Rabbi Meir once stayed at an inn whose keeper was a wicked man. The Talmud and Midrash (Midrash HaGadol, Genesis) record what happened when the innkeeper's true nature was revealed.
The innkeeper had a practice of robbing his guests while they slept, and sometimes worse — frightening travelers in the middle of the night, forcing them to flee and abandon their belongings. It was a profitable scheme for the innkeeper and a nightmare for anyone unfortunate enough to stay there.
Rabbi Meir arrived at the inn and immediately sensed something was wrong. The innkeeper was excessively friendly, overly solicitous — the kind of hospitality that masks predatory intent. Rabbi Meir noted that the man's name contained the word "evil" — and Rabbi Meir was known for reading character from names.
That night, while other guests slept, Rabbi Meir stayed awake. When the innkeeper came creeping through the darkness to rob his guests, he found the sage sitting upright, eyes open, studying Torah by the light of a single lamp.
The innkeeper was foiled. He could not rob a man who was awake and watching. Rabbi Meir's vigilance — born not from suspicion but from his habit of studying Torah through the night — saved both his property and his life.
The sages drew a practical lesson: Torah study is not merely spiritual protection. It is physical protection. The person who studies through the night is awake when the thief comes. The person who fills their hours with wisdom has no empty hours for evil to exploit. Wakefulness in Torah is wakefulness in life.