Rav Shmuel of Karov was originally from Neustadt near Cracow when he heard of the Rebbe Elimelech and travelled to study under him.
When he initially arrived the Rebbe Elimelech rebuked him saying “I can smell the stench of something rotten coming from you!” Rav Shmuel was at first taken aback and greatly offended. But after hearing his new rebbe and mentor repeat this rebuke several times over during the weeks he spent in Lizensk, Rav Shmuel began to review his own deeds. He decided that surely he had some character flaws and that the moral failing that his rebbe meant must be arrogance and false pride. Then after he began to work on this flaw the Rebbe Elimelech drew him close.
At the time there was a cholera epidemic that plagued the region and Rav Elimelech sought a segula to end the plague.
One of the local villagers had an older daughter. Aged thirty six that he was unable to marry off due to his poverty and inability to provide her with a suitable dowry.
He approached the Rebbe Elimelech and since there was a well known segulah against plagues and epidemics to marry of the poor, indigent and orphans, Rav Elimelech proposed a match and made her a shidduch with the water carrier who was a thirty year old orphan.
The Kozhnitzer Maggid grabbed a fiddle and the Chozeh from Lublin cracked jokes acting as a jester and badchan to entertain the assembled at what was to be sure a wedding never to forget.
Rav Elimelech turned to Rav Shmuel and said to him, “come let us go together to simchas chassan ve’kallah and lets make the groom (chosson) and bride (kallah) happy.”
As they stood they heard the grammen – the rhymed couplets of Yiddish prose and verse that the Chozeh of Lublin used to entertain the dancing guests.
Rav Elimelech asked Rav Shmuel of Kariv “Can you see how the fire dances and swirls surrounding them all?” When Rav Shmuel replied in the negative that he could not see it, “here you must have some speck or dirt clouding your vision,” so saying Rav Elimelech took out his handkerchief and proceeded to clean and rub Rav Shmuel’s eyes. Then Rav Shmuel saw for himself how the fire danced around the merrymaking partygoers and dancers!
Then the tzadik himself joined the dance and Rav Elimelech danced for longer than an hour!
He then declared “Chessed veEmes” is the same gematria and has the numerical value of Chassan and Kallah!
Then Rav Elimelech davened: “Ribono Shel Olam – Master of the World! In the merit of our dancing mitzvah tantz may we merit to put out at least one fiery coal that was prepared for us in Gehinom!”
(Ohel Elimelech 153)
