Be Deliberate in Judgment

We cannot escape being judgmental. We must therefore also judge ourselves, judge the totality of others and judge fairly.

Two Axioms of Parsha

There are two axioms that apply to our study of the weekly Torah portion:

First, the name of a Torah portion is not just its opening word. It is the word that speaks to the core subject of the parsha, and should serve as the guide to our lives, particularly during the week in which this portion is read.

Second, when a Torah portion is read at a particular time of the year, it has a message that relates to that specific time. Since we are just weeks away from Rosh Hashanah, this week’s parsha—and particularly its name—must teach us how to get ready for that momentous occasion.

Be Judgmental!?

Shoftim-Judges is the name of this week’s parsha.

The first lesson is that we should be judges. We are not only to establish courts in our communities to ensure the proper execution of justice, but we are all to serve in that capacity.

And the second lesson is that the way we prepare for Rosh Hashanah is to be judgmental.

One is entitled to ask the question. Haven’t we asserted in so many of these Torah messages that we ought not to be judgmental of others? Why, all of a sudden, are we advocating being judgmental?

Judge Yourself First

There are three answers to this question.

First, one may and must be judgmental of oneself. As the Rebbe Maharsh (the fourth leader of the Chabad movement) once quipped: “You cannot fool G-d, you cannot even fool others indefinitely; you can only fool yourself. Is it a trick to fool a fool…”

We cannot ignore our own shortcomings or sweep them under the carpet.

Judging oneself is a tricky endeavor. Self-love biases us and prevents us from seeing our own shortcomings.

There is a law concerning the laws of nega’im skin lesions that render the person ritually unclean. A Kohain must be the one to make that determination. The Mishnah states: “A person cannot see his own lesions.”

Chassidus interprets this to mean that a person is incapable of seeing his or her own faults.

To facilitate self-examination and judgment one needs the support and advice of a mentor and friend; one who is both objective and empathetic.

Judge Actions, Not People

Second, one may judgmental of other people’s actions, not of the people themselves. This means that when we see a person doing something harmful—either physically or spiritually—we must see that action for what it is and try to influence the person to desist from it.

We do not, however, judge the person as evil, immoral or in any way inferior to ourselves. This attitude is based on the understanding that if we do not know the totality of the person; their virtues and trials how can we possibly judge them?

This approach is rooted in Ethics of the Fathers (Chapter one) that we should judge every person favorably.” The phraseology in Hebrew allows for a slightly different translation: “Judge the entire person favorably,” suggesting that when we judge the entire person we will see the good in him or her and not color him or her based on an isolated act.

Judging is in Our DNA

Third, the reality is that whether we want to or not, we are, in fact, always judgmental of others. The moment we meet someone, we size them up and put them through the test that determines the nature of our relationship with that individual. And since we are always in the mode of judgment, it is crucial that we know how to judge the person accurately, fairly and compassionately.

The very first ethical lesson listed in the Talmud (Ethics of the Fathers 1:1), is “Be deliberate in judgment.” While it was intended primarily for a judge who sits on the bench, it is relevant to each and every one of us who is a parent, teacher, government official, employer, manager, physician, business partner, bureaucrat, or just anyone who needs the services, favors, attention etc. of anyone else.

Before we decide who that person is and what he or she stands for and the degree to which we will agree to be involved with that person, we must be deliberate in judgment. We should not make hasty decisions.

Balance in Judgment

As we prepare for Rosh Hashanah—the Jewish New Year and Day of Judgment—and we ask of G-d to judge us favorably, we must take the lesson of how to judge our fellow human being favorably and deliberately.

On the other hand, when judging ourselves, we have to be more demanding. Although, we should not be too harsh on ourselves, we must not be a deferential to our own shortcomings as we must be to others. We must be brutally honest in our self-assessment, even as we are willing to overlook the actions of others towards us and be more understanding of their faults in general.

Parallel between Rosh Hashanah and Redemption

And just as the proper balance in justice prepares us for the New Year and the way we are judged by G-d on Rosh Hashanah, similarly, proper judgment is what will assist us in crossing over into the New Age of Redemption that we have been waiting for so many thousands of years.

The parallel between Rosh Hashanah and the Final Redemption is a striking one.

The Alter Rebbe in his classic work, the Tanya, states that every e=year at Rosh Hashanah a totally new and unprecedented G-dly energy enters the world.

Similarly, the Messianic Age is not just a new age of peace and prosperity. A totally new and unprecedented G-dly light will envelop the entire world.

It follows then that, as we stand on the very cusp of the Messianic Age, we must make our self-appraisal more honest and meaningful.

From the book Light from the Future: Parshas Shoftim by Rabbi Heschel Greenberg, published by the Jewish Discovery Center.