Rabbinical Tales



Rabbi Akiva Eiger, one of the greatest Torah scholars of his day, would
invite many poor people to his Seder and did everything he could to make
them feel at home. Once, a guest accidentally spilled his cup of wine
all over the new white Pesach tablecloth. The poor man became very
embarrassed.

Thinking quickly, Rabbi Akiva Eiger knocked over his own cup and
exclaimed, "It seems that the table is not very steady...!"

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Rabbi Israel Salanter would always take charge of the baking of his
Matzot. He supervised the kneading, the rolling of the dough, and the
baking, making sure that everything was done properly.

One year, before Pesach he became ill and couldn't go to the Matzah
bakery. His students went to supervise the Matzah baking for him.
They asked, "Rabbi, instruct us in what we must be most careful so
that the Kashrut of the Matzot will meet your high standards."

"If you want my Matzot to be truly kosher for Passover, you should be
most careful with the woman who kneads the dough. She is a poor widow.
Make sure you don't scream at her and don't get her upset!"

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Before Pesach, a poor man asked the town Rabbi if he could fulfill his
obligation of the Four Cups by drinking milk instead of wine because he
didn't have the money to buy wine for the Seder.

"The question you asked will need a lot of research", replied the
Rabbi, "and since I don't have the time before Pesach, here is twenty
five rubles to buy your needs for the holiday".

After he left, the Rabbi's students asked. "Why did you give him so
much? Five rubles would have been enough to buy wine."

"From his question, whether he can use milk for the Four Cups, I
realized that he also had no meat for the Seder! for if he had meat how
would he be able to drink milk after meat! Now, if he has no meat for
the Seder, he surely lacks it for the rest of the holiday meals.
What's more, his family must be missing many other necessities as well.
So I gave him twenty five rubles and hope it's enough...!"

***** ***** *****

Before Pesach, a poor man came to the wealthy banker Rothchild and said,
"Mr. Rothchild, I would like to bet you 100 rubles that there is
something which I can get and you cannot! Mr. Rothchild was curious.
He put down a crisp 100 ruble note on the table.

The poor man picked up the 100 ruble note, put it safely in his pocket,
and said, "Mr. Rothchild, I can get from the community secretary a
letter attesting to the fact that I am in need, so that I can beg for
alms. Can you get one?"