One cold winter evening, Rav Yisroel Salanter ZT”L was staying at an inn in Vilna. The innkeeper, not recognizing the famous rabbi, had gone to sleep, leaving him alone in the common room. While studying Torah by candlelight late into the night, Rav Salanter noticed that he needed more light. There was a large candle belonging to the innkeeper nearby, and many would have had no qualms using it without the owner’s permission. Indeed, the Shulchan Aruch rules that regarding a Davar Mu'at (a small matter), one may assume that people would not care if their item was used without permission.
However, Rav Salanter would not use the candle. When asked about it, he explained: "Using another person's property without permission, even something as small as the wax of a candle, can be theft. In this case, even if I would only be using a small amount of the candle’s wax, it may have been the innkeeper’s last candle, and therefore I am making him go to the store to get more candles sooner than he had hoped to. In such a case, he may care that I used the candle without his permission."
What makes this story even more noteworthy, is that Rav Salanter was known for his intense dedication to Torah study. He could have rationalized using the candle as necessary for him to study Torah. Instead, he demonstrated that ethical behavior and absolute honesty take precedence over religious study.
