The Reishis Chachmah (Anavah 5:22) writes, "Another counsel to be saved from anger is written by Reb Yitzchak of Acco in his sefer: One Friday night, I was thinking to myself, what can a person do to avoid getting angry. I began to drift off and felt like they were telling me [from heaven], if you don't want to be angry, be wise..."
It states (Koheles 7:9) ינוח כסילים בחיק כעס, "Anger in the bosom of fools rests." But with wisdom, one can overcome anger. An aspect of wisdom is to push off becoming angry until later on.
The wisdom that Reb Yitzchak of Acco was referring to was to think about the person who said or did something that upset you. If he is a fool, be wise and realize there is no reason to take his words seriously. And if he is a scholar, you should be thankful that he rebuked you so you can correct your ways.
Tzaddikim of Lelov zt'l would advise holding water in the mouth to control anger. Some baalei mussar wore a special suit when they needed to become angry. These activities help postpone anger to a later time, a wonderful tactic to control anger.
Rebbe Naftali of Ropshitz zy'a (renowned for his wisdom) had an empty tabak pushkeh (snuff box) that he often held in his hands and would occasionally open and close its lid. One of his chassidim asked about the box and why he holds onto it. He replied, "Whenever I am aroused to anger, I open the lid of the box and place the anger inside. Two hours later, I open the lid again to assess whether the matter warrants anger or not."
The Ben Ish Chai told the following parable: A king and his prime minister would often dress up like ordinary people and travel about the kingdom to hear what the common folk were saying. Once, the king wanted to visit the hospital to hear what the sick people say about the king and the kingdom. The prime minister didn’t think it was a good idea. He said, "What can we hear in a hospital that is important for the kingdom?" But the king insisted, and they went to the hospital. They visited a person in great pain. "What happened to you?" they asked. "A wild dog bit me." "Is there no cure for you?" "There is a cure. If I eat the liver of the dog that bit me, I will be healed." "So why are you upset? You can be healed." The man answered, "The liver needs to be removed from the dog while the dog is alive. But I was so angry at the dog that I threw a stone and killed it. Now, I don’t have a cure anymore."
When they left the hospital, the prime minister said, "I told you this would be a waste of time. We didn’t hear anything worthwhile here." The king disagreed. "I heard something beneficial. I learned that if I become angry, I must wait before responding. Because if I act impulsively, I might regret it later, like the sick man who regrets killing the dog. From now on, I will never put to death anyone before taking a night to think things over."
