Vayechi | "Judge Every Person Favorably"
STUDENT SUMMARIES OF SICHOT OF THE ROSHEI YESHIVA
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PARASHAT VAYECHI
SICHA OF HARAV
"Judge Every Person Favorably"
Translated by
When Yosef's brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, "Perhaps Yosef
will hate us, and pay us back all the evil which we did to him." So they sent
word to Yosef
"Forgive, I pray you, the transgression of your brother"
and
Yosef wept as they spoke to him. (Bereishit 50:15-17)
Rashi (ad loc.)
comments that the cause of the brothers' anxiety was that Yosef stopped inviting
them to dine with him. The source for this explanation is a dispute between
Rabbi Yitzchak and
According to
However, he failed to
take into account how they would perceive this. From their perspective, they had
every reason to believe that the relations between them were still fraught and
fragile. Indeed, this is borne out by Rabbi Yitzchak's explanation: the pit was
a site with traumatic associations for Yosef. It is likely that throughout his
life he carried the memory of the fear and suffering he had experienced there,
as a slave at the mercy of others. In order to take care of this unfinished
psychological business and get closure, Yosef wished to return to the pit as a
free man, to shake off the trauma: "His intentions were purely for the sake of
Heaven." But here, too, he failed to consider how his behavior would be
interpreted by his brothers: "Now he's remembered the pit! We thought it was all
over, but he obviously hasn't forgotten
" Therefore the verse tells us, "And
they said, Perhaps Yosef will hate us
"
Yosef's reaction to the
announcement of the brothers concerning Yaakov's "request" for mercy follows the
same pattern. He weeps. He had believed that all was forgotten, that his actions
as a boy were no longer part of anyone's memory, since he had been so generous
towards his family as ruler of
All of this upheaval in the relations between the brothers comes about as the
result of a mutual lack of understanding, a lack of respect for each other, and
most of all a lack of trust in each other. Had Yosef really believed in his
close relations with his brothers, he would have summoned them and discussed the
problem with them. However, the reality is that the brothers do not fully trust
each other and do not yet regard each other as acting solely "for the sake of
Heaven." This is the source of the tension and anxiety we encounter in our
parasha.
The Gemara (Shabbat 127a-b) teaches:
Rabbi Assi said in the name of Rabbi
Yochanan: There are six things whose benefits a person reaps in this world,
while their reward awaits him in the World to Come. They are: showing
hospitality to guests, visiting the sick, meditation in prayer, arising early to
the beit midrash, raising one's children to Torah study, and judging one's
fellow favorably.
The Gemara points out that in the Mishna (Pe'ah 1:1), the list of
activities whose benefits are reaped in this world while the reward awaits one
in the World to Come is somewhat different: honoring parents, acts of kindness,
and making peace between people. How are these two lists to be reconciled? One
of the answers proposed is that the six items enumerated by Rabbi Assi in the
name of Rabbi Yochanan are included within the three categories set forth in the
Mishna. Rashi explains:
One who judges his friend favorably is
included in the category of those who bring peace, for when one decides [to view
his friend's behavior] in a positive light and says, "He did not deliberately
sin against me in this act; he must have been forced [by outside circumstances
to act in this way], or his intentions were good" he thereby creates peace
between them.
Failure to judge one's fellow favorably creates a problem on two levels: there
is the narrow view, which concerns the personal offense experienced by the
individual involved; and there is the broader view of the social ramifications.
A society built in such a way that no one can rely on anyone else, and everyone
is always regarded with suspicion, is a defective society. A society in which
doors are always locked is quite unlike a society in which no one ever locks his
door. The Sifra (Kedoshim, 2) explains the mitzva, "With
righteousness shall you judge your fellow" (Vayikra 19:15), in two ways:
as addressing the judge, and as addressing society. Just as the importance of
having judges exercising righteous judgment is clearly apparent to and
understood by all, so it is also important that each individual judge his fellow
man favorably. The concept of "healthy suspicion" has no source in Chazal's
teachings. Admittedly, it is sometimes necessary, but our aspiration should
always be to strengthen social relations and to achieve a situation where there
is no suspicion, only mutual respect. That is a society that lives in true
peace.
This idea has ramifications for our relations with secular Jews, as well as
Reform and Conservative groups. Along with the justified and necessary
opposition to their views, is it not proper that we refrain from rejecting
outright the possibility that they are truly motivated "for the sake of Heaven"?
Must we always insist on accusing all of them of acting out of personal
interests, and viewing only ourselves as acting "for the sake of Heaven"? This
approach is neither true nor healthy. "Judge every person favorably" (Avot
1:6).
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