The rich man didn't agree, and the Ahavat Shalom bid him farewell and continued walking. The wealthy man also continued on his way, but feelings of regret arose in his heart. He returned to the Ahavat Shalom and offered him twenty gold coins. Nevertheless, the Ahavat Shalom was unwilling to get on the wagon. The wealthy man realized that this young man was not a simple person, and his heart wouldn't let him leave him alone on the road. He agreed to give all hundred gold coins, if he would get on the wagon so they could continue the journey. But the Ahavat Shalom replied, "No, we are not continuing on our way yet." He told him that he needed the sum for a poor Jewish innkeeper whose children were hungry and asked him to turn back and go to the innkeeper’s house to give him the money.
Again, the wealthy man was unhappy that the young man had asked him to extend the journey after he had already given him the entire sum but knowing that without this he wouldn't agree to get on the wagon, he thought to himself: Let's see the good deeds of this young man who insists on benefiting a Jew with such devotion. He turned the wagon towards the inn. When they arrived, the holy Ahavat Shalom entered the inn together with the wealthy man. He handed the innkeeper the hundred gold coins and instructed him to go to the city to buy brandy, so that he would have something to sell and feed his children.
Before parting from the innkeeper, the Ahavat Shalom whispered to him, "Take a ledger, and record the profits from this business every day from now on, because when the time comes, you will need to share them with your wealthy benefactor."
When they arrived at the holy Rebbe Faivush, the rebbe proclaimed before all that were present, "Make way for those who perform mitzvot!" He received them with great joy and showed them a great deal of endearment.
The wheel of fortune turns in the world. Days and years passed. The poor innkeeper became wealthy, and the wealthy man who had given him a hundred gold coins lost his fortune. He was so poor that he had to join one of the groups of the needy who went from city to city collecting alms. In those days, the Ahavat Shalom had become known as a generous rebbe and a worker of wonders. Needy people flocked to his doors, and he revived them all with his blessings and generous and respectful charity.
One day, the once-wealthy man came to the house of the Ahavat Shalom. The Rebbe recognized him immediately. The Ahavat Shalom instructed his attendant to call this poor man and bring him into his room. The Rebbe received him with a pleasant countenance and reminded him of that wagon journey, and the money that he had given to the innkeeper. The Ahavat Shalom gave him a letter for the innkeeper, who had in the meantime become wealthy. He asked him to make a fair accounting with his benefactor, and to give him half of his profits. The innkeeper fulfilled the rebbe's request completely, and the former rich man became wealthy once again and gave charity generously.
The holy Ahavat Shalom was not initially blessed with a pleasant voice. Once, he was in a certain town where there was a cantor with a wonderful voice. The Ahavat Shalom noticed that after the cantor finished leading the prayers, he inquired among the women how his prayer was received. The Ahavat Shalom raised his eyes to heaven and said, "Master of the Universe, if You give me a pleasant voice, I will pray only for Your glory and not to impress others, Heaven forbid." From then on, the Ahavat Shalom received an exceptionally pleasant voice, and every Shabbat he would compose a new melody or tune.
Once, the Ahavat Shalom was in a certain city on Shabbat during the Three Weeks of mourning for the Temple in Jerusalem, and there was such great joy on Shabbat that people were dancing on the rooftops. After the holy Shabbat, the townsmen and Torah scholars came to him. He asked them, "What do you say about the joy on Shabbat?" The Torah scholars replied that it was excessive, given that it was during the Three Weeks. He answered and said: "Is not Shabbat a gift, as it says in the Talmud, ‘I have a precious gift in My treasury, and Shabbat is its name,' and the law of pre-emptive sale to a neighbor do not apply when it comes to a gift.”
1. This is known as Dina DeBar Meitzra in the Talmud. Since Shabbat is a gift from God to the Jewish people, and someone who receives land as a gift is not obligated to preemptively sell it to his neighbor, so the Shabbat does not have to give up anything to the mourning period of the Three Weeks.
