Modern Masters: Seeing the good in one another By Rabbi Sam Shor

this afternoon she is sp is sponsored by Mrs EST Raiden nishas her beloved husband RAB uh who a a cousin of mine and RAB was admired and loved and his passion was always for and for the arrival of today is his fifth yard site so may our Li this afternoon be the the AL of re okay today we're going to learn from a number of different Modern Masters exploring the topic of seeing the good in one another we're going to start not with a modern text we're going to start with we all know from received the M the tradition from their teachers that came before them before them find for yourself make for yourself a teacher and acquire for yourself a friends and judge every single person favorably now finding making for yourself a teacher is an important idea and all of us have mentors in our life and finding decent friends and quality friends I think a social support system is also also something that's very essential why why why AC choire okay but but I really want to focus today on the last part of the mission which is probably the hardest piece of this to understand and the most challenging piece of this for all of us and that is what how do we come to judge one another favorably good good afternoon welcome welcome so we're gonna Just Jump Right In sh we're just going to jump right in and we're going to explore this idea of what does it mean to be down the what do mean to judge one another favor judge our fellow favorably did you get the source sheets okay so we're going to begin with the again this even though this course is Modern Masters and we're going to hear from another a number of Modern Masters we're going to begin with a a classical commentary on the on the on the Mion that's the commentary of the rambam because the R's comment comments on this mishna are going to leave us scratching our heads even further because he's going to challenge us okay even further listen to the ra what does it mean to judge every single person favorably what does it mean that when we see a person okay and we don't know it's a stranger to us and we don't know this if this person is good or Wicked okay would you see someone that we don't that's not familiar to us we see him do something or you hear him say something if you take it in one way it could be understood to be good but if you interpret it another way you could say what it's not so good it's it's it's ra it's bad okay what's the says the ra you have to take that okay and okay if you see someone either do something or say something and you don't know the person so well you don't know if he's a good person or bad person but if you took it one way it would be a bad thing if you took it another way be a good thing what you have to take it and consider it as what being good okay but now comes the more challenging part okay but the person knows that the person that they see is a righteous is known to be a righteous not just a good person but a righteous individual and he's known for his good deeds and you see him do something that the only way you could possibly understand this the act that he did is that it's something bad okay but and a person really can't comprehend that this is there's any good in what what he did unless he what really pushes the anope to see maybe there's something good there and it's therefore even if it's a great stretch it's appropriate what that he should take this to the side of good okay as long as there's some minute possibility says the r that it could be interpreted as good if the person is known to be a generally righteous person what's you have to see the good and it's not permitted to you to suspect or judge him may I give an example yes my father had a very close friend who he knew as an or Orthodox from and one day he's walking along in the city and he sees this from man walking out of McDonald's with bags of food in his hand straight from McDonald's and he says I know Lou Louie would never and and yet everybody who saw Louie walking out with this whole bunch of stuff said Louis Septimus just worked out with all this TR stuff it turns out thatou the homeless the shopping he was shopping for the people who worked in his Factory and he was going out and the people in the factory said we called McDonald's could you bring the package back to the factory and so Lou was just doing a favor for his workers but everybody else so many immediately jumped to the wrong conclusion and that's exactly what the rambam is saying here okay so it's important R and you're going to see that reab we're going to learn from in the next piece okay before we get to the more temporary masters of Jewish thought rabman basically seems to go along and even emphasize this point from the ra even more strongly this is giml on our sheets know with certainty must judge every person favorably so the r talked about what judging aad G someone you know is aad even if it's a if it's pushing the envelope you have to see the good right but he says even someone that's known to be a complete Russia you must look to what find some good quality in this person something good to see within this person that when you see that little spark of goodness you recognize what he's not really a Russia by the way this is a v that we say in the S the S we have the second child in the Seda in the hagz is called the Rasha so what do you what what's the what's part of the response to the Rasha right blunt out his literally means blunt out his teeth push out his teeth so say the okay so not don't read blunt out his teeth push forth not push out his teeth push out his Sheen the middle letter of the word Rasha is a Sheen okay a Sheen is made up of three