Shortly after the Chassidic master Rabbi Mendel of Horodok arrived in the Holy Land, it happened that a man climbed the Mount of Olives and sounded a shofar calling the arrival of Moshiach.

Rumors raced through the street: “Moshiach has come!”

When word of this reached Rabbi Mendel, he threw the windows wide open and sniffed the air. He then closed the windows and said "Moshiach has not yet come."

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In retelling this story, Chassidim often ask: why did Rabbi Mendel need to open the window to sniff the air outside to know if Moshiach had arrived? Why couldn't he smell the air in his own room? Rabbi Mendel—they would explain—was sniffing the air to determine if the hallmark of the messianic era, the revealed manifestation of the Divine, was present. He therefore sniffed the outside air, for within his room the Divine was already present!