The Ohr haMeir, a disciple of the Holy Seer of Lublin once visited a kretchmer (inn). Unable to sleep, the Rebbe paced around in his room the entire night. Hearing the commotion, the innkeeper knocked on the door, to find out what the matter was. The Rebbe asked him if the clock in the room was not, indeed, the clock of the Holy Seer of Lublin. The frightened innkeeper replied, "G-d forbid! I did not steal the clock. Once the son of the Holy Seer of Lublin stayed in the room longer than he had anticipated. Since he was short of money, he left me his father's clock in lieu of payment. But how did you know that this was the clock of the Holy Seer of Lublin?" The Ohr haMeir replied, "Most clocks mark the passage of time, showing us how much time remains for us to live in this world. But the clock of the Holy Seer of Lublin shows us how much closer we are to the time of Moshiach." 
I would like to share another story with you of the great Holy Rabbi of Lublin. This is about 180 years ago. You know at that time we Jewish people lived in a ghetto and actually every Jew was religious. But there was one person and he never went to synagogue and he was a real playboy. Mazel tov, what can you do? So one Friday night, the holy wife of the Rabbi of Lublin, didn't have enough money to buy two candles for the Holy Sabbath. All Friday, she was waiting for a miracle. But you know, miracles don't always happen. So it was five minutes before the beginning of the Sabbath, and she hadn't bought two candles. So she went out on the street, and she was crying. She said, "Please G-d, don't let me have the Sabbath without candles." At that moment the playboy passed by in a carriage with eight horses. He was already late for an important appointment, but he had a very good heart. And he saw her standing on the street crying. He stopped the horses and asked "Why are you crying?" She said, "Obviously you are a rich man, but all I need is two pennies." "Two pennies? Here they are." He put them in her holy hand, and she said to him, "You'll never know how much you did for me. I bless you, may the light of heaven shine into you forever." He jumped back into the carriage drawn by the eight horses. She bought the candles, and kindled the Great Light, and that light is still shining. Her holy husband, the Seer of Lublin, began to pray. You know, friends, when we pray we think about our business but when the Rabbi of Lublin was praying, his soul really went to heaven. He saw there a big commotion in heaven and the heavenly court said to him, "You always make us trouble. You always bless the most unworthy people. But now your wife is following your footsteps. Look who she blessed with the light from heaven? Look where the playboy is going now." So the Seer of Lublin said,"You are one hundred percent right. But I would like to ask you one favor. Shine the light of heaven just for half an hour into his heart. And let's see what happens." The playboy was driving along when suddenly he felt something -- suddenly he felt something so holy and so exalted and thought "Gevalt, what am I wasting my life with? Why don't I become a mensch?" He turned around and decided to go back to the house where the two candles were burning, and according to our tradition, he became one of the greatest Rabbis of that generation.