Chassidish Stories and Great Rabbis

Iyar 14 is the Hilulah (death anniversary) of Rabbi Meir Baal HaNes. Tradition has it that Rabbi Meir asked to be buried in an upright position so that, when the Messiah comes and the dead are resurrected, he be able to run to greet him with no delay.

Two people entered the king's palace. One of them walked through each chamber and studied the magnificent vessels and treasures. The second also walked through the chambers of the palace, but his only thoughts were: This is the home of the king!

Hunger moves man to action. Spiritual hunger must become the sort of necessity that pushes man to embark upon the spiritual hunt of his life. A person must ask himself if his need for closeness to God is as pressing as his desire for lunch.

On one occasion, when Rabbi Tzvi Yehudah returned home from prayer, his taxi driver accidentally drove past his house. "Oops," said the driver, "I'll have to back up." The rabbi immediately corrected him, saying, "You have to proceed backwards."

Rabbi Avraham Elkanah Kahana Shapira's regular classes at the yeshiva and in his home were, more than anything else, what transformed the yeshiva's students into Torah personalities immersed in the sea of the Talmud and guided by sound reasoning

The heart still refuses to accept the fact that Rav Avrum is no longer with us in this world. Rav Avrum, who was so full of life, so full of joy, so full of light, the light of Torah and the light of sanctity, so full of wisdom and acumen. Could it be?

During Rav Avrum's decades of public service, he never departed from the "Tent of the Torah." He dedicate numerous hours to the yeshiva. Rav Avrum did everything with vigor, enthusiasm, and joy, while maintaining a viewpoint firmly grounded in Torah.

What stood out in Rabbi Kook's thought that could not be found in the thought of his contemporaries was a clarification of the issue of the unique chosenness of the Jewish people, a broad and deep examination of the profundity of the Nation of Israel.

When I finished the memorial service we all stood at attention and sang "Ha-Tikvah." After this, I kissed the Regional Headquarters Commanding General and other soldiers and officers, and then I began singing, "This year in the restored Jerusalem!"

When we proclaim at the end of Yom Kippur that “God is the Lord!” what we mean to say is that the very same unique spiritual reality we experienced on Yom Kippur must also be revealed in the material world we reenter immediately after the fast.