One of the greatest disciples of the holy Baal Shem Tov zt”l was the tzaddik, R’ Leib ZT”L, who was known to travel far and wide sustaining and supporting hidden tzaddikim and uncovering sparks of holiness in far-flung places. It is told that one Motzei Shabbos, R’ Leib suddenly felt a Divine presence tugging at his conscience urging him to travel to a far-off land, where an unusually bright spark of greatness was hidden and needed to be uncovered. R’ Leib, the great mystic in faraway Ukraine, perceived that in Hungary there existed an exalted soul that was waiting to be redeemed. Early the next morning, he set out on his holy calling, to locate and cultivate the hidden spark of kedusha.
R’ Leib followed the direction the spirit was taking him and made his way to the outskirts of a little Hungarian town known as Kalev. Walking through the outer fields, he heard a young boy who was tending to a gaggle of geese, singing a beautiful tune. He moved closer to hear the song and the lament in the boy’s sweet and melodious voice. R’ Leib was awestruck upon hearing the song and could not pull himself away. Finally, he asked the lad who taught him the song.
“It’s a song every shepherd around here knows,” said the child. And here he sang the song again, as it once was: Forest, O forest, how vast are you, Rose, O rose, how distant you are? Were the forest not so vast, My rose wouldn’t be so far. Who will guide me out of the forest, and unite me with my rose?
Then the boy said, “I have a different variation to this song,” and he sang it in the version R’ Leib had overheard: Exile, O exile, how vast are you, Shechinah, Shechinah, how distant you are! Were the exile not so vast, The Shechinah wouldn’t be so far. Who will guide me out of the exile, and unite me with the Shechinah?
"What is your name, my child?” R’ Leib asked in amazement. “My name is Yitzchok, but they call me Izik,” the boy answered. “I tend to the geese to support my widowed mother.” “And what do you do out here all day long?” R’ Leib asked. “I sing songs,” young Yitzchok Izik answered.
