The Skulener Rebbe, Reb Eliezer Zusia zt'l, and the Ribnitzer Rebbe, Reb Chaim Zanvel zt'l, were friends from their youth, when they were both chasidim in the court of the tzaddik, the Rebbe of Shtefinesht zt'l. With time, they both began to lead their own courts and moved to America.
One morning, the Skulener Rebbe heard that the Ribnitzer Rebbe was coming to visit him. The Skulener Rebbe decided to daven Shacharis quicker than usual, so he would be ready to greet his distinguished guest. Reb Chaim Zanvil, the Ribnitzer Rebbe, arrived just as they completed Shacharis. The Skulener Rebbe said, "Chaim Zanvil, I didn't know that you were coming until this morning, and there was no time to prepare special food and drink to honor you, so I will honor you with a nigun," and he sang the famous Skulener song, הליצוני זדים ...נחמתי זאת ...לעבדך דבר זכר.
When he finished the song, the Ribnitzer Rebbe asked, "Leizer Zusia, did you compose this song on your own?"
"Yes, I did," the Skulener Rebbe replied, and then he sang the song a second time.
When he finished, the Ribnitzer asked again, "Tell me, Leizer Zusia, did you compose this song on your own?"
"Yes, I did."
"Do you not have anything better to do with your time than to compose songs?"
The Skulener Rebbe replied, "Chaim Zanvil, you didn't understand me. I don't compose songs; I compose explanations. I compose peirushim. This song explains the pesukim that I'm singing," and then he sang the song a third time.
The Ribnitzer Rebbe said, "Leizer Zusya! You told me you are explaining the pesukim, but I didn't hear any pirush! I heard a song, not an explanation!"
The Skulener Rebbe said, "Chaim Zanvil, I will explain it to you. זדים are the reshaim. הליצוני, they make leitzonus of me. They mock my religious piety. They say, 'Why do you serve Hashem מאוד עד, to the extreme. They ask me why I am cautious with every detail of Jewish law. They say, 'Why don't you compromise and cut corners here and there?' But the answer is נטיתי לא מתורתך, I don't want to abandon the Torah, and the only way to do that is to be cautious with every law, without compromise. When you begin to compromise, you don't know where you will end up."
The Ribnitzer Rebbe replied, "Leizer Zusia, you're right. Now I understand pshat!"
