{"id":59416,"date":"2026-09-10T15:16:41","date_gmt":"2026-09-10T15:16:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/holidays\/?p=59416"},"modified":"2026-09-10T15:16:41","modified_gmt":"2026-09-10T15:16:41","slug":"a-good-judgment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/holidays\/a-good-judgment\/","title":{"rendered":"A Good Judgment"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>\n
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\u00a0Peleh Yoetz<\/i>, imagines a way of passing good judgment on others, and finally, from Yaakov and Moshe, we come to understand two aspects of truth,\u00a0temimus<\/i>, completeness, where the heart and mind are in sync, and an\u00a0emet\u00a0<\/i>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.<\/div>\n
Being Part of a Group<\/b><\/div>\n
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\u00a0chesed<\/i>, or pursuing any other worthy spiritual purpose. Once part of a group, G-d takes into account many factors in determining an individual\u2019s future.<\/div>\n
This is evident from the Gemara in Shabbat (105b) that says, \u201cIf one member of a group dies, the entire group should worry.\u201d The rationale behind this statement is that the group is interlocked. Individual merit is superseded by how one\u2019s absence will affect the whole group.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.<\/div>\n
Rabbi Eli Mansour points out that it\u2019s 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\u2019s enough to merit protection.<\/div>\n
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.<\/div>\n
Stepping into Someone Else\u2019s Shoes<\/b><\/div>\n
In the complicated area of human relationships, Rabbi Eliezer Papo, in his sefer\u00a0Peleh Yoetz<\/i>, offers a brilliant insight into the mandate to \u201cDan et kol ha-adam l’kaf zechut<\/i>\u2014Judge every person favorably\u201d (Avot 1:6), which offers a reciprocal good judgment, as the Mishnah (Sotah 1:7) says, \u201cBi-middah she-adam moded, bah modedin lo<\/i>\u2014With the measure that a person measures, with that measure they measure him [from Heaven].”<\/div>\n
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 \u201ceyes”\u2014what else could he do? He simply acts according to what seems right to him.”<\/div>\n
His psychological approach is astounding. Who can argue that no person acts according to what he thinks is right? There\u2019s no breaking this axiomatic truth. The whole topic of judging others takes on a whole new reality. It\u2019s a question of nature, and you can\u2019t break nature.<\/div>\n
Now, judging favorably is attainable and being granted forgiveness for all sins is possible, for the Gemara (Rosh Hashanah 17a) says, \u201cWhoever 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.<\/div>\n
Seeking the Complete Truth<\/b><\/div>\n
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\u00a0ish tam<\/i>, complete, with exemplary\u00a0middot<\/i>\u00a0inside and out. It was with these qualities that he formed Bnei Yisrael. Moshe was synonymous with being an\u00a0ish emet<\/i>\u00a0and\u00a0ne\u2019eman<\/i>, 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.<\/div>\n
We know Yaakov personified\u00a0emet<\/i>. The verse attests to this (Micha 7:20), \u201cTiten emet le’Yaakov<\/i>\u2014Grant Truth to Yaakov.\u201d He was the confluence of the three Avot, balancing out Avraham\u2019s\u00a0chesed<\/i>\u00a0and Yitzchak\u2019s\u00a0gevurah<\/i>.<\/div>\n
Yet, he is introduced in the Torah as an\u00a0ish tam,\u00a0<\/i>as the verse (Bereishit 25:27) says, \u201cVayigdelu ha-ne’arim, vayehi Esav ish yode’a tza’yid, ish sadeh; ve<\/i>–Ya’akov ish tam<\/i>,\u00a0<\/b>yoshev ohalim<\/i>\u2014When the boys grew up, Esau became a skillful hunter, a man of the field; but Jacob was a\u00a0<\/b>complete man, dwelling in tents.\u201d Rabbeinu Bachya (ad loc.<\/i>, s.v. \u201cve-Ya’akov ish tam<\/i>\u201d) notes this shift. Rashi (ad loc.<\/i>, s.v. \u201cish tam<\/i>\u201d) explains that\u00a0temimus<\/i>\u00a0is being, \u201cKe-libo ken piv\u2014As his<\/i>\u00a0heart, so was his mouth.\u201d What Yaakov said and what he was thinking were always aligned.<\/div>\n
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.\u201d Yaakov laid a foundation of completeness\u2014of sincerity, honesty, and truth\u2014in forming Bnei Yisrael. It was only then that Moshe could assume the reins to lead the nation faithfully.<\/div>\n
Unlike Yaakov, however, whose\u00a0emet<\/i>\u00a0was defined by his\u00a0temimus<\/i>, Moshe was identified differently. Moshe is synonymous with being an\u00a0ish emet<\/i>. As the Gemara (Bava Batra 74a) affirms, “Moshe\u00a0Emet V’Torato Emet<\/i>.”\u00a0Emet<\/i>\u00a0is etymologically connected to the word\u00a0ne\u2019eman<\/i>\u00a0through the word\u00a0amen,\u00a0<\/i>which\u00a0<\/i>represents firmness and affirmation.<\/div>\n
Moshe had the title of an\u00a0ish ne\u2019eman,<\/i>\u00a0as the verse (Bamidbar 12:7) says, “Not so with My servant Moses; in all My house, he is faithful [ne’eman<\/i>].” He was a trustworthy vessel to transmit the word of G-d as a faithful servant. The Zohar (III, 27b) \u00a0refers to him as the \u201cRaya Mehemna<\/i>\u2014<\/b>Faithful Shepherd. \u201cHe was wrapped in truth and served as the loyal conduit between G-d and His people.<\/div>\n
