Not Imaginary:
Sefer V’Lo Shevet Yehuda (a biography of Rav Shmuel Wosner zt”l) relates the following story:
A distinguished avreich from the city of Bnei Brak had a daughter who had reached marriageable age but could not find her match. The avreich took it upon himself and his wife to recite the entire Sefer Tehillim at the gravesite of the great tzadik, Rav Leib Baal Hayissurim zy”a, in the old cemetery in Tzefas. One day, he traveled with his wife to fulfill their promise to do this. However, as they approached the city of Tzefas, it began to snow in northern Israel. His wife realized that if they continued on their trip, the snow would get worse and they would not be able to return to their home in Bnei Brak. Therefore, she decided to get on the next bus going back to Bnei Brak. Hower, he was determined to reach the grave and he continued alone.
When he reached the top of the ancient cemetery in Tzefas, he worried about how he would find the specific grave on such a snowy day, but, to his joy, he saw from afar that a Jew was standing near the grave, also reciting Tehillim. He anxiously approached the gravesite and recited each chapter of Tehillim with much enthusiasm. When he finished reciting all of Tehillim, he did not know how to get to the bus stop to return home since everyone was locked away in their houses and there was no one to ask directions. The only person he saw was the other man who was standing by the grave and saying Tehillim, so he asked him if he knew the way to the bus stop.
The man said that he would accompany him to the bus stop. When they reached it, the husband wanted to thank him for his help, but, in the blink of an eye, he disappeared from his sight, and he was unable to find him. Boruch Hashem, the snow was not that deep, and the roads were not closed, and the husband returned home safely.
When he got home, he told his wife everything that had happened, and ended by saying that he thought that the Jew who he met was Eliyahu Hanavi. But his wife told him, “Don’t fool yourself. Apparently, this man walked very fast and, therefore, disappeared quickly.”
The husband was not convinced and he went to Rav Wosner and told him what he thought. Rav Wosner also told him that he shouldn’t let his imagination run wild and that the man was probably in a hurry and walked off quickly.
The next morning, a messenger knocked on the avreich’s house and said that Rav Wosner wanted to speak with him. The man hurried to Rav Wosner’s house. When he entered, Rav Wosner said to him, “I apologize for telling you yesterday that the man you met was just a fast person. While it was not Eliyahu Hanavi, it was actually Rav Leib Baal Hayissurim himself. Last night, he appeared to me in a dream and told me that it was him. He said that he didn’t want you to be alone in the snow, so he came to be with you. He also said to tell you that your prayers have been answered and your daughter will get engaged in a month.”
And so it was.
