A Russian Jewish immigrant entered an American supermarket for the first time. He looked around in amazement, as if he were in the middle of an incredible museum.

As he browsed through the aisles, he encountered an item called “instant coffee.” His American friend explained that by pouring the powder into hot water, delicious coffee could be created instantly! This amazed the immigrant. Next he discovered milk powder, “kool aid” powder, and even mashed potato powder. He was fascinated. Finally he noticed “baby powder,” but this he could not fathom.

He turned to his friend and cried, “No way! Impossible! It takes time and effort to turn a person into a mensch!”

Comment:

Perhaps the same applies to “instant chicken soup.”

Once, when something was ailing us, and our bodies needed to be warmed, we would run to our mothers’ or grandmothers’ home for freshly cooked chicken soup. This “Jewish penicillin” never failed. It was the real thing, rich with flavor, labor and love.

Similarly, when we needed to warm our neshamos, we would go to our Rebbe, teachers, mashpi’im, and parents. They would share a “spoonful” of a Torah thought – sometimes packaged in a story. The story was not an end in itself, but a means to grasp and internalize the rich Torah thought behind it.

Today, the seekers of instant gratification avoid the labor of that traditional “Chicken Soup,” and have invented “instant chicken soup.”

However, for the traditionally potent “Chicken Soup” that was passed from mother to daughter, and teacher to student, that heals, warms and inspires us internally, we need the authentic, full-flavor, full-effort chicken soup. The instant one just isn’t the same.

Each story and insight shared within this book can be viewed as a spoonful of that rich “Chicken Soup.” Instead of being regarded as an “instant” story with a punch line, each story and saying must inspire our lives with its message.


“Words that emanate from the heart penetrate the heart.”
—Sefer Hayashar

“Why did G‑d create us with two ears but one mouth?
To teach us to listen twice as much as we speak.”
—Rabbi Moshe Herson

“Thought is the blossom, language the bud,
and action the fruit behind it.”