As Long as the Candle Burns
During the cold winter days, Jews remember the old Jewish town, wrapped in a blanket of snow, and there, inside the houses and synagogues, warm and humid, Jews study by the light of the lantern.
Today is the anniversary of the passing of Rabbi Yisrael of Salant, the father of the Musar (morals) movement. His name and the name of the small town of Salant evoke a feeling of longing in the heart of every Jew. The Jewish town, where for hundreds of years the life of Torah and musar was bustling, met its bitter end, and there were no survivors or refugees left. According to the records, only one Jewish woman is known to have survived from the town of Salant.
On the night of the anniversary of the passing of Rabbi Yisrael of Salant, yeshiva students tell the well-known musar story associated with Rabbi Yisrael. The eyes close, and the mind wanders to an old and pure Jewish street, in the good old Lithuanian town of Salant. This is the story:
The synagogue in the town of Salant, Lithuania
Yankel the Shoemaker
Late at night Rabbi Israel returned from the study hall to his home. On the way he saw a small flickering light from Yankel’s cobbler. The rabbi entered the cobbler and found him sitting mending shoes by candlelight. The rabbi asked: “Why are you sitting at such a late hour mending shoes?”, Yankel answered simply: “As long as the candle burns, you can still mend.”
This story is also known for its moving Jewish melody in Yiddish, and here we present the English translation.
In 1995, when the chasidic musician Rabbi Yosef Moshe Kahane performed the melody with a chasidic choir and the orchestra of Moshe Mordechai (Mona) Rosenblum, the Israeli singer Shlomo Artzi was present in the studio. The sounds of the ancient Jewish melody penetrated the heart of Artzi, and he excitedly asked to join in the singing. According to him, the music brought him back to his father and grandfather’s home, and to the good old Jewish home in Eastern Europe.
Kol zman shehaneshama
Vi land di neshama iz bei mir,
Modeh ani lefanecha beshefer teiyerer! Dank ich dir
As long as the soul
As long as the soul is in me,
I thank you
Dear Creator! I thank you
Hert a meiseh a interesanter,
Vos mit yoren tzuril hot pasirt,
Der groiser magid Reb Yisrael Salanter,
Hot amol shpet beinacht shpatzirt,
Hear an interesting story
That happened years ago
The great storyteller Rabbi Yisrael of Salant
Once walked late at night,
Fun derviten zet er a lecheteleh brent,
Getracht mistameh dort a tzadik nistar,
Vi er geit tzu hot er derkent,
As dos is Yankel der peshuter shuster,
In the distance, he saw a lit candle,
He thought that there probably lived a hidden tzaddik (righteous man) there,
As he approached, he noticed
That it is Yankel, the simple cobbler,
Yankel! Yankel! Siz shpet in di nacht,
Der lechtel geit shoin zich shoin bald oisbrenen,
Morgen a zin sheint un leicht,
Parechten do shich vest!
Yankel, it’s already late at night,
The candle is already fading,
Tomorrow morning when the sun rises
You can keep fixing the shoes!
Zogt er:
Kol zman sh’brent di lecht,
Farechten di shich iz doh der zman,
Di teina fun di rabin is nisht gerecht
Ver veisht vos vet morgen zein.
He answered: As long as the candle is lit,
It is the proper time to mend shoes,
The rabbi’s claim is incorrect
Because who knows what will happen tomorrow.
Reb Yisrael Salanter heibt oif di hent,
Oy! “Ner nishmas adam,”
Kol zman do lechteleh brent,
Di verter zenen mamish pachodim,
Rabbi Yisrael of Salant raises his hands,
Oh! “The candle of G-d is the soul of man,”
As long as the candle burns,
The words really, fear!
Mensch! Mensch!
Get er tzu forshtein,
Der tog vet amol kuman tzu gein,
Oif vos vorstu, vemen nerstu, nor zich zich alein,
Man! Man!
He explains,
After all, your day will come,
What are you waiting for, who are you deceiving, only yourself,
Der yetzer hora zogt mensch teshuveh tohen ich laz dir
Oif morgen a tzeit toeh bashtetigen,
Der mensch fargest az di velt iz nor a prozdor,
Morgen ken er ales farshpetigen
The evil inclination says to the person I let you repent
But start tomorrow
One forgets that the world is only a corridor,
Tomorrow he can finish everything,
Vi lang a mensch lebt oif di velt,
Farechten ken er biz letzte minut,
Ober ven er vert forin beis din geshtelt,
Vos er hot zich tzugegreit dos nemt er mit,
As long as man lives in the world,
He can fix up to the last minute,
But when he stands before a higher court,
Only what he prepared in advance is what he takes with him,
Zogt er:
Kol zman shebrent di lecht,
Farechten ales iz noch da zman,
Yankel shuster is gerecht,
Ver vist vot vet morgen zein.
And he explains:
As long as the candle burns,
It is till possible to fix.
Yankel the shoemaker is absolutely right,
Who knows what will happen tomorrow.
