The Candle That Burned All Night

The Koznitzer Maggid zt’l retold a story that happened to him when he was seven-years-old learning in the Yeshiva of the Gaon Reb Yechezkal Ostrovsa zt’’l.  He used to stay in the Beis Hamedrash learning late at night, and one Chanukah, his father didn’t let him go to learn in the Beis Medrash, for he was worried that he would play ‘kvitlach’ (card game) with the boys there.

The Koznitzer Maggid wanted to stay home to learn, but his father was impoverished, and there were no candles or Seforim to learn with. He promised his father that he would learn as long as a small candle which costs three ‘groschen’ would burn, and then he would return home, so his father could be assured he won’t play ‘kvitlach.’ 

The Koznitzer Maggid went to the Beis Hamedrash to learn. The malachim (angels in Heaven) enjoyed his learning, and a miracle happened – the candle burned all night.

His father knew the candle couldn’t have burned all night and assumed that his son stayed to play ‘kvitlach’ with the boys.  When the Koznitzer came home in the morning, his father punished him.

The Koznitzer Maggid concluded the story: “Although my father knew that I never lie, and if I would have told him that I learned all night and didn’t play kvitlach, he would have believed me, but I didn’t tell him because I didn’t want to derive the pleasure from “Kovad HaTorah” – the pleasure of Torah learning.”

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