Weekly Chasidic Story#1469 (5786-20) 15 Shevat 5786 (Feb.2, 2026)

"The Miraculous Eyeglasses"

Although blind, the young boy was strongly drawn to Jewish holy books. He would remove them from their shelves and lovingly caress their pages. Each book received a kiss before being put back.

Why This Week? In this week's Torah reading, Yitro, which details the 5 days before G-D declaring the Ten Commandments, in verse 19:11[+ Rashi] we learn that all the blind were cured.

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The Miraculous Eyeglasses

Around 200 years ago, in the city of Lemberg in Galicia, a baby boy was born into a Jewish family with the last name Brill. According to legend their name was derived from the "brillen" ('glasses' in Yiddish) at the heart of this story.

The parents' joy was short- lived, however, when it was discovered that the child was blind. As the doctors could do nothing to help, the parents accepted the Divine decree and loved their child even more. The boy's first name is not known, but for our purposes we will call him Micha.

When Micha was three years old he was given his first haircut and brought to school. Although he obviously could not learn to read, the teacher began to teach him the blessings and prayers by heart.

It soon became apparent that the child was unusually intelligent. Whatever he heard was immediately remembered. Over the next 'few years he memorized the entire prayer book, many books of the Bible and many tractates of Mishna. The child acquired a vast amount of Torah knowledge and was beloved by all.

Micha was especially drawn to sefarim, Jewish holy books. Even though he couldn't read, he would remove them from their shelves and lovingly caress their pages. Passing his fingers over the holy letters, he seemed to absorb their sanctity. Each book received a kiss before being put back.

One time Micha asked his brother to bring him to the main study hall in Lemberg. As was his habit, he began to take the sefarim off the shelves and straighten out their pages. He came across a very thick volume covered with dust; it was obvious that no one had used it in a very long time.

He opened it and was surprised to feel something hard between the pages. It was a glasses case that someone had forgotten. The boy opened the case, took out the glasses, and playfully put them on. He thought he would faint: unbelievably, he could see! The entire world suddenly came into focus.

Micha thought he must be dreaming. He took off the glasses and again was blind. Putting them back on, he could see his younger brother and the square-shaped letters on the pages before him. It was a miracle.

Micha fought against the urge to cry out about what had happened. But he was still in shock and needed a little more time to assimilate the change. Instead, he put the glasses in his pocket and asked his brother to take him home.

Micha 's parents could see that something was wrong. The poor boy's hands were trembling; he was deathly pale and could barely eat. But when they asked him what was the matter, he insisted that everything was fine.

That night he waited until everyone had gone to sleep to try on the glasses. Again, he could see as if he had never been blind!

A few days later he could no longer keep the secret to himself, and told his parents about the miraculous glasses. Needless to say, the entire household was filled with gladness and light.

Soon, the whole city of Lemberg marveled at the miracle. Everyone agreed that there was no one more deserving of such good fortune than he. Moreover, now Micha could begin studying Torah in earnest.

Sometime later Micha went back to the study hall to take a good look at the book in which he had discovered the glasses. It was an ancient volume of Kabala (mysticism), and although he had made great strides in his studies, he could not understand much of what was written. Micha was determined to learn more about the book and the glasses, but no one was able to answer his questions.

Finally, he found a very old man who remembered that as a young child, he had often seen the Rabbi of the town poring over that particular volume and wearing similar glasses. Further questioning revealed that the rabbi was none other than the famous Torah scholar known as the "Pnei Yehoshua" for his celebrated commentary on the Talmud.

Astoundingly, Micha later learned that he had found the glasses on the exact date of the rabbi's passing, the 14th of the Jewish month of Sh'vat! For the rest of his life he observed the Pnei Yehoshua's yahrzeit as a special day of thanksgiving.

Micha Brill grew up to be not only a Torah scholar but also a successful businessman who gave generously to charity. Years later, when he passed away after a long and fruitful life, his many descendants gathered to divide up their inheritance. Everyone was willing to relinquish everything their father/grandfather had left them in exchange for the miraculous glasses.

In the course of their argument the glasses fell to the floor and shattered, and so each of his children ended up with nothing but a small sliver of glass.

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Source: Modified by Yerachmiel Tilles from an old issue of "L'Chaim," a weekly publication of the Lubavitch Youth Organization.

Why This Week? In this week's Torah reading, Yitro, which details the 5 days before G-D declaring the Ten Commandments, in verse 19:11[+ Rashi] we learn that all the blind were cured.

Biographical note:
Rabbi Yaakov-Yehoshua Falk [1680 - 14 Shvat 1756] was an early 18th-century scholar and rabbinic authority, known for his widely-studied and celebrated Talmud commentary, Pnei Yehoshua, which largely focused on resolving questions posed by Tosafot on Rashi. He served as lead rabbi in several communities, including Lemberg, Berlin, Metz, and Frankfurt. [based on Sefaria.]

Yerachmiel Tilles is co-founder and associate director of Ascent-of-Safed, and chief editor of this website (and of KabbalaOnline.org). He has hundreds of published stories to his credit, and many have been translated into other languages. He tells them live at Ascent nearly every Saturday night.

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