The Scissors and the Wick

After the Chozeh rose from Rav Yosef of Ostila's bed, he davened Mincha and sat down to learn before Maariv. As the sun set the house grew dark, and the Chozeh studied by candlelight. Rav Yosef noticed that the wick was too long and the flame gave too little light. He handed his holy father's shneitz sherel, the small scissors for trimming wicks that Rav Mordechai of Neshchiz himself had used, to his young son, Rav Pinchos. He asked him to tiptoe quietly into the Chozeh's room and trim the wick, so that the pages of the seforim on the table would be better lit.

"Wait until you see the Chozeh pause from looking in his sefer. When he is not totally immersed in his learning, you can hand him the scissors." Rav Pinchos did as he was told, but the Chozeh pushed the scissors away and went on learning by the dim light. Rav Pinchos was terrified to begin with of interrupting the Chozeh, and he did not dare try again. So his father came to fix the wick himself. Again the Chozeh brushed the scissors away and gestured not to be disturbed.

Rav Yosef could not understand what was wrong. Surely the tzaddik needed better light to learn by, and what could be wrong with the scissors? "The Rebbe need not worry," Rav Yosef reassured him. "These scissors belonged to my holy father. He himself trimmed wicks with them."

The Chozeh turned to Rav Yosef and explained. "Your holy father, Rav Mordechai of Neshchiz, was able to trim the wick with these scissors. You know what is written in the holy seforim, especially in the works of the Rambam: every mitzvah we were commanded to do is only in order to bring us to the rapture of dveikus to Hashem. That is why the Zohar calls the 613 mitzvos 'good pieces of advice,' for they advise us how to attach ourselves to Hashem. Now, if I were to trim the wick, I would have to focus my thoughts on that precise act. That narrowing of concentration would interrupt my dveikus and disconnect me. I could not allow my thoughts to keep wandering the supernal heavenly realms while my hands did their work with no supervision. The wick would be poorly trimmed and go out entirely, and I would be left in the dark. So I refrained. It is forbidden for me to interrupt my dveikus to Hashem. Your father could focus his thoughts without breaking his dveikus, and so he could use these scissors. I do not have the power to do so."