Stories to wake you up: wisdom tales and Jewish stories with Yaakov Nadler

Stories to wake you up: wisdom tales and Jewish stories with Yaakov Nadler

By Yaakov NadlerEducationSelf-Improvement
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Stories to wake you up: wisdom tales and Jewish stories with Yaakov Nadler episodes

  • Don’t Shoot Until Punched: using what we have within

    In this episode, I share a powerful interpretation of the story of Rabbi Eliezer Ben Durdaya from Living Time: Rabbi Shagar’s profound approach to the Jewish holidays. Rabbi Shagar blends Hasidic and philosophical ideas, creating sermons that dive into each holiday’s texts, mitzvot, and custom. I start with a joke. I heard a long time ago about an Israeli whocaptured by a tribe of cannibals. The chief tells him, “We’re going to eat you, but as a gesture of kindness, we’ll grant you one final request.”


    The Israeli thinks for a moment and says, “Okay, I want you to punch me—hard, right in the face.”


    The chief is confused but agrees. He winds up and delivers a powerful punch to the Israeli’s face.


    Immediately, the Israeli reaches into his pocket, pulls out a gun, and shoots all the cannibals. The chief, lying on the ground, barely alive, gasps, “If you had a gun all along, why didn’t you shoot us earlier?”


    The Israeli replies, “Well, I didn’t want to be condemned by the UN as being an aggressor.

    7 min
  • The secret under the Rocks

    We may argue and forget about what’s really important. I read this story that in Dr. Jorge Bucay

    מי אתה?

    https://www.keter-books.co.il/%D7%9E%D7%99-%D7%90%D7%AA%D7%94

    8 min
  • Learning from Simpletons
    A sweet story about Rabbi Yanai who invites a guest thinking that he is a great scholar. Turns out he has a lot more to teach him than Torah. “Derech Eretz Kadmah Letorah!” Story is from Medrsh Rabbah ויק"ר ט, ג
    9 min
  • Purim of Saragossa
    I heard this story from Rav Eyal Vered of Yeshivat Mechon Meir in Jerusalem. I remembered it as Purim Grenada. I recently learned more about the tradition: https://he.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/פורים_סרגוסה
    7 min
  • The price of being a bystander
    A fable I usually tell at the Yom Hashoa “being an up-stander” round robin. A King is not concerned about the welfare of his subjects because it doesn’t affect him. He lives in great riches in his palace, and the suffering is not his problem in the end. It leads to his palace, burning down and the king is left with nothing but ashes.
    6 min
  • Fitting in and staying Sane in an insane world
    Embark on a mesmerizing podcast journey delving into the enchanting tales of Rabbi Nachman, including the intriguing narratives of a prince convinced he is a turkey, a king compelled to embrace the madness of his kingdom, and a man trapped in an infinite loop due to his fixation on his “fantom” horse being sucked up by a tiny pump. Through these captivating stories, Rabbi Nachman illuminates the complexities of dealing with a distorted reality, offering profound insights on maintaining sanity, finding truth amidst chaos, and breaking free from illusions that bind us. Join us as we unravel the timeless wisdom of Rabbi Nachman and unravel the mysteries of navigating a world where reality often seems askew.
    11 min

About Stories to wake you up: wisdom tales and Jewish stories with Yaakov Nadler

From the publisher's feed

Stories I have collected over the years. Stories that move me, stories which wake me up. Inspired by Rabbi Nachman of Breslov’s Sipurei Maysiyos: “Some people tell stories to put their children to…