Ilan Ramon and the Words That Soared

Rabbi Hanina ben Teradyon was executed by the Romans following the fall of the Bar Kokhba revolt in 135 c.e. As he was burned alive while holding a Torah in his hands, his students asked their teacher what he saw. He responded, Gevilin nisrafin ve-otiyot porchot: The physical parchment is incinerated, but the letters themselves fly unaffected into the air.