"Avi, it sure is dark in here."

"Where are the rest of the guys on the tour, Chaim?"

"I think they went the other way. They continued through the main cave, but we wanted to see this side tunnel."

"I'm nervous, Avi."

"Don't worry Chaim, I'm right behind you."

"That's what I'm worried about, Avi. No one is in front of me and I can't see anything."

"Just go slowly and feel you way along. Are there any rocks or holes on the floor of this cave?"

"I can't see any."

Suddenly the boys are frightened by a loud noise.
Boom!

"What was that Chaim?"

"I fell down. I must have tripped over something. Oww. My foot hurts. How did we get ourselves into this predicament anyway?"

"We decided leave the tour and explore this little tunnel. Before we knew it, there was no light."

"I think I found a light. Yes, here is an oil lamp. Let's light it."

"Wow. One little lamp lights up this whole dark place. Look at that, Chaim. You tripped over a rock."

"I see Avi. Boruch Hashem we have this light, or I could have fallen into that pit over there."

"Boruch Hashem."

"Come, let us find our way back to the rest of the class."

And so, the boys slowly find their way out of the tunnel to join with their classmates.

"Look! There are Chaim and Avi!"

"We were so worried about you guys. Where were you? What is that in your hand, Chaim?"

"It is an oil lamp. It saved our lives."

"How?"

"We had wandered into a dark cave and were totally lost. There was no light. We could have fallen into a deep pit. Then, I found this lamp and lit it. It's light guided us back to the tour with you guys."

"The light guided you. That is exactly what our teacher, Rabbi Levy was teaching us about this week's Parsha."

"Which light are you referring to?"

"The menorah that was the light in the Mishkan (Tabernacle). The verse says, 'And they shall take pure, pressed olive oil for the light, to kindle the lamp continually' (Shemos 27:20). The Medrash compares this oil and the light that it sheds to the light of Torah. A person without Torah is compared to someone walking in the dark. He trips and falls over all sorts of obstacles. The obstacles are sins, and he falls into their trap. However, one who toils in Torah is like a person walking with a lamp in his hand. He will not stumble because the light guides his way. Similarly, the light of Torah steers us clear of sin, and guides us on our journey through life."

"That is exactly what happened to us. Without that light, we surely would have fallen and gotten seriously hurt."

"Without the light of Torah, we also are sure to trip and fall over many obstacles in life. We have many challenges, tests, and opportunities in our lives. The Torah always steers us in the right direction. Hashem's Torah is the "guidebook" for how to live our lives. Without the "guidebook" we will surely get lost. With it, we will accomplish tremendous things."

"Guys, we thought we would find adventure in a dark cave. Instead, we found danger. We thought that we found and oil lamp. But really, we found the Torah."

"Our guiding light."

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