As posted on June 21, 2013 by Sam Blustin on Soup for the Neshama “There was once a poor, G-d fearing Jew who lived in the city of Prague. One night he dreamt that he should journey to Vienna. There, at the base of a bridge leading to the King’s ...
As posted on May 3, 2013 by Sam Blustin on Soup for the Neshama “A chassid came to see the Karliner Rebbe because he was depressed. “I don’t know what to do,” he said. “I’m not a good Jew. I don’t study enough, I don’t know enough; all I do ...
Here’s a special story post for Pesach I submitted this week to Jewish Eyes On the Arts: Oholiav for their Pesach blog contest. This One IS In The Book: The story of a seder, a parody song, and freedom Hope you enjoy, and check out some of the other entries ...
As posted on March 15, 2012 by Sam Blustin on Soup for the Neshama It’s good to have friends. Someone to lend a hand. They can be high, or low, or just a plain Joe Schmo. They’re here, they’re there, they can be anywhere. And indeed, it’s nice to have ...
As posted on March 8, 2013 by Sam Blustin on Soup for the Neshama A beautiful song and story as told by Neshama Carlebach. Perfect to enjoy a nice Shabbos. Shabbat Shalom, SB ...
As posted on March 1, 2013 by Sam Blustin on Soup for the Neshama Today’s story is the rarely known story of the Bulgarian Jews during the Holocaust. Unlike the fate of many of their European brethren, a few non-Jews made a huge difference in the outcome of Bulgaria’s Jews ...
As posted on February 15, 2012 by Sam Blustin on Soup for the Neshama “Rabbi Mendel Futerfass spent several years of his life in a Soviet labor camp. He later related that one of the ways that he kept his sanity was to constantly engage his mind in the Chassidic ...
As posted on February 8, 2013 by Sam Blustin on Soup for the Neshama I dream on Shabbos that my words and actions are enough to inspire myself, and to inspire others as well. I dream that one day the world will live under the teaching “Love your neighbor as ...
As posted on February 1, 2013 by Sam Blustin on Soup for the Neshama A Tale of Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi “Try as he might, Reb Dovid found it impossible to be on time. It always happened that he either overslept or became sidetracked and forgot about his meetings. At last ...
As posted on January 25, 2013 by Sam Blustin on Soup for the Neshama “At the wedding of the son of Reb Avraham Yaakov of Sadigora to the daughter of Reb Zvi HaKohen of Rimanov, the groom’s grandfather, Reb Yisrael of Ruzhin, stood up and said to the father of ...
As posted on January 11, 2013 by Sam Blustin on Soup for the Neshama “The Rabbi of Kotzk had some prestigious guests over to his house. Suddenly, he turns to them and asks, ‘Where does G-d dwell?’ The guests chuckle, thinking the answer is obvious. ‘That’s easy,’ they reply, ‘Doesn’t G-d ...
As posted on December 10, 2012 by Sam Blustin on Soup for the Neshama This sermon is adapted from a sermon I wrote about Parsha Vayishlah Why should I be Jewish? What does being Jewish mean to me? What’s the point? Questions like these have been asked by Jews young ...
As posted on November 30, 2012 by Sam Blustin on Soup for the Neshama “Reb Yaakov Shimshon of Kosov loved to share with his students the stories of the great rebbes and their Hasidim. It once happened after morning prayer that the rebbe began to tell one story after another ...
As posted on November 17, 2012 by Sam Blustin on Soup for the Neshama “Reb Yisrael of Ruzhin paid a surprise visit to his Hasidim and found them sitting around a table, idly eating and drinking. The rebbe frowned, clearly disappointed at the actions of his students. One among them ...
As posted on November 9, 2012 by Sam Blustin on Soup for the Neshama A teaching of Reb. Nakhman: “A good shepherd has a special tune, according to the grass and according to the place where he tends his flock. There is a special grass for every different kind among ...
As posted on November 4, 2012 by Sam Blustin on Soup for the Neshama Tzedek, tzedek, tirdof. Justice, justice we shall pursue. As a part of my internship with Healthy Youth Healthy Communities through the Minneapolis Jewish Family and Children’s Services, I help lead programs for youth on topics ranging ...
As posted on November 2, 2012 by Sam Blustin on Soup for the Neshama “Reb Nachman of Breslov told this story: A prince once took ill and thought he was a turkey. He refused to wear clothes and lived under the dining table, eating crumbs that fell to the floor ...
As posted on October 26, 2012 by Sam Blustin on Soup for the Neshama I was listening a few weeks ago to an explanation of how Jason Mraz wrote his song “Life is Wonderful” (see below), and it got me thinking; What kind of questions in Judaism subscribe to the ...
As posted on October 19, 2012 by Sam Blustin on Soup for the Neshama “Reb Shalom Ber of Lubavitch once took his family to a summer resort in the country. Going for a walk with his son and eventual successor, Reb Yosef Yitzchak, Reb Shalom pointed to the ears of ...
A beautiful story told by the master of Jewish storytelling. This Shabbos, my prayer is that we all open our hearts to the world, and extend it to those around us. You never know what could happen. Gut Shabbos ...
As posted on October 5, 2012 by Sam Blustin on Soup for the Neshama “During his stay in Mezritch, the Rabbi of Kolbashow saw an old man come to the Great Maggid (Rabbi Dov Ber) and ask him to impose penance on him for his sins. ‘Go home,’ said the ...
As posted on September 28, 2012 by Sam Blustin on Soup for the Neshama A tragedy occurred yesterday. At 4:25 p.m, a disgruntled former employee entered the Accent Signage Systems building and opened fire on the employees inside. Having been fired earlier that day, the employee came back looking for ...
As posted on September 21, 2012 by Sam Blustin on Soup for the Neshama “All mankind will pass before You like members of the flock. Like a shepherd pasturing his flock, making sheep pass under his staff, so shall You cause to pass, count, calculate, and consider the soul of ...
As posted on September 21, 2012 by Sam Blustin on Soup for the Neshama “The Ba’al Shem Tov asked Reb Wolff Kitzis, one of his senior disciples, to blow the shofar for Rosh Hashanah. To help focus his mind during the blowing, the Ba’al Shem Tov suggested that Reb Wolff study ...