of three of three stems what are those three stems they represent Abraham and Jakob says the BBI if you take the sheen out of the word out of the word rash you left with the outer letters the outside which spells ra which means that what this child is only ra on the outside the inside of the Rasha is a Sheen is the which represents abah andov he says the rush even the rush of the city you have to find the good you have to see the good you have to remind him that there's good inside him okay so is GNA say the same thing here okay that even if you the person is known to be a complete is what you have to try to find the good when you are able to find that little bit of good within him and you're able to judge him favorably then what have you done you've actually brought him to the side of Merit because you as an outsider were able to see the good that perhaps nobody else was able to see and because of that maybe just maybe you'll be able to set him on the right path and bring him closer and bring him back to Torah so R seems to take the the suest of the r the interpretation of r a step further okay and says that it's not only when you see a okay complete sadic that does something that maybe could be misconstrued and you have to judge and favor he says even a Russ you have to what try to see the good okay all right so now we're going to learn from three four more modern mes three that are in your sheet then this morning here in the library I actually found uh the a a comment on the from so we're gonna end with but we're first going to start with the the is the beautiful set of RAB sh we've learned from RAB sh in this forum in the past and RAB on this mishna he breaks down this mishna just like you wanted to he says there are three parts this mishna and each of these three parts are really a progression listen to his words this is do on our sheets okay the second doll second page the the work known as the or not to be confused as the as the the work explains the connection between these three ideas the okay listen to this incredible idea that suggests he says that by being what's the danger in being and and always trying to see the good in someone even someone who who doesn't appear to be so good what's the D or what's challenging about that that perhaps what'll happen oh if you see the good in everybody so maybe you won't notice that there maybe crowds of people you shouldn't be associated with maybe people that it would be better for us not to be affiliated with and therefore you fall into the potential trap of what of becoming connected to and influenced by those by those such people okay the Alcan M and that's why the the T in the beginning of the mishna begins with the words first make for yourself a teacher the first thing a person needs to have in life in their lives is a rebi okay someone who is going to teach them proper behavior and the next stage is what you also have to have what good friends be associated with quality people that's how you be protected what from inappropriate outside influences and once you have those two things in your life says once you have a rebi that guides you and once you have quality people that you associate with and you socialize with then you can come to the third stage which is what begin to judge everybody favorably and be protected so that you won't fall prey to your and become influenced by those who maybe are not so good around you so the takes his mission and says these are not three distinct ideas but rather what this is a progression okay in life what do you need to do yes the end goal might be that we want to get to the Head space of of seeing the good in everybody but in order to get there and protect yourself so you're not foolish about it you don't end up falling prey to to inappropriate outside influences there's a trajectory the first thing you need is what a rebi someone to guide you the next thing you need is what quality friends good people in your life and then you can begin to see the world in a different way and judge others and see the good in one another that's that's a the beautiful interpretation of our mishna from rabbi RAB just again Modern Masters is one of the leading teachers of in in the in in Brooklyn today he's the son of the very very distinguished and well-known Riva ofas and Brooklyn blessed memory Rabbi gal who farmer known as the oral yahu and Rabbi writes these beautiful including this commentary on that we just learned from related to you no he they they spell their names with an off we have an ion um we were we we're really share Ellis Island Chang us the shore um and uh they're Levan we're not Levan so but his Torah is beautiful and and I always like to learn from it the next modern master we're going to learn from is Rabbi SCH a a um is one of the great leaders in the religious Zionist world today he is the chief Rabbi ameritus of the Jewish community of b l um he's also the Rosa and N of yes in the old city and he's a prolific prolific teacher and writer hundreds of written volumes of raver's Torah and he has including a a commentary P we're just going to learn a few lines from his commentary on our mishna and he says judging others favorably who th this itself is what is a is a privilege and a merit okay and therefore okay our mission really is what our role is what to see the the good side within every person whether it be in terms of his personality traits or whether it's what taking note of his Good Deeds you are required to what to see everything every bit of his actions to to work even if it means you know like the ran said even it means we have to touch it up right to see the good we learn this from where the that with with with