The Fire in Santov

It is told that in his old age the Shemen Rokeach was seated in the beis medrash at Santov, giving a shiur to a large circle of talmidim. The beis medrash was charged with holiness as usual, with sharp debate and a quick exchange of questions and answers, and teacher and students were so lost in learning that they noticed nothing around them.

Suddenly a cry broke the silence. A pale, trembling man rushed into the shul. "Fire. House after house is burning, and you sit here so calmly? Soon the whole city will go up in flames." Then he turned to the rav and begged, "Rabbeinu, come, let us run for our lives before the fire reaches us too, rachmana litzlan."

The talmidim were frightened and wanted to run out to help the townspeople, who hauled water from the wells and failed to master the blaze as it leaped from house to house and from roof to roof, turning whole streets to ash. The Shemen Rokeach raised his hand and held them back, telling them to keep learning. He rose calmly, walked to the door and laid his hand on the mezuzah. "When I lived in Mikolasch," he said, "a blaze started in that city. I went to the mezuzah and said three times, ‘Vatishka ha'esh,’ and the fire died down. Now I say it again: Vatishkah ha'esh, vatishkah ha'esh, vatishkah ha'esh."

The talmidim could hardly believe the miracle taking place before them. Through the windows they could see the city outlined against an orange-red sky, heavy with smoke, and even the most hopeful heart was close to despair. But within a few minutes word came that the fire had gone out by itself.

This story was handed down through the generations along with many others. The Divrei Yirmiyahu of Ujheil, grandson of the Shemen Rokeach, once traveled to Santov to daven at his grandfather's kever, and the townspeople crowded around to welcome him. They gathered around and told him of the many miracles and personal salvations that his grandfather had brought about, and the community's leaders repeated this story in vivid detail.

"The greatest wonder," the Divrei Yirmiyahu answered, "is that my grandfather was a master of Shas and the poskim, the Sifra, Sifrei and Tosefta, the whole of the Torah. All his days he pursued more Torah and sought to raise his avodas Hashem, spreading Hashem's word and transmitting our sacred mesorah. This, to me, is the real miracle."