“some people say they have seen the ushpizin.I don’t see them,but I believe they are in my sukkah.And believing is greater than seeing!”(Torah Tavlin) “
This is so interesting – it was the exact story I was going to tell over. But I heard a slightly different version from a Rov giving over a shiur. His version was that R’ Mendel was giving a shiur and suddenly asked his talmidim, Who here believes that the Ushpizin come to their sukkah?” All the hands went up. He then said, “Well, I do NOT believe it!” Everyone looked around, dismayed and confused. “I do not BELIEVE it,” he went on to say, “because when I am sitting in my sukkah, I KNOW they are there. I can feel them all around me!”
Whatever version is the accurate one, that story has had a profound impact on me even to this day. The Kotzker Rov ZT”L was a gevaldig man, and his neshama should have an aliyah today.