According to the account, Jerusalem's Beit Avraham yeshiva maintained a special fund for many years to hold a meal on the Bat Ayin's hillula. The fund's origins are linked to the story of Rabbi Shlomo Gross, of blessed memory.
Prayer amid Hardship
Rabbi Shlomo earned a meager living selling kerosene. On the night of 12 Kislev, he went to the Bat Ayin's tomb in Safed and poured out his heart in prayer for a more comfortable livelihood. After returning home, he fell asleep.
According to tradition, the Bat Ayin appeared in his dream and asked why he had not held a meal for the hillula. Rabbi Shlomo awoke, gathered what food he had at home, invited ten Jewish men and held a meal in the tzaddik's honor despite his financial hardship.
Deliverance That Became Giving
The next day, the tradition relates, he bought a lottery ticket and won a large sum. In gratitude, he used his money to establish a fund for hillula meals at Beit Avraham yeshiva. His personal relief became an enduring undertaking of commemorative meals.