Jan 25, 2018

A happy little girl sits with her mother, but her mother is confused: why is the girl happy, even though she knows her brother did something that upset her? The girl's answer teaches an important lesson about the difference between praying for something, and taking action. Rabbi Leora Kaye retells the story, which...

Jan 18, 2018

A woman, walking with her wife around Manhattan, hears a cricket. How could she have heard a cricket among all of the New York City noise? Cantor Rosalie Boxt, URJ Director of Worship tells the story. For a written version of this story, by Rabbi David E. Stern, read Three Times Chai: 54 Rabbis Tell Their Favorite...

Jan 11, 2018

Back in the days before indoor plumbing, water carriers would bring water to those who needed it. One water carrier carried the same two buckets each day, and even though one of them had a leak, he never seemed to do anything about it. The reason why teaches an important lesson about finding blessings, even when things...

Jan 4, 2018

On a hot day, the rabbi and his students check in on Yukel the water carrier. After carrying the water buckets day after day, month after month, year after year, how is he feeling? And when they ask him a few weeks later, is his answer the same? Cantor Rosalie Boxt tells the story and teaches an important lesson about...