Melava Malka Stories

A Blessing in Disguise

Once, Reb Shmuel Beliner, who was a melamed (teacher) in the city of Trampetz, was traveling to the city of Lubavitch to celebrate the High Holidays in the presence of the holy Tzadik, the Rebbe Rashab (as Rabbi Sholom DovBer was known).

Robert’s Bar Mitzvah at 65

“My family were hidden Jews, but not anymore. With this coming-of-age ritual, I’m proudly reclaiming my Jewish heritage.” Said Robert Powell, a 65-year-old Wisconsinite about his recent Bar Mitzvah at Chabad of Mequon, Wisconsin.

The Healing Herbs

The Chassidim gathered with Rabbi Yitzchak Meir of Ger (1799-1866) to partake in the festive mitzvah meal following a brit milah (circumcision). At the meal, the Rebbe turned to a certain Chasid and asked him to relate a story about Rabbi Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev.*

The Miraculous Salvation of the Jews of Yemen

Once upon a time* there reigned in Sana, the capital of Yemen, a mighty ruler, the Great Imam. He had a young son, whom he loved dearly. The young prince was as wise as he was handsome. When he rode on his white Arab steed, he looked lovelier than any Arab prince in the world, and all the Arab mothers peered from their veils and wished that their sons would be even a little like the crown prince.

“Sorry, We’re Closed”

In 1941, a recent Jewish immigrant opened a liquor store in Brooklyn, on Bedford and Ave. U. The liquor store remained a family business for all these years. Eighty-three years later, the store called Tops is still buzzing with action and is run by Jeff, his great nephew. Jeff shares:

From Crown Heights to Miami

Our family arrived from Russia to France in 1947, and I was born the year after, the second of five children. When I was six, we emigrated to Crown Heights, in Brooklyn, to be with the Rebbe.

Zelig’s Return to the Jewish Tree

Zelig was a simple, unlearned Jew, who lived in a small, isolated village and earned his livelihood by running an inn. Now and then, he would travel to the Tzadik, Rabbi Mordechai of Neshchiz (Niesuchojeże), one of the leading Chassidic rebbes in Volhynia.

Why the Besht Laughed

Serve G-d with Joy was one of the cardinal principles of the Besht*. Yet to see the Besht laugh three times at the Friday night Shabbat meal was truly a novel experience as witnessed by the students of the Baal Shem Tov.

Candlesticks for sale

It was a sunny February Friday morning in Monsey, New York when a friend invited me to attend an estate sale. I’d never been to an estate sale, and I wasn’t even sure exactly what it was, but for some reason I decided to go along.

“Here’s to new experiences,” I thought, and hopped into his car.

The Previous Rebbe’s Historic Visit to Chicago

The first city* in the Midwest that the Previous Rebbe went to was Chicago, Illinois, where he spent ten weeks. He was there from Sunday, the 11th of Shevat (Feb 10, 1930) until Sunday the 29th of Nissan (April 27). At that time, outside of New York, Chicago, had the largest community of Lubavitcher Chassidim in America.