Yanki Tauber

One day, it was revealed to Rabbi Israel Baal Shem Tov that he had merited that a great soul would be his "roommate" and partner in the World To Come...

"I've been running away from greatness all my life," the man insisted, "yet greatness is not running after me!"

Why must everything be so difficult? Couldn't G-d have designed our lives so that we wouldn't need to encounter disappointments, challenges and toil every step of the way?

“Brothers and sisters!” the king roared. “We must each search our hearts and confess our sins, so we should know who is the cause of this calamity . . .”

"If you are truly a Rebbe," said the chassid, "then no harm will befall you. And if you are not--you deserve it!"

In the days that followed, the chassidim hotly debated the significance of their rebbe’s final words. Various theories were offered on the Kabbalistic meanings of “wool,” “summer” and “handsome profit.”

Rabbi Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev once saw a man running in the market place. "Why do you hurry so?" he asked him

Disguised as simple beggars, the holy brothers journeyed from village to village, refining their souls with the travails of exile and inspiring their brethren with words of wisdom and encouragement...

“Every act of charity is a victory over our selfish nature,” explained the chassid. “I just can’t resist the opportunity to score two victories for the price of one . . .”

“Hundreds of mitzvot were about to be performed in Shchedrin! Never mind the eighteen rubles that will be raised—considering the sums of money that the yetzer hara deals with, this is a mere pittance. But the mitzvot . . . !”