My beloved teacher Rabbi Shalom Arush, may Hashem bless him always, told me the following joke:
Napolean, during his conquest of the East, arrived in the Land of Israel. He asked his intelligence officer the best way to glean information about the locals. “If you want to know what’s going on inside the Jewish community,” said the intel officer, “go to the men’s mikva; you can hear all the news there.” Napolean heeded this very sound piece of advice – an outstanding morsel of intelligence in itself – dressed up like a Jew and went to the men’s mikva the following morning. He overheard the following conversation between two Jews there:
“What’s the good news, Avraham?”
“Everybody’s saying that Napolean is somewhere in the mikva!”
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A society’s humor truly reflects that society’s image. Rebbe Nachman of Breslev teaches in his famous tale “The Modest King” that we learn about the people of a given nation by listening to their humor. In that light, there’s more than a grain of truth in the Napolean joke. Even though on should refrain from talking in the mikva – undress, immerse, dress, and leave as quickly and as modestly as possible – every mikva has its notorious parliamentarians.
I was dressing one morning in the mikva when I overheard the following conversation between two married Talmudic students:
Continue reading News in the Mikva in this week's Breslev Israel web magazine.
What's easier - being rich or poor? See Fast Money by Rabbi Shalom Arush.
This week's Torah portion is Matot/Massaei with a special message for women entitled The Need to Protect. Also from this week's portion, Rebbe Natan of Breslev discusses Vows and The Power of Speech.
Pray Away is about a young woman's journey from London Yuppie to Emuna-energized Israeli.
The Melitzer Rebbetzen talks about gratitude in Appreciating the Basics.
Breslev Israel is proud to host celebrated children's author Bracha Goetz this week on Breslev Kids, with her rendition of a Maharam parable, The Three-foot Spoons.
Oded Mizrachi is one of Israel's best true-story tellers. Light at the End of the Cave is a hair-raiser.
Do not Murder is part 4 of our series on the Seven Noahide Commandments.
Here's wishing you a wonderful week from Breslev Israel and the Beams.
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