“