A Good Judgment

With judgment upon us, three practical ideas become especially relevant. Rabbi Moshe Bamberger, Mashgiach Ruchani at Touro’s Lander College for Men, discusses the power of the group, Rabbi Eliezer Papo, author of the Peleh Yoetz, imagines a way of passing good judgment on others, and finally, from Yaakov and Moshe, we come to understand two aspects of truth, temimus, completeness, where the heart and mind are in sync, and an emet of faithfulness, where one is a true servant to G-d. In this way, we can display all elements of truth to our Maker on judgment day, when His seal is truth. A hallmark Talmudic passage in Rosh Hashanah brings cases that show that when the principles of change are rigorously applied, one can be born anew, with total detachment from the past. In discussing our overall relationship with our Creator, Rabbi Alon Anava notes that G-d is not in this world to catch us but rather to help us reach our full potential.

Rabbi Moshe Bamberger spells out a very simple way to carry strength into the judgment. It involves joining a group, whether it be in learning, doing chesed, or pursuing any other worthy spiritual purpose. Once part of a group, G-d takes into account many factors in determining an individual’s future.

This is evident from the Gemara in Shabbat (105b) that says, “If one member of a group dies, the entire group should worry.” The rationale behind this statement is that the group is interlocked. Individual merit is superseded by how one’s absence will affect the whole group. If G-d were to take the extreme step of removing one from the group, it must precisely fit with the fact that the other collective members weren’t carrying their weight. Therefore, when part of a group, the unified block gives protection.

Rabbi Eli Mansour points out that it’s irrelevant whether one is the strongest or the weakest link in the group. All that matters is that one is identified with the group. That’s enough to merit protection.

It’s also consequential in regard to the Gemara (Rosh Hashanah 18a), where we are told that we pass before G-d either as sheep, or as being in a narrow corral, or as soldiers of David. It’s true that G-d is taking an individual look at us, but one’s linkage to a group can enlarge this glance, where the individual’s judgment is aligned with the group.

In the complicated area of human relationships, Rabbi Eliezer Papo, in his sefer Peleh Yoetz, offers a brilliant insight into the mandate to “Dan et kol ha-adam l’kaf zechut—Judge every person favorably” (Avot 1:6), which offers a reciprocal good judgment, as the Mishnah (Sotah 1:7) says, “Bi-middah she-adam moded, bah modedin lo—With the measure that a person measures, with that measure they measure him [from Heaven].”

With poetic and penetrating prose, he says (“Ahavat Reim,” part 9), “Even if your own eyes witness someone acting destructively, you should not be too quick to blame or hate him; for every way of a man is right in his own “eyes”—what else could he do? He simply acts according to what seems right to him.”

His psychological approach is astounding. Who can argue that no person acts according to what he thinks is right? There’s no breaking this axiomatic truth. The whole topic of judging others takes on a whole new reality. It’s a question of nature, and you can’t break nature.

Now, judging favorably is attainable and being granted forgiveness for all sins is possible, for the Gemara (Rosh Hashanah 17a) says, “Whoever overlooks affronts and can forgive, Heaven overlooks and forgives all his transgressions.” Holding on to the notion that everyone is functioning based on their natural tendencies and what they understand to be true affords a logical basis for refraining from judgment.

In seeking complete truth, we want to be whole people, harmonious from the inside and out. In addition, we want to be faithful servants of G-d. We find these two truths manifest in Yaakov and Moshe. Yaakov was an ish tam, complete, with exemplary middot inside and out. It was with these qualities that he formed Bnei Yisrael. Moshe was synonymous with being an ish emet and ne’eman, becoming the leader of the formed nation, faithfully carrying out the will of G-d. For our judgment, we want to come before G-d with both these truths, whole from the inside and out and faithful servants, and then G-d can utilize His seal, the seal of truth, to stamp us for a good year.

We know Yaakov personified emet. The verse attests to this (Micha 7:20), “Titen emet le’Yaakov—Grant Truth to Yaakov.” He was the confluence of the three Avot, balancing out Avraham’s chesed and Yitzchak’s gevurah.

