Simcha's Torah Stories - Vayera
Parshas Vayera
DON'T MIND THE ACHES AND PAINS
Right you are Chaim. I'm just trying to stay cool
in this hot weather. It must be 90 degrees outside today.
I'm very hot, too, Avi. I am so glad that I met
you. I am on my way to do a big mitzvah.
Great Chaim! What is it?
Mr. Goodman, the elderly man who lives next-door
to me, is moving tomorrow. He is too old to live by himself,
so he is moving near his daughter. He still has some packing
left to do. There are books, clothes, and some dishes. I am
trying to get some friends to come and help him put these things
into boxes. What do you say, Avi?
Boy, it sure is hot today, Chaim. I am so tired.
I could not sleep last night because of the heat. I think a
nice relaxing day at the pool would suit me just fine.
Avi, if you think it is hot today, let me tell you
about another very hot day a long, long time ago. Just imagine
that you are Avraham Avinu, our father Abraham, sitting in his
tent in a place called Mamre ...
It is very hot here today. I feel very weak. Only
three days ago, I had my bris mila. I am in pain. I am 99 years
old, not a young man anymore. But nothing pains me as much as
the fact that no guests are coming to visit me today. I want
very badly to do the mitzvah of entertaining guests in my home.
Eliezer, will you please be so kind and go out to see if any
travelers are coming our way?
A short time later, Eliezer returns without any
guests.
Perhaps Eliezer did not look carefully enough. I
will go out and look myself. I don't see any guests. Wait a
minute! I see three men coming! Weary travelers, please come
this way. Stop here for a little refreshment. Please, my honored
guests, take a little water. I will get some bread for you.
Now that I am doing a mitzvah, I forgot all about
my aches and pains and the hot weather. I must run to serve them
the finest food and drink.
Sarah, my dear wife, may I trouble you to please
bake fresh bread for our guests? I am going to prepare for them
the choicest meat delicacy. I want to give them a sumptuous meal,
fit for a king.
Chaim, you have such a nice way of pointing me in
the right direction. I have a mitzvah to do! I feel cooler already.
Sara helped her mom put the socks away yesterday.
She put them in the drawer, but did not pair them up. Sara's
father had six black socks, four blue socks, and eight white socks.
He got up early the next day to study Torah. He did not want
to put the light on and wake up Sara's mom. He needed two socks
that matched, but he could not see anything in the drawer. What
is the smallest number of socks that he had to pull out of the
drawer to get a matching pair?
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