Extinguishing the Fire | Rabbi Yechiel Spero

Telz Yeshiva was founded by R’ Leizer Gordon some 140 years ago. And R’ Leizer Gordon was מוסר נפש, he sacrificed his life and spent years fundraising to build the magnificent Yeshiva in Lithuania. But in those days, the buildings were built often of wood, or at least parts of the buildings were. Enough that if a fire would start on one side of the town, within a few hours, perhaps even less, the entire town, the entire village could be destroyed. One time, there was a fire in the city of Telz, and the fire was consuming house after house, block after block until it came towards the Yeshiva. The firemen of Telšiai, one of them, an irreligious fellow, was carrying buckets of water and a hose. And R’ Leizer Gordon turned to him and he begged him and he said: Please extinguish the flames of the fire! And he looked at R’ Leizer Gordon, and he said, You think this little water is going to be able to put out that fire? It's over. And R’ Leizer Gordon lifted his eyes towards heaven and he said: Ribono shel Olam, I did not give up two years of my life to build this Yeshiva, just so with one fire, the entire building and Yeshiva could be destroyed. I didn't work this hard for nothing, and I am מצווה you, I am commanding the fire בכח התורה, Turn away! You're going to destroy the Yeshiva, you're going to destroy my work, my effort, my life. And suddenly the fire, as if it was listening to the message, stood on its heels and turned the other way. It was miraculous. The firefighter that watched it was so incredibly impressed that he decided if Torah can transform a person like that, if the ability to fight the fire can be done when you cry out to Hashem like that, he decided that he would become a Shomer Shabbos Yid. You work so hard at your Shemiras Einayim, you work so hard to stop the fire from consuming everything that you’ve built. And there will come a time when the fire is raging, the fire of the Yetzer Hara is raging, and it threatens to destroy everything that you’ve fought for. You have Kochos, you have Zchusim. Stand up and say, I am מצווה you, fire, turn away from me! And you will be amazed at the miracles that can happen, at the Siyata D’Shmaya that you're going to have to be able to turn away the fire and to keep everything that you’ve built, standing pure and strong. You have the Kochos. You have the power. You have the Siyata D’Shmaya.