Yet, he is introduced in the Torah as an ish tam, as the verse (Bereishit 25:27) says, “Vayigdelu ha-ne’arim, vayehi Esav ish yode’a tza’yid, ish sadeh; ve–Ya’akov ish tam, yoshev ohalim—When the boys grew up, Esau became a skillful hunter, a man of the field; but Jacob was a complete man, dwelling in tents.” Rabbeinu Bachya (ad loc., s.v. “ve-Ya’akov ish tam”) notes this shift. Rashi (ad loc., s.v. “ish tam”) explains that temimus is being, “Ke-libo ken piv—As his heart, so was his mouth.” What Yaakov said and what he was thinking were always aligned.

The Rambam codifies this into law (Hilchot De’ot 2:6) and says, “It is forbidden for a person to speak smooth words or deceitful flattery. One should not speak one thing with the mouth and feel another in the heart; rather, one’s inside must be like one’s outside, so that what is in the heart is the same as the words spoken.” Yaakov laid a foundation of completeness—of sincerity, honesty, and truth—in forming Bnei Yisrael. It was only then that Moshe could assume the reins to lead the nation faithfully.

Unlike Yaakov, however, whose emet was defined by his temimus, Moshe was identified differently. Moshe is synonymous with being an ish emet. As the Gemara (Bava Batra 74a) affirms, “Moshe Emet V’Torato Emet.” Emet is etymologically connected to the word ne’eman through the word amen, which represents firmness and affirmation.

Moshe had the title of an ish ne’eman, as the verse (Bamidbar 12:7) says, “Not so with My servant Moses; in all My house, he is faithful [ne’eman].” He was a trustworthy vessel to transmit the word of G-d as a faithful servant. The Zohar (III, 27b)  refers to him as the “Raya Mehemna—Faithful Shepherd. “He was wrapped in truth and served as the loyal conduit between G-d and His people.

These two truths are beautifully captured by David HaMelech in a verse in Tehillim (101:6), “Einai be-ne’emnei-eretz la-shevet immadi, holech be-derech tam, hu yesharteni—My eyes are upon the faithful of the land, that they may dwell with me; he who walks in the path of integrity, he shall serve me.” G-d’s eyes are looking towards the ne’emanim, the loyal ones who faithfully carry out His words, but who also walk in the ways of temimus, completeness. To those who embody both of these truths, G-d says, “He shall serve me.”

Besides using the three approaches above for a good judgment, there’s a catch-all approach to wholly avoid judgment on past deeds and be judged anew. There’s a famous statement found in the Gemara in Rosh Hashanah (16b) that says, “Four things tear up the decree of judgment against a person: tzedakah (charity), tze’akah (crying out in prayer), shinui shem (changing one’s name), and shinui ma’aseh (changing one’s deeds).”

When taking a glance at these four mechanisms to tear up a judgment, a common theme emerges: to deflect judgment, a person must be born anew, to not be identified as the same person who they were before. If a person is so willing to change who they were before, then the old self no longer exists upon which to execute judgment. When applying this mindset to all our endeavors in preparation for judgment, including being part of a group, stepping into someone else’s shoes to refrain from judgment, and adopting complete truth, we have the potential to be born anew and can welcome a fresh judgment upon ourselves.

When focused on attaining a good judgment for this year, a larger look must also be taken as to our overall purpose. Rabbi Alon Anava addresses this point and puts forth the notion that G-d is not here to catch us but to help us reach our tikkun, rectification. This means that each failure is merely a test that we were unable to overcome, but G-d is not done. Another similar test will come your way to see if you can overcome it.

This goes on countless times in order to bring one to their highest potential. Therefore, failure will eventually bring one to the place they need to be. This offers a mini and macro picture of this world—a yearly judgment to assess one’s deeds and a lifetime of striving to reach one’s purpose.

By either being part of a group, stepping into the mind of the other, or arriving at complete truth, we can merit a good judgment. These are reachable goals. Rosh Hashanah gives a chance for renewal where we can leave the past behind. Knowing that our Maker’s purpose is to help us reach our potential, we can be confident that with setbacks come second chances. Hope lives forever for the aspiring.