righteousness you hasem will judge your people okay it's not upon us to what it's not about covering up the truth or or blurring the truth but rather to grasp with all our capability to our inner truth and the inner truth of what it means to be a Jew okay and that is what that that always be connected to the side of good within every single human being okay all this whole idea you know what could be interpreted one way or another anything that can be interpreted either one way or another what's the obligation we have to interpret it for the good so Aus amongst the PO scheme whether this idea of being is a mitzah between us and our fellow human being or whether it's a because why because our fellow human being doesn't necessarily know what we really think about them so maybe maybe it's not a maybe it's a Mitzvah in terms of between us we want to judge us favorably and therefore what we have to demonstrate that we emulate Theos of and judge others okay yeah when it says they anybody or do they only meanw fair question there many that say it's about judging your fellow Jew there many that say no they even even a non now the question is does it apply to to to to like say murderers and terrorists and I'm sure those are kinds of things that are on all of our minds today and so I just saw again this this morning I did look I did look this morning in um in uh Rabbi is Mayor LA's commentary on Pavo Rabbi LA's the former Chief Rabbi of the state of Israel and he basically says that no that there are that according to many post scheme there are gar in terms of there are limits in terms of how far this principle is pushed but we have to condition ourselves not to think that way meaning our our our our knee-jerk reaction should not be to criticize in the point point I flaws obviously there might be individuals that don't that that push the envelope and for which case it would be okay for us to to say no this person is a problematic personality or even a you know the we do have a p the say the Torah tells us to REM remove wickedness from our midst but again we want to be conditioned in terms of yum in terms of how we see the world like this okay let's just finish let's just finish Reviving there okay the way in which this is the point that R is making the way in which we View and and and jump to to to judge others is the is an implication okay in terms of your your spiritual health let's say he's Bas this on the the said beautiful thing that he's going to quote right here anyone who judges their fellow favly then that what it testifies that me myself is someone that deserves Merit who within myself I am what a good decent person okay I'm deserving okay it's as if we're judging ourselves okay psychology psychology progression projection right okay let's say there's something within us within each of us that we really should be working on but we don't have the personal strength to work and do the work that's necessary for us to get rid of it okay that's why we see that revealed before us and we're reminded this is something we actually have to work on says the if we notice and we see a bad trait okay in someone else what does it mean it's a reflection that there's something similar within me that I need to work on so being as explained by V is what is not simply you know conditioning ourselves to see the good but it's a reflection on ourselves okay if we're not able to do this then it means there's something wrong within each one of us okay so just a a toless example of this of someone who was able who was absolutely able to do this we're going to learn now on page three from another modern Master the third of our modern Ms this morning this is a beautiful Torah from theal yov the yov was the re ofan RAB Freeman ofu the ohal Yakov came in Al 1938 from Poland and he lived the last 19 years of his life in downtown Tel Aviv and what's very fascinating about his beautiful saer is that many many times number one he gives us both both a glimpse of what's going on in Jewish history at that moment as well as his incredible positivity towards what was unfolding before him what do I mean again think about this kufa this time period where he lived he came on Ali Aliah just ahead of the Nazis in Poland okay and he lived through the shaah and the devastation of the shaah he came during the time where literally the battle both in in terms of warfare as well as diplomatically for the establishment of the state of Israel and he lives through that h kufa and then once the state is established you know the early years in the state of Israel it wasn't like today where we all have beautiful apartments and we and we all have one of these things and right in those days people were still living in 10 cities people didn't have running water in their homes like he's living through very difficult times yet what's incredible about this particular reban he's lovingly known as the Ador the relig the Zionist uhic Master he's lovingly referred to as that because of his positivity towards the Enterprise of building Medina isra okay so we're going to now learn a beautiful piece from the the the the of and it's based on the p in in when you come into the land that hasem is going to give has promised to you and you continue with the practice of of this start of the carbon and it'll come to be that your children will come out and say to you what is this service to you and we all know that this is the question that the Bal we spoke about the balag and we spoke about the Russia and the in the SED a few moments ago this is the question the Bal attributes to the the Second Son the proverbial Russia in the what is this service to you as if he's saying what I'm not connected to this