Once a certain Chosid came to the heilige Rebbe Menachem Mendel of Kosov, — the author of Sefer Ahavas Shalom. He was a Torah scholar and a poor man, and he had a very eligible daughter but did not have the means to give her a marriage with a ben Torah. He came to Kosov and poured out his heart about his situation, asking that his perfect daughter should be matched to a learned man, but he didn’t know how that could happen.
The Ahavas Shalom was compassionate and could not bear the distress of his Chosid, who was a talmid chacham. He took the man’s kvitel (note of petition) and after thinking a bit, the tzaddik said, “I have advice for you: go to the city of Yasi in Romania and there you will have your salvation.” The Chosid didn’t ponder where or when in Yasi his salvation would come — if the Rebbe said it, it would be so — but he mentioned that he had no passport and that could be a problem.
If so, the Ahavas Shalom told the Chosid, “Bring me a paper and I’ll perhaps write you a letter to our Chosid who lives on the border of Yasi. With that letter he will get you across into Yasi without a passport, and when you leave Yasi you won’t need a passport either.” The heilige Ahavas Shalom wrote a warm letter to his Chosid, telling him exactly where to go; they blessed each other and the Rebbe wished him success.
The Chosid was pleased and went out to the Yas border, met that Chosid from Yas, showed him Rebbi’s letter, and they talked about their Rebbe. The Chosid asked him to come along, and within a few minutes they were already across the border in Yasi. The Chosid thanked him profusely and they exchanged blessings, but now the Chosid was in Yasi and didn’t know whom to turn to. From a distance he saw a market, but it was already closed and all the merchants had left. The Chosid stood to one side and prayed to Hashem to guide him to the right place.
It hadn't even been an hour before a wealthy carriage pulled up beside him and the rider was dressed like a rich gentleman. He asked the Chosid where he needed to go. The Chosid answered that he didn't know. The rich man greeted him with “Shalom Aleichem” and began speaking in Yiddish. He asked the Chosid to come with him to his house because he wanted him to stay there. The Chosid was a little frightened, but the native Yiddish reassured him that there was no danger, so he climbed into the carriage and they arrived at a beautiful palace.
There the master asked him to sit down and have something to eat. At the table the master asked, “What are you looking for in Yasi?” The Chosid told him that the Kosover Rebbe had sent him to Yasi, but he didn’t know where or when. The master interrupted, saying that the Rebbe had sent him to the right place and that here he would get everything he needed.
Then the master began to tell him that years ago the Rebbe himself had come to Yasi, and since I have not been fortunate enough to have children. I Went to visit the Kosover Rebbe and he promised me a child that year, and I told the Rebbe that if I would be helped I would give him as much money as he asked of me.
The Rebbe’s blessing was fulfilled, I had a child and I must keep my word, and I have been waiting a long time for the Kosover Rebbe to come to Yas because I must fulfill my vow, but he has not yet come. To my surprise, that night the Rebbe came to me in a dream and told me that since my follower, who looks such-and-such, will be coming to Yas tomorrow, and you promised me that if you were helped with a child you would give me as much money as I ask, and you have been helped, therefore you should seek him out at the fair and give him whatever he demands, and this will be reckoned by me as if you had given it to me.
It amazed me that the Rebbe, through Ruach Hakodesh, knew I had been helped — it must have been a true dream — and I let you search for him at the fair, and I noticed you right away. Now I want to fulfill my vow, so make an accounting of how much you need to have in reserve for the wedding and the dowries. The Chosid made the calculation and the gentleman gave him the full sum and even added more for living expenses. The Chosid thanked the gentleman generously and was happy that the Rebbe’s words had come true, and the gentleman told the Chosid to go to the Rebbe and tell him that he had fulfilled his vow.
The Chosid went home happy and immediately traveled to Kosov to deliver the good news, and the Rebbe blessed him that he should find a talmid chacham as a son-in-law. Indeed, with the money the Chosid had enough for an important dowry and other expenses — all thanks to the merit of the tzaddik who arranged it in faraway Yas, from the town of Kosov.
