In Parshat Devarim, Moshe asks: Eicha, How…How can I carry your troubles and burdens? How can I carry your conflicts, all by myself? Moshe is really asking: How can I judge you?
The truth is that Hashem is the only One who really knows how to judge each person. Only Hashem knows a person’s entire life history and all the influences of his environment. Only Hashem knows a person’s intellectual abilities and emotional situations. He can also take into account a person’s intentions. Hashem knows our thoughts. He knows how He created us and what our purpose in life is.
But, when one person judges another, their ability to judge is limited. We can see only a sliver of who that person is. We can only reference a minuscule amount that person’s lifetime. When we judge another, we are so blinded, we are so limited. We often jump to the wrong conclusions.
It is so important to remember this, especially during the Nine Days, a time of danger, mourning, and sadness for the Jewish people. We are still dealing with the loss of the Beit Hamikdash, the Holy Temple. We are still in exile. We are so far removed from how we should be living that we don’t even really understand that closeness to Hashem we used to have. This is the time where it is so important to judge each other favorably. We need to be “dan l’kaf zchut”, to give the benefit of the doubt whenever possible.
We need to try and overlook other’s mistakes, even if they hurt us. We need to let things slide.
We have to be careful not to judge another person negatively. Even our greatest prophet, Moshe Rabbeinu, was afraid to judge another Jew.
May you have a day in which you give others the benefit of the doubt. May they give you the benefit of the doubt too. And may we merit to see the coming of the Moshiach in our time.
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