Status Updates From More Stories from My Father...

The baker Zanvel, the Singers’ neighbour in poor 1930’s Warsaw, wants Isaac’s father to draft a lawsuit - against his wife’s dog... ‘Rabbi, I work long hard hours for her - and it’s the dog she kisses! Rabbi, I want a rabbinical judgement! I want you to decide which of us is more important - a man or a dog.’ - More merry Singer mayhem! Love it.

Beautiful stories chock full of warmth and wit!

My mother (always the reb’s wife) heard her out and said, ‘The best thing is to say Kaddish for oneself.’
‘How, my dear, can one say Kaddish for oneself?’
‘One does deeds of charity. One prays... One does not speak ill of other people. All of this is better than the best Kaddish.’
The old woman pondered this, then left.

Then one morning (my father) remarked, ‘I think I saw Chaim the locksmith. He was shining like the sun.’
‘Did he say anything to you?’
‘He told me where he lives in the Garden of Eden....’
Father whispered the secret into Mother’s ear. Mother turned white. It was hard to believe that Chaim the locksmith could achieve such heights.

A bit farther away sat the locksmith, his face shining with an otherworldly joy. His bronzed face seemed to melt with pleasure, and the eyes beneath his bushy brows were filled with light. Perhaps such was the happiness... at Mount Sinai when God revealed Himself amid fire.