In 1759, the Baal Shem Tov sent one of his young disciples, Rabbi Moshe Meshel, with a letter to his former opponent and now disciple, the great gaon, Rabbi Hayim Rapaport, the rabbi of the city of Lvov. The letter instructed him that on a certain Wednesday in the summer month of Tammuz, he should travel to a forest outside the city and study there, in depth, the first four chapters of the laws of blessings in the Rambam. He should briefly record his Torah insights, so as not to forget them, and then pray Minha and return home. Rabbi Hayim did not know the purpose of this mission, but he implicitly followed his master's instructions.

Although the place the Besht had designated was only eight miles from the city, Rabbi Hayim and Rabbi Moshe Meshel travelled for many hours, because there were problems with the coach every step of the way: the reins broke; the harness straps snapped; a wheel fell off; the shaft connecting the horses cracked; and so on. It took time to deal with every mishap and to repair everything that needed to be fixed. They had set out early in the morning but, because of the many difficulties and delays, only arrived at the place the Besht had indicated at two o'clock in the afternoon.

Rabbi Hayim walked into the woods on the side of the road and led Rabbi Moshe Meshel and the coach driver to an opening among the trees, a flat area that seemed to be a ruin of some sort, with the remnants of a number of buildings. He sat there studying for four hours and, because of the hot summer day, became very thirsty. While he continued studying, his companions went to search for some water. In the midst of the thick forest undergrowth they discovered a fountain and brought back fresh water for Rabbi Hayim to drink. He also washed his hands with that water before he prayed Minha; then they returned to Lvov.

At the beginning of the month of Elul, Rabbi Hayim went to the Baal Shem Tov in Medzibuz and told him that since he had been sent on the mission to the ruin in the forest that day, his eyes were opened in Torah study and his heart had opened in the service of God. He had made more spiritual progress in that brief period than ever before in his life. He thanked God and he thanked the Baal Shem Tov for sending him there, because he undoubtedly merited to benefit from the radiance of a holy soul buried nearby.

At the Sabbath meal, the Baal Shem Tov told Rabbi Hayim that the purpose of his trip was to help a Jew who had passed away one hundred and seventeen years earlier. This man, named Moshe the son of Shmuel Tzadok, had been a great Torah scholar, but was also an atheist who led a dissolute life. Yet, in his advanced old age, he had fully repented. "The time had come for the Torah that he had studied in impurity to be raised up," said the Besht. "And I chose you, Rabbi Hayim, for the task. With God's help, your pure study and prayer, elevated what had remained below, trapped by the Shells. By succeeding in this holy work, you merited to be renewed spiritually. You also accomplished another great task there," said the Besht.

"It says in the holy Zohar that the lower waters weep, 'We want to appear before the Holy King!' From the time that the Holy One, blessed be He, separated between the lower waters and the upper waters on the second day of creation, the lower waters have been weeping and begging to appear before the Holy King, that they be used for holy purposes: hand washing before prayer; immersion in a mikvah for a mitzvah or for purification before prayer and Torah study; hand washing before eating with a blessing mentioning God's name; or water for drinking with a blessing before and after. The weeping and pleading of these or those lower waters, that they be used for mitzvot and acts of holiness and purity, may continue for hundreds and thousands of years, until a Jew passes by and washes his hands for prayer or drinks some water to satisfy his thirst, making appropriate blessings. Near the former property and grave of that Jew, Reb Moshe, was a fountain that had been weeping for five thousand, five hundred, and nineteen years, since the creation of the world : Why should it be less than all the other fountains in the world? Why should its waters be denied their elevation? Since the Holy One, blessed be He, had created it, no one had ever made a blessing over its waters; they had never been used for holy purposes. That day," said the Besht to Rabbi Hayim, "when you drank its water and used it to wash your hands for prayer, you elevated that fountain. This was all the working of divine providence. Every creature and creation has a time for its elevation and it is foreordained when it will occur and by whom. And that is true for each and every soul; it too has its time for elevation.

"Just as there is an earthly fountain, like the one you discovered in the woods, so too is there a spiritual fountain within every Jew. There are some people whose inner fountain is covered over with a thick layer of earth and stones, there are others whose fountain is less covered over and concealed, and there are those whose fountain has burst forth and revealed what was hidden. Someone who has struggled religiously for many years, seemingly without success, may think that there’s no fountain within him to uncover. But that’s never the case. Whatever is concealed must eventually be revealed. Either he hasn’t dug at all or he hasn’t dug enough to reveal the waters of his inner wellspring. Just as you encountered obstacles in traveling to the forest spot, but when you persevered you reached it, so too are there obstacles in uncovering one's inner fountain. You, Rabbi Hayim, had reached a block in your spiritual progress. By helping others, you broke through and helped yourself. When you prayed and studied in purity near the grave of that Jew who had died long ago, you elevated the Torah he had studied and you elevated his soul. When you washed your hands and drank with blessings before and after, you elevated the waters of that fountain in the woods. But you also uncovered your own inner fountain. The lower waters of your soul that yearned to appear before the Holy King, were also elevated to their divine Source above. When that happened, all the heavenly gates of holiness and wisdom were opened before you. Now you’ve become, with God's help, an ever-flowing fountain."