Reb Meir Premishlaner demands a pipe-cleaner to provides the key to a wedding dowry

Near the city of Premishlan resided a Yid, Yitzchak, who was a great man but was always a contented person full of confidence in Hashem. The children grew up and the time to marry his daughter arrived, his children were special and very smart and he was offered a fine boy who wanted a nice dowry. Yitzchak had full faith and confidence that Hashem would send him the money and promised the dowry and a date was set for the wedding. The days passed quickly and the wedding day was approaching, Yitzchak was looking for ways to come up with the money, but he does not see a way out. He was a simple Jew without any connection to Rebbes, but he believed that a tzaddik has a way to open all the gates to Hashem. He heard of Reb Meir of Premishlan who was a miracle worker and went to visit the Rebbe. After discussing his plight, R. Meir'l admired the calmness and confidence of Yitzchak and began to think of advice, when the Rebbi calls out and asks Yitzchak if he has "a pratitchka" - an iron needle that cleans a pipe-?" Yitzchak exclaimed: "Rebbe, I have never smoked a pipe in my life." "Well, bring me the pipe cleaner I need, because this is the solution to your problem."

Yitzchak was beside himself and confused. "What does a pipe-cleaner have to do with a dowry for my daughter?" However, his trust in the tzaddik nudged him on to say, "Rebbe, of course, I will bring you the pipe-cleaner, even if it means turning the whole world upside down!" Rav Meir'l seemed glad to hear this, and Yitzchak launched a search for the needed pipe cleaner. It was not a simple matter, since no nearby shop was able to supply the item. In desperation, R’ Yitzchak turned to a Gentile metal smith, who offered to construct one for him, but at a high price. Apparently, Yitzchak was in need of a custom-made product, that required highly skilled workers to produce. The metal smith seemed to take a liking to his customer and invited him to remain in the shop for the duration of the job. They got to talking about everything under the sun, and the smith revealed to Yitzchak that he was alone in the world. Yitzchak asked where he kept his money, and surprisingly, the man showed him one empty barrel among his wine barrels which held his life savings from hard work. He said that he had decided to close his metal shop and spend the rest of his life touring the world and living off his savings.

When the custom-made pipe cleaner was ready, the metal smith let Yitzchak take it on credit, to be paid for when he would be able, and Yitzchak, with a new sense of encouragement, sped off for Rav Meir'l's court to deliver the merchandise. To his dismay, the gabbai met him with the news that the Rebbe was not accepting visitors that day but instructed him to return the next day and hope for admittance then. Yitzchak retained his composure and set out to find a place to spend the night. He heard a man pounding on a drum in the town square, with people gathering around him. This was the way of making public announcements in those days. Yitzchak perked up his ears and listened to what the man was shouting. "There will be an estate liquidation auction tomorrow of the metal smith who lived on the edge of town, who passed away this morning, and left no heirs."

After hearing these words, Yitzchak thanked Hashem for leading him to the metal smith's hut, striking up a friendship there, and learning about the fortune stashed away in a old barrel. He approached his friends to borrow enough money to buy the property at auction -- and, of course, all that it contained. He appeared at the appointed place and time and bid up the price so high that the other bargain-seeking bidders thought he was deranged, little suspecting what the property really held. The competing bidders soon dropped out, shaking their heads at the crazy man who was paying so much for a dilapidated house and shop. Yitzchak was carrying enough money to close the deal with the city auctioneer and walked away with the deed and keys to the metal-smiths estate. He lost no time in inspecting the property, and quickly found the "magic barrel".

The treasure was intact, with enough gold and silver there to pay for all his children's weddings. His first action was to repay the auction lenders. He marveled at the Ruach Hakodesh of the Rebbe, for setting up all the events which led to his salvation, even going so far as denying him an audience the day before, which led the way to the life-changing auction. He rushed to report back to the tzaddik and found Rav Meir waiting for him with open arms, but with the key question on his lips: "Nu? Did you bring me my pipe-cleaner?" Rav Meir had no need for a custom-built pipe-cleaner! But he chose that object as the vehicle for a Yid's salvation. Needless to say, Yitzchak was transformed overnight to a wealthy man. He rented a fine wagon for his trip home, which, in order to avert suspicion, he loaded with all the wine barrels from the metal smith's house. He headed to the to pay the dowry he had promised. He also rebuilt the shack and furnished it as a guest house for Jewish travelers visiting Premishlan. He remained tightly bound to Reb Meir'l and became one of his staunchest supporters, using his newfound wealth for charitable causes -- a direct result of Reb Meir's brocho.