Rabbi Menachem Mendel Hager of Kosov was born in 5528 (1768) to Rabbi Yaakov Kopel Chasid and his wife Chayah. For most of his life, he devoted himself to Torah study, engaging in business only to earn his necessary livelihood and no more. After his teacher, Rabbi Ze'ev Wolf of Chornyi-Ostriv, made aliyah to the Land of Israel, he accepted the position of rabbi in Kosov. Within a short time, he became the spiritual guide for thousands of chasidim and was known eponymously after the collection of his teachings, Ahavat Shalom.
His descendants include the Rebbes of the Kosov dynasty, and later also the Vizhnitz, Seret-Vizhnitz, and other Chasidic courts. He departed from this world on the 17th of Cheshvan 5586 (1825) and was buried in the cemetery in Kosov.
When the Ahavat Shalom was still a young man, he lacked the means to hire a wagon, so he would walk to his rebbe on foot. One evening on his way to his rebbe, he stopped to rest at an inn owned by a Jew who lived at the edge of a village. Since he had not eaten all day, he asked the innkeeper if he could have a taste of some food. The innkeeper replied that his children had also gone to bed without food, and he had no bread to give them tomorrow either, as he was not making a living.
In the morning, after praying, the Ahavat Shalom set out again on his journey, his heart broken from the distress of seeing the hungry children. On his way, a wagon with a wealthy Jew inside drew near. The wagon stopped, and the wealthy Jew asked the Ahavat Shalom where he was headed. He replied that he was on his way to his rebbe, the holy Rebbe Meshulam Faivush of Zbarazh. The wealthy man said, "I too am traveling to the rebbe. Why are you walking? Perhaps you'd like to join me and continue your journey in my wagon? Come, get on the wagon and I'll take you to the rebbe." However, the Ahavat Shalom, whose heart was broken over the family's situation, replied to the wealthy man, "I cannot travel with you unless you give me one hundred gold coins."
The wealthy man was taken aback by the young man's audacity to request such an exorbitant sum in exchange for his generous offer, but to avoid turning him away empty-handed, he agreed to give him five gold coins. However, the Ahavat Shalom said to him, "I didn't request that you let me ride on your wagon. If you want me to get on the wagon, please give me the sum that...