Enterprise anymore I'm checking out what is this about to you so the rebi of jumps all over this and we're gonna learn this beautiful piece together he says there's a a important important medish on this P that says p is actually teaching us something very positive okay even though we see it as what as being the negative negativity of the r really this p is teaching us something very positive a good thing is being revealed to the Jewish people at that moment why why because it's hem is giving them these exact words wow he says says when your children come and say to you what is it to you he says what the Hashem uses those words very specifically why to teach us that even when our children may kind of find their own path and maybe struggle or step off the chosen the path that we've we've set out for our lives they remain what they remain our children and therefore it's a it's a reference that not only will they stay your children but in the future we'll see generations and children meaning they'll be unto you for all generations and they will never be God forbid um excommunicated from their roots what that we won't push them away and won't send them further away because any lack of faith any any deficiency in their faith is only a temporary a temporary deficiency this is what Rashi tells us the people came before and they bowed down okay because the fact that what that the children came and said we remain your children with our rer now now the re is going to give us a glimpse it's 1943 a glimpse of what's going on on T in Tel Aviv in 1943 to our great a great portion of the youth here in when we ask them why don't you keep shabas in the same way that our ancestor did the Eternal Covenant between us between and the Jewish people why don't you refrain from eating the prohibited foods that that bring impurity to Hearts why do you why do you keep kosher why have you given up the way the path of Holiness and modesty sh that are the the the signs of who we are as a people they'll answer us either explicitly or or with similar language what is this service to you we're it's not we're not connected to it but now says the re and this is the part I really want to learn we have to recognize what that even those that seemingly have rejected Torah as they've as they've come to they also have good qualities why they have respect for their for their for their parents they love their fellow Jew okay many of them are risking their lives to build up the here they've welcomed in people who have been refugees and they've welcomed them to their homes okay they've risked their lives for the people and for the land these good qualities testify says the re of he says the testify that what that the outward impurity that we see amongst them the outward okay things that don't seem so good okay they're they're only temporary they'll be washed away eventually as the told us we'll see one day the Fulfillment of the prophecy that hem promised with to I will pour upon you purifying Waters and you will be purified we'll see that whatever whatever impurities they have they're not permanent the reality is that for most of them it's because they just don't get it they don't just don't feel connected to Hashem they don't understand the ways of Hashem okay not because they really are are are bad or impure when Reveals His True Splendor to all of us meaning with all them will indeed return with complete so you want to see a manifestation of all the earlier pieces that we learned in terms of how do you take all these ideas of being down and setting the boundaries and if there's someone who really personified it okay and teach us how to do it it's this re okay you can look at the world and you can look at jump jump to to point out the flaws of people or you can take a step back and say you know what there might be they might be flawed they might be imperfect but they also have a lot of good midot and let's look at the good midot and let's recognize the kot as part of something bigger as part of building the bigger picture so that's a beautiful piece I want to just end with the words of the says the following all this comes to what to tell remind us that really our capability to judge others okay has an as an impact in in and and really defines our entire the way we see the entire world and how our Li our Li Our Lives work so to speak if becomes our way to judge others favorably then we will also be judged favorably as we learn the and if our way rather is not to judge others favorably but rather to point out their flaws and and and see them as bad and so to the ministering Angels who are going to advocate in heaven they will they will also speak badly about us in the heaven quing to that's famous one who speaks good of their friend the will speak good on their behalf in the heavens therefore a person has to know in their in their in their to as as they go through life in the moments when he judges his his fellow whether it's to see the good or whether it's you're giving the benefit of the doubt as and through his words he's actually also what contributing to how he's going to be seen after 120 okay when he faces his in sh my friends Bas everything we learned together today the beautiful teachings that we learn together today we see just how important is this idea of being down we we do learn that doesn't mean to be naive that it means to just rise above some of the peripheral things that we might see and seek the good um and I hope this this material because for me it's very inspirational material hope this material res reses with you and it's something that can impact the way we live our lives and and change the world together have a great week Shabbat shalam