These two truths are beautifully captured by David HaMelech in a verse in Tehillim (101:6), \u201cEinai be-ne’emnei-eretz la-shevet immadi, holech be-derech tam, hu yesharteni<\/i>\u2014<\/i><\/b>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\u2019s eyes are looking towards the\u00a0ne\u2019emanim<\/i>, the loyal ones who faithfully carry out His words, but who also walk in the ways of\u00a0temimus<\/i>, completeness. To those who embody both of these truths, G-d says, \u201cHe shall serve me.\u201d<\/div>\n
What Change Can Do<\/b><\/div>\n
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\u2019s a famous statement found in the Gemara in Rosh Hashanah (16b) that says, “Four things tear up the decree of judgment against a person:\u00a0tzedakah\u00a0<\/i>(charity),\u00a0tze’akah\u00a0<\/i>(crying out in prayer),\u00a0shinui shem<\/i>\u00a0(changing one’s name), and\u00a0shinui ma’aseh<\/i>\u00a0(changing one’s deeds).”<\/div>\n
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.\u00a0When 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.<\/div>\n
The Larger Picture\u00a0<\/b><\/div>\n
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\u00a0tikkun<\/i>, 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.<\/div>\n
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\u2014a yearly judgment to assess one\u2019s deeds and a lifetime of striving to reach one\u2019s purpose.<\/div>\n
Conclusion<\/b><\/div>\n
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.<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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\u00a0Peleh Yoetz, imagines a way of passing good judgment on others, and finally, from Yaakov and Moshe, we come to understand two aspects […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":133844,"featured_media":59420,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[337],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-59416","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-rosh-hashanah"],"yoast_head":"\nA Good Judgment - Jewish Holidays<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/holidays\/a-good-judgment\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"A Good Judgment - Jewish Holidays\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"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\u00a0Peleh Yoetz, imagines a way of passing good judgment on others, and finally, from Yaakov and Moshe, we come to understand two aspects […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/holidays\/a-good-judgment\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Jewish Holidays\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/OrthodoxUnion\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-09-10T15:16:41+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/holidays\/files\/ChatGPT-Image-Sep-10-2026-11_16_04-AM-1024x512.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1024\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"512\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Steven Genack\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Steven Genack\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"8 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/holidays\/a-good-judgment\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/holidays\/a-good-judgment\/\",\"name\":\"A Good Judgment - Jewish Holidays\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/holidays\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/holidays\/a-good-judgment\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/holidays\/a-good-judgment\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/holidays\/files\/ChatGPT-Image-Sep-10-2026-11_16_04-AM.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-09-10T15:16:41+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/holidays\/#\/schema\/person\/c3102ea456aef297aae8b01bec24fe42\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/holidays\/a-good-judgment\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/holidays\/a-good-judgment\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/holidays\/a-good-judgment\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/holidays\/files\/ChatGPT-Image-Sep-10-2026-11_16_04-AM.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/holidays\/files\/ChatGPT-Image-Sep-10-2026-11_16_04-AM.png\",\"width\":1774,\"height\":887},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/holidays\/a-good-judgment\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/holidays\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"A Good Judgment\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/holidays\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/holidays\/\",\"name\":\"Jewish Holidays\",\"description\":\"Learn about Jewish holidays\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/holidays\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/holidays\/#\/schema\/person\/c3102ea456aef297aae8b01bec24fe42\",\"name\":\"Steven Genack\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/holidays\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Steven Genack\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/holidays\/author\/steven-genack-2\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"A Good Judgment - Jewish Holidays","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/holidays\/a-good-judgment\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"A Good Judgment - Jewish Holidays","og_description":"With judgment upon us, three practical ideas become especially relevant. 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