Frozen

Our next story is about a great Tzadik, known as Hillel Hazakein, the great Rebbi Hillel. But do you know how he became great? Here’s the story.

Rebbi Hillel would work for a few hours every morning. He would make a small amount of money. He would split that money in half. One half would be just enough to buy some food for himself and his family. The other half would go to pay his entrance fee to get into the big yeshivah of Shmaya and Avtalyon, the great Tzadikim of that time who taught Torah. In those days, they charged a small amount of money to come into the yeshivah and learn.

One day, Hillel didn’t make enough money for his entrance fee to get into the Beis Medrash. What did he do? He didn’t want to miss learning. He went to the yeshivah and said to himself, “Let me climb up onto the roof.”

In that Beis Medrash, there was a big skylight that let sunlight into the yeshivah. Hillel climbed up and got close to the window. He laid down and put his ear up against the glass. He listened carefully to every word of Torah being taught inside.

Suddenly, a great snow started falling. More and more snow came down. But Hillel was so busy listening to every word of Torah, he didn’t even feel the cold. After a while, three feet of snow had piled on top of him until he was completely covered and frozen. Like that, he lay there all night.

When the morning came and the sun came up, the people in the yeshivah said, “Wait a minute — it’s kind of dark in here today. What’s going on?” They looked up and saw the shadow of a person lying on the skylight. They quickly ran up to the roof, dug through the snow, and pulled out this frozen Hillel.

They brought him into the shul, put him near the fireplace, wrapped him in a blanket, and gave him some hot tea. When he was able to talk, they asked, “Hillel, what were you doing up there? Why didn’t you come into the yeshivah yesterday?”

He said, “I had no money yesterday, and I didn’t want to miss the lesson.”

“Wow!” They were amazed. They said, “If you’re so dedicated to learning Torah that you wouldn’t miss a single word, even in the freezing cold, then in your honor, we’re not going to charge anyone to come learn Torah anymore. From now on, whoever really wants to learn Torah like Hillel can come in for free.”

Hillel went on to become the great Rebbi Hillel Hazakein. He taught so much Torah and started one of the most famous yeshivos, called Beis Hillel. So much Torah came from his lessons.

And do you know what other lesson he taught us? Don’t make any excuses. If you really want to learn, nothing can stand in your way.