One year, around the time of the High Holidays, the daughter of the well-known Tzaddik Rav Meir of Premishlan fell seriously ill. As Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur passed, her condition worsened, and she seemed closer to death than to life.
On Simchas Torah, Rav Meir was fulfilling the commandment to dance and rejoice with the Torah scrolls, doing so with great enthusiasm, like every year. Great happiness prevailed among all the dancers.
But then, a small delegation of Chassidim quickly burst through the doors of the shul and approached him, telling him that his daughter appeared to be in her final moments, Heaven forbid, and he must do something.
The Rebbe hastened home and entered his daughter’s room. When he perceived how critical the situation was, he immediately stepped out and stood alone. Then the Rebbe (who always referred to himself in the third person by his diminutive nickname “Meir’l”) proclaimed:
“Master of the Universe! You commanded us to blow the shofar on Rosh Hashana, so Meir’l blew. You commanded us to fast on Yom Kippur, so Meir’l fasted. You commanded us to live in a sukka on the festival of Sukkos, so Meir’l lived in a sukka. You commanded us to be joyous on Simchas Torah, so Meir’l is joyous.
“But now, Master of the Universe, you have made my daughter critically sick. Now, Meir’l is obligated to accept this tragedy with joy, as it is written, ‘A person is required to bless for something bad that happens to him in the same way as he is required to bless for something good’, and the Gemora explains that since the wording of the two blessings are different, it must be that our attitude has to be joyful toward the bad event just as toward the good. So Meir’l accepts his daughter’s illness with joy, as You have commanded.
“However, Master of the Universe, there is also an explicit law that we are not supposed to mingle one joy with another...”
At that moment, they cried out from the room that the sick young woman had broken into a heavy sweat. Before their eyes, her condition began visibly to improve.
After a reasonable time, she recovered completely.
Note: This story is known to us from a Chassid and relative of the Tzemach Tzedek (Rav Menachem Mendel Schneerson of Lubavitch, 1789–1866) named Osher, who happened to be in Premishlan for the holiday season in the year this episode took place.
