The Rewards of Letting Go of Anger

Chazal teach the negative consequences, in this world and the next, of indulging the terrible middah of anger. From this we can see that the inverse is true—there are many rewards, in this world and the next, for making the effort to master one’s temper.
One of the housewives in the old Yishuv of Jerusalem laboriously washed a load of linen by hand and hung it on a line across the courtyard, as was usual in those days. Her neighbor, who was in a bad mood over something that had happened to her, became frustrated when her way was blocked by a washing line. In her anger, she cut the washing line, causing the linen to fall in the mud and become soiled. Without one word of recrimination, the first housewife rewashed the full load and hung it out elsewhere. She did not even mention the incident to her husband.
That night, the neighbor’s child became seriously ill. The neighbor realized that her inconsiderate act that day was the cause, and rushed over to the housewife she had wronged. She begged her neighbor’s forgiveness, and pleaded with her to daven for her child. The first housewife did, and the child recovered.
The following year, the virtuous woman who had never yet had children was blessed with a son. This boy grew up to become Rav Elyashiv, shlit”a, one of the outstanding chachomim and poskim of this generation.