Kan Tzipor

Believe it or not, Hashem might present you with your greatest opportunities to do acts of chessed when you are least prepared — when you must seize the moment or it will be lost forever.

This book is a collection of true, riveting short stories about how people from all walks of life, in different locations and times, reacted to such “magic moments” of opportunity to do chessed in the most unexpected places — at a wedding, in a mall, while sitting shivah, in a supermarket, riding in a taxi, and in many other venues.

This life-changing book makes you realize that it is imperative to ask, in every situation you find yourself:

“Why did Hashem put me in this very place at this very time? What chessed does Hashem expect me to do at this exact moment?”

These stories will train you to become what the author calls an “observant Jew,” someone constantly on the alert for magic moments of opportunity to do chessed.

This concept is learned from the mitzvah regarding a bird’s nest (kan tzipor), popularly known as shilu’ach ha-kan. The Hashem of shooing away the mother bird before taking her eggs or nestlings cannot be orchestrated, but happens “Ki yikarei kan tzipor lefanecha ba-derech” (Devarim 22:6) — unexpectedly, when we go about our normal daily activities — and earns blessings and long life. So treat yourself to a great read, be inspired by these kan-tzipor-moment stories, grab such moments for yourself — and look forward to your own incredible blessings.