Rabbi Chananya ben Tradyon, one of the "Ten Martyrs" (see entry for Sivan 25) was killed on this date. When the Romans discovered him teaching the outlawed Torah they wrapped him in a Torah scroll, piled bundles of twigs around him, and before setting him afire they placed damp woolen cloths on him to prolong the agony of being burned to death.
As the flames engulfed him, his disciples asked him, "Master, what do you see?" Rabbi Chananya replied: "I see a scroll burning, but the letters flying up to Heaven."
Links:
The Ten Martyrs
Each generation has its role in history.
From all the generations before us we inherited a wealth of dreams: philosophy, truths, wisdom and purpose. We are tiny dwarfs standing on the shoulders of their ideas and their noble deeds.
Our generation’s mandate—and destiny—is to make the dream real.