zog mir a shtikel Torah” – “say a piece of Torah for me.”
He or she isn’t asking for a well-developed Halachic argument, a full-blown sermon, or an intricate comparison of two Talmudic or Biblical texts in order to derive something earth-shaking, universal or cosmic, like the
Olam Haba – The Next World, with it’s related topics of immortality and the Time of the Coming of the Messiah.
The person wants only something nice, plain and simple. Some mildly interesting insight, down-to-earth, and to the point will do just fine. It doesn’t have to be particularly clever, demonstrating the other’s vast knowledge of Jewish texts. Sometimes this request is referred to as a “