With the Chozeh of Lublin

The Chozeh wished to honor his young guest and asked that a glass of wine be poured for him. Rav Sholom had already begun his ascent in avodah, and among the practices he had taken on himself was not to drink any intoxicating drink. He lifted the cup as the Chozeh had instructed, unsure what to do, and the glass shattered in his hands. A fresh cup was poured, and the same thing happened. The Chozeh thundered in mock anger, "What are you trying to do? Do you mean to break all my glasses?" When Rav Sholom explained his geder (personal restriction), the Chozeh let the matter rest.

The next day the Chozeh called him up to the Torah for the sixth aliyah, an honor reserved for distinguished guests and leading rabbanim. The assembled wondered at such an honor for so young a visitor. The Chozeh answered, "Why are you surprised? This yungerman will one day be a leader of thousands."

On Purim the Chozeh asked him to read the Megillah for all those present. Afterward the Chozeh said, "I have heard the story of Purim many times, but never the way this yungerman told it tonight." Another time, when Rav Sholom was squeezed in beneath the Chozeh's tisch, the Chozeh whispered to him, "One day they will all be squeezing in at your tisch."

The Chozeh also said, "People travel to Rymanov, to the Rebbe Reb Menachem Mendel, for parnassah. They go to Kozhnitz, to the Maggid Rav Yisroel Hopstein, for healing. To me they come for Chassidus. To you they will come, and from you they will receive all of these."