and Hasidism: Introduction, by Gedalyah Nigal.

This piece, selected from the introduction to Nigal's book, gives a brief summary of its main themes.

February, 1998

The Nigun (The Melody) by Peninnah Schram.

In this story/song, a young Hasid values a joyful melody above money.

January, 1998

The Son of Rabbi Adam: A Tale of the Baal Shem Tov by storyteller Doug Lipman.

This excerpt from Lipman's Hasidic epic, The Soul of Hope, portrays two young men who experiment with mystical forces that, once unleashed, may prove too powerful.

December, 1997

Evil in the World: A Discourse on a Hassidic Tale by Laura Simms.

Simms' beautiful essay probes her reactions to a disturbing Hassidic tale. Simms includes the complete story as well as an interpretation that is both universal and unusually personal.

November, 1997

Tales of the Tzaddikim by Rabbi Gedaliah Fleer and Alan Afterman

This is a translation and commentary of an important passage from Rebbe Nachman about the spiritual significance of the act of storytelling.

October, 1997

Stories and Parables for Rosh Hashanah-Yom Kippur by Rabbi Eliahu J. Klein

Arranged and adapted from original Hebrew sources, these half-dozen stories will help to deepen our experience of our Holydays. Includes: "Praying for your life," "Linking with the spirit," "From the Depths of the Heart," "The Disappearing Shofar," "The Last Shofar of the Rizhiner," and "The Power of Forgiveness: A Zohar Legend."

September, 1997

The Responsibility of Choosing by Marthajoy Aft

How can you choose a Hasidic story which will meet the needs of a congregation, a storyteller, and the High Holidays?

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This page was last updated on Wednesday, September 5, 2001
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