Siman 110

(7.) He would often relate various small incidents that he heard from his holy mouth, may his memory be for a blessing, that he told of his youth — of the time when he was occupied in the service of G-d with great effort. He greatly desired that Hashem Yisburach show him a miracle in order to strengthen his faith even more, and he greatly implored and beseeched and multiplied his prayers to Hashem Yisburach for this. And he told of three miracles that occurred to him then. The first: in the place where he was accustomed to walk about outside — here and there — and engage in hisbodidus and cleaving to Hashem Yisburach, there stood in that path a large cross of theirs, meaning a two-beam cross as is their custom, particularly in the villages. And it greatly disturbed him, for he suffered greatly that the cross stood opposite him during his walking in devekus and hisbodidus. And he prayed to Hashem Yisburach that He perform for him this miracle — that the cross be uprooted. And he decreed a matter and it arose, and suddenly the cross was uprooted and fell to the ground. The second: concerning the fish — that he would go before the river and desired that fish should come to his hand without a net, and so it came to pass. The third he forgot — it seems to him that it was something he desired to see a dead person, and he beseeched Hashem Yisburach for this, and it came to pass that suddenly a dead man came to him, and he was lying in his room — namely in the alcove room in his father-in-law's house. And Rabbainu o.b.m. was then very, very frightened, because this was the first time he had ever seen a dead person with his own eyes, for it was in the beginning of his youth. And he also said afterwards that that dead man had been a wicked person, and therefore a very great and immeasurable fear fell upon him. And he began to cry out exceedingly with a very strange cry, and the members of the household came running and tried to enter his room. And they could not enter because Rabbainu o.b.m. had locked the room from inside from the start. And they were compelled to devise means to enter — and I do not remember whether he said they broke the wall or that they climbed over the top of the alcove wall and came to him — and afterwards he calmed down from his fright. And he said that that dead man was wicked, which was why he was so frightened. And afterwards he saw many many dead persons and was no longer frightened — all the more so in the latter days of his life when he became the Master of the Field, for then thousands and tens of thousands came to him without measure for rectification. For this was his primary occupation — to rectify the souls of the dead, and souls of the naked [unincorporated souls] who had never yet entered a body at all, etc., as is explained elsewhere (below #151). And he told that he was extremely poor for one week, and once he had nothing to eat in the evening. And he went out to the field as was his custom, and found a kerchief with groats — a kind of cloth with grits — and brought it home to cook. And it appears from his words that this thing was precious in his eyes like one who finds great spoils, because he had trust in Hashem Yisburach and Hashem Yisburach had sent him his sustenance in the field. For I heard from his holy mouth that he said he knows from trust that even if he had been sitting in an actual field, he would have had trust in Hashem Yisburach that He would send him his sustenance. But this thing is harder and more burdensome — namely, that the true tzaddik hold onto money in his possession and not scatter it immediately — that is harder and more burdensome etc. And he told before me that he had three hundred red coins [adumim] as his dowry and he ate from that money until it was all spent, and afterwards the above-mentioned period of poverty came upon him etc. as mentioned above. But in the beginning he did not think about it at all, just occupied himself in his service and ate from the above-mentioned sum etc.