The Baal Shem Tov once visited Brody. By this time, he was famous in the city, although many scholars of the Brody Kloiz still opposed him. One day, he went to pray in one of the town synagogues and was invited to sit in the front, near the prestigious eastern wall and the Ark; but he declined the honor and remained in the center of the synagogue, and prayed there. After the prayers, he explained his reason to the congregation.

He said that there was once a water-carrier in Brody who was committed with all his might to the mitzvah of praying with a congregation. One day during the winter, he had trouble drawing water from the well because of the cold and the ice, and was a little late in arriving for prayers. He hurried to put on his tallis and tefillin so he would be able to recite the repetition of the Shemoneh Esreh with the prayer-leader. But his shirt sleeve was stuck to his arm by some ice, and in his rush, he pulled the sleeve away, ripping off some skin, and a few drops of his blood dripped onto the floor. "In heaven," said the Besht, "there was a big commotion because of his self-sacrifice to pray with a congregation. And the place where he was standing in the synagogue became especially potent for prayers to rise and be accepted." And that was why the Baal Shem Tov, who knew all this with his holy spirit, wanted to pray on that very spot.