Reb Zusha of Anipoli sat in his home immersed in his Torah studies, when the sounds floating through the window caused him to glance out. Passing in front of his house was a wedding procession leading the bride and groom on their way. Reb Zusha immediately stood up and went out into the street where, abandoning constraint, he danced with unbounded joy. He circled the young couple and the other celebrants for a few minutes of great simcha (joy) and then returned to his home and his study.
His family members watched his actions with great interest. They suggested to him that his dancing before a wedding procession was unbefitting a person of his stature in the community.
To their comment he replied, "Let me tell you a story. When I was young I studied under the famous Maggid of Zlotchov, Reb Yechiel Michel. One day I did something against his wishes and he rebuked me severely. I was terribly hurt by his reaction, and he, sensing anguish, soon came over to me and apologized for the harshness of his response, saying, 'Reb Zusha, please forgive me for my angry words.'
"I was comforted by his apology and replied, 'Of course, I forgive you.'
"The same night before I went to sleep, he again came to me and asked my forgiveness. I was surprised, and repeated that I forgave him totally.
"I lay in bed for a while thinking about the incident, when the father of my Rebbe, Reb Yitzchak of Drohovitch, appeared to me from the Next World. He said to me, 'I had the merit to leave behind me in the world below my only son, and you want to destroy him because he insulted you?'
'Please, Rebbe, don't say such a thing! I don't want to hurt him and I have certainly forgiven him completely and wholeheartedly! What more can I do than I have already done?'
'What you have done is still not complete forgiveness. Follow me and I will show you the real meaning of complete forgiveness.'
"So, I got out of my bed and followed him until we reached the local mikva. Reb Yitzchak told me to immerse myself three times, each time saying and feeling that I forgave his son. I obeyed his wishes and immersed three times, each time with the intention of forgiving my Rebbe.
"When I emerged from the mikva I looked at Reb Yitzchak and saw that his face was so radiant that I was unable to gaze upon it. I asked him where that light came from and he replied: 'All my life I have carefully observed three things to which the Sage Rabbi Nechunya ben HaKana attributed his long life: he never sought honor at the expense of the degradation of his fellow; he never went to sleep without forgiving anyone who might have offended or injured him that day; he was always generous with his money. Reb Yitzchak then told me that the very same level which can be achieved through these things can also be reached through joy.
"And that is why when I saw the wedding procession passing in front of our house, I ran outside to partake of the festivities and to add to the simcha of the bride and groom."
