As a young boy, the Chozeh lived with his grandfather in Yozepov.
The Rebbe Rav Zusha zy’a, who was wandering in exile from city to city, once came to Yozepov. Rav Zusha davened behind the furnace, as was his way, and wrapped himself completely in his talis. As he prayed, he lowered his head for a moment and looked into the eyes of the young Yaakov Yitzchok. He then returned his gaze to the furnace and continued davening.
At that moment, hot tears began to pour from the boys’ eyes. However, Rav Zusha did not look at him again.
The boy couldn’t stop crying until his tear ducts ran out of tears and blood began to flow from his eyes. Rav Zusha then said to him, ‘I have given you the bechinos of nefesh and ruach. Now, go to the holy Magid of Mezheritzh and he will give you the bechina of neshama.’
A few years later, he traveled to the city of Vorna, where the Magid lived at the time. It was a long trip and he had no funds for the journey, but his desire to see the tzadik was so great that he set off on foot. When he finally got there, he stood with everyone else who had come to see the Magid.
It was Friday, and the Chozeh walked into the kitchen to see the preparations for the seudos. He said, ‘I am accustomed to always doing some of the work involved in preparing the fish that I eat on Shabbos. I want to do that here as well.’
He picked up one piece of fish, salted it, and went on his way.
The Magid’s talmidim who witnessed this thought: How does this young man know that this is the exact piece of fish that will be given to him at the seudah? It’s mixed up with all the other pieces! Most of them came to the conclusion that he must not be very bright.
One of the talmidim was the Baal Hatanya zy’a. He took a small string and wrapped it around that piece of fish so that he would be able to tell if the Chozeh was served that specific piece. At the seudah, he saw that the shamash gave the piece with the string tied around it to a different young man.
When that young man picked up the fish, he was suddenly overcome with trembling and he was unable to eat. He pushed the portion to the person sitting next to him, and the same thing happened to him. This went on until the fish was placed in front of the Chozeh, who picked it up and ate it.
The Baal Hatanya then understood that he was a great man.