The show must go on

During the weeks leading up to Purim 1988, everyone seemed to be obsessed with fire. Guys were walking around, flicking blue tip matches off the wall, and letting them burn out. There was one group of guys who ordered tons of M-80s, firecrackers, and other explosive incendiary devices. Zishe lit cigarette in class and left it on the floor, to see what kind of reaction he could get.

There was a firecracker that went off during class one day, and a garbage can mysteriously caught on fire in the middle of class as well. So no one should have been surprised when the building caught fire on that Purim day.

Fire Fighters pulled drunk passed-out students out of harms way. Amazingly, there were no injuries. Perhaps even more amazingly, there was no legal action taken against adults providing alcoholic beverages to minors. Not surprisingly, that was the last time the Yeshiva would have Purim. The following years, students were sent home for the holiday.

The following day, as machines whirred in the background to clear away the smell of smoke and fire, Rabbeim gave shuir to their classes.