“How could a butcher be compared to someone who utilized every moment to learn Torah?”

There once lived a very holy man, let us call him “the chassid,” who spent his life immersed in learning. He would toil over the Torah, exerting himself to understand the holy words. He also taught others, and between his own learning and his teaching, he barely had any time to rest.

When people would ask the chassid how he survived, he would shrug and brush off their question.

“I survive on Torah. You could as well, if you train your body when you are young. Then, when you’re an old man, it will become like second nature to cast sleep from your eyes and drag your weary bones to your sefer.”

And the chassid would always add, a twinkle in his eye,

“Besides, for what do I need so much sleep? After I have passed on to the world of truth, my body will have a nice long time to rest, comfortable and secure in the grave.…”

But even when the chassid did finally lay his head down to rest on his flimsy pillow and rickety cot, his mind would often soar to the upper realms. Sometimes he was able to travel further than others, but it was quite often that he was able to perceive and communicate with the happenings of the higher worlds, which most people are not even aware of.