The Burned House and the Sukkah

Before one Sukkos, a bochur came to take leave of Rav Noach. Rav Noach put a difficult question to him and told him to work it out during the break.

While the bochur was away, he heard that a fire had broken out in the home of Rav Noach, and he traveled back to Biala to see what could be saved. He arrived on Chol HaMoed Sukkos and found the whole house burned to ashes. Only the sukkah was still standing, and Rav Noach was sitting inside it, learning.

Seeing the terrible state of things, the bochur began to cry. When Rav Noach noticed, he tried to comfort him. "Even if you haven't yet found an answer to my question, that is no reason to cry," he said. It never crossed Rav Noach's mind that the bochur was crying over the burned house.