The Letters are Flying

And in another place, the story is told of Rabbi Hananya ben Teradyon that he was wrapped in a scroll of the Torah and burned at the stake. Moments before his death, his students cried out, "Master! What do you see?" He answered, "The parchment is burning, but the letters are flying toward the heavens!"

-The Book of Letters, Lawrence Kushner

http://www.amazon.com/Book-Letters-Mystical-Alef-Bait-Kushner/dp/1879045001