Melava Malka Stories

Rabbi Chaim ibn Attar in the lion’s den

While Rabbi Chaim was still a student in his grandfather’s Yeshiva he learned the skills of a goldsmith, so that he would earn his livelihood without having to make his Torah knowledge “a spade to dig with.”
Later, when he had already become famous for his learning and saintliness and could have held an honored position as a great Rabbi and Rosh Yeshiva (head of a Yeshiva), he declined to be paid for these services. He preferred to earn his money from the work of his hands, for he was a very skilled goldsmith.

Ink that doesn’t fade

The well-known Rabbi Yosef Wineberg shared an interesting experience. In 1945, when he was living in Chicago, the Previous Rebbe sent his emissary, the distinguished Chassidic rabbi, Rabbi Shmuel Levitin, to Chicago on a special mission. Rabbi Levitin was sent by the Lubavitcher Rebbe to visit and bring warmth and inspiration to the Jewish community in Chicago in general and to a certain Mr. Lisner in particular.

Rescued by the Rebbe: A Journey from Curacao to New York

I grew up in Curacao, a Caribbean Island that is part of the Netherlands Antilles. There were no Jewish schools on the island at the time, and I attended the Protestant school.

A Jewish priest

I was born and raised in Basel, Switzerland in 1937. When I was fifteen, my family moved to the Netherlands, where my father became the Chief Rabbi of the Hague. Here he opened a yeshivah for Hungarian refugees from the war. Five years later, I came to New York to enroll in the central Lubavitch yeshivah in Crown Heights.

The Hidden Generosity of a Rich Miser

In the city of Krakow, Poland, there lived a rich Jew by the name of Israel who was famous for his stinginess. The local beggars had long since given up trying to knock at his door. All attempts by the trustees of the community’s various charity funds to elicit at least a token contribution from him were met with polite but adamant refusals.

Heartfelt tears of a mother saves her family

In the annals of Chabad, who has not heard of Reb Peretz Chein z”l, the prodigious Chasid of the Alter Rebbe, first Chabad Rebbe. His progeny today are leaders and shakers and movers around the world numbering in the thousands. Reb Peretz merited to live during the lifetime of six Chabad Rebbes, beginning with the Alter Rebbe till the Previous Lubavitcher Rebbe.
Yet his family from the Shaltiel clan, a well respected and knowledgeable Jewish family who were leaders among the Jewish people for many centuries, were not previously Chassidim. How did he come to become a Chasid?

A Journey to Lubavitch: A Six-Year-Old’s Encounter with Blessings and Joy

“I shall never forget my first journey to Lubavitch. The weeks following Passover of 5592 (1832) were filled with excitement and joyous anticipation. I was six-years-old at the time, and I had just been told that father planned to take me along on his annual Shavuot trip to Lubavitch. I was scheduled to soon begin my studies at the cheder and father wanted me to receive the Rebbe’s (the Tzemach Tzedek, third Lubavitcher Rebbe) blessing for success in my studies.
I was scheduled to soon begin my studies at the cheder and father wanted me to receive the Rebbe’s (the Tzemach Tzedek, third Lubavitcher Rebbe) blessing for success in my studies.

A Shabbos Adventure in the Galilee

One Friday afternoon a van with eight teenage boys, students of Migdal HaEmek Yeshiva in northern Israel, was traveling on a winding road in the Galilee. Every Friday they would visit different Jewish settlements and share the joy of Judaism with the residents.
They would give the men and Bar Mitzvah boys an opportunity to don Tefillin, the women and girls Shabbat candle lighting kits, offer to have their Mezuzot checked, and give out pamphlets explaining various Mitzvot.

Tefillin in Union Square

“Hi! Not sure where to send this to so I figured the number on the side of the bus would work! Please excuse my long message.
My name is Laurie and I live in Southern California. Our oldest son, Jacob, became Bar Mitzvah in the beginning of the pandemic – May 2020. My mother’s very generous Bar Mitzvah gift to him was a trip anywhere in the USA, and he chose New York. Because of the Covid restrictions of the past 2 years, we were only just now finally able to schedule this very special trip.

The Rebbe at the casino

My grandfather, the Rebbe Maharash, once set out for Paris, together with two gabba’im (attendants), Reb Leivik and Reb Pinchas Leib. He was also accompanied by two chassidim, Reb Monye Monensohn and Reb Yeshaya Berlin (who was also a nephew of the Rebbe).
On their arrival, Reb Yeshaya asked the Rebbe Maharash where they should proceed to and was told, “To the Alexander Hotel” – one of the largest hotels whose guests included royalty. The Rebbe Maharash put him at ease: “You can’t speak French…, so I’ll do the talking.”