Once upon a time a cruel Pasha forbade the Jews of the little town of Safed in Eretz Yisrael to kindle lights after dark. He wanted to keep the children from their books. But the children, who were accustomed to study Torah in the evenings, decided to take a daring step. They went down into the valley as it grew dark and began hunting fireflies and putting them into boxes.
When they had caught a great many, they returned home and went to their schoolhouse. There they released the hundreds of insects. And wonder of wonders Instead of flying away, the fireflies clustered above the tables, giving light for the children to study by.
But a watchman, seeing the glow, rushed to the Pasha to report that the Jews were disobeying his orders.
The Pasha called his guards and galloped furiously to the Jewish quarter. When he reached the schoolroom, he stared in astonishment at the scene.
There sat the boys over their books, studying the Holy Scriptures and over the tables hovered and blinked the thousands of glittering fireflies.
He called to one of the older boys,
“Go and tell the rabbi and the elders that you can once again light up your homes, your houses of study and your places of worship. I can fight men but I cannot fight Nature itself.”
“It is not Nature who is assisting us” spoke the boy, “it is the Torah which we study. The Torah itself is light and its light will never be extinguished.”
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