Three Stories of Fire, Faith, and the Strength of the Jewish Soul

1. Rabbi Chaim Soloveitchik Rescues the Children

In 1886, a great fire broke out in the town of Volozhin, and with it, the famous yeshiva and most of the homes were swallowed by flames. The fire struck on a Friday, just before noon, while the students were still immersed in learning Torah. Hundreds of young men rushed to save themselves and to help the townspeople escape.

Leading the rescue efforts was none other than Rabbi Chaim Soloveitchik. He ran from street to street searching for lost children. When he found them, he carried them on his shoulders and brought them back to their families.

When the flames reached the yeshiva, a cry rose through the city. “The Beis HaMikdash is burning!” people wept. Even those who were not scholars cried openly. No one cared about their own homes at that moment. Everyone stood together, heartbroken, watching the yeshiva, the holy house of Torah go up in smoke.

Then Shabbat came. And on Shabbat, we do not cry. So when candlelighting time arrived, people took a deep breath and turned to the peace of Shabbat. And after Shabbat ended, the learning resumed immediately in the only synagogue that hadn’t burned down.

2. A Town of Warmth and Simple Kindness

Rabbi Gershon Chanoch Fishman, who served as the rabbi of Rutki-Kosaki in the Lomza district, once reflected on a fire that tore through the synagogue district of his town.

He wrote, “Even now, I still long for the warmth and love that people shared back then, for the simple, calm life, where no one was quick to anger or irritation. Everyone was ready to help their neighbor without a second thought.”

He described the fire vividly. “I remember how people ran to save the Torah scrolls, how they fought the fire with their own hands, pouring water even while flames roared around them. When the wooden stairs to my house caught fire, Reb Nisel the butcher climbed them anyway. He broke through the window just to save my holy books, risking his life.”

After the fire, the town had to collect money for those who had lost their homes. But there were no wealthy people there, only the poor, giving to the poor. Rabbi Fishman recalled, “We went to the poor, and every person gave more than they could afford and always with a smile.”

He ended his memory with a deep message: “We still have much to learn from them. It may take generations until we reach the good character traits that they lived with so naturally.”

3. A Burned Apartment, a Silent Woman and a New Life

This story was told by Rabbi Naftali Zilberzweig, and it carries a deeply personal twist.

After the Holocaust, Rabbi Mordechai Pogramanski was living in Bai, France. In the same building was a couple who had never been able to have children. The woman, a survivor of Nazi abuse, had accepted that she would never become a mother.

One Friday afternoon, she put a pot of Shabbat food on the stove and stepped out briefly. She never expected what happened next: the entire apartment caught fire. Everything was lost.

One of the neighbors approached Rabbi Mordechai and asked, “What should we do in a situation like this?”

He answered without hesitation. “Wait downstairs for the woman. And when she comes, tell her not to say even one word of sorrow. Not a complaint, not a tear. This fire is a kaparah, a spiritual cleansing. And if she accepts it silently, with Hashem’s help, she will have a child this year.”

The couple had long accepted that children were no longer in their future. But the neighbors followed Rabbi Mordechai’s instructions. The woman didn’t utter a word when she saw her burned home. She simply accepted it with deep inner strength.

And the miracle came.

Rabbi Naftali, who tells the story, adds one final, breathtaking detail:

“I am that child. And I have a sister too. We were both born after that fire.”

These stories remind us that even in the face of loss and devastation, the Jewish soul shines with strength, kindness, and emunah (faith). Whether it’s saving Torah scrolls, rebuilding with generosity, or remaining silent in the face of pain, our people carry sparks of holiness through the darkest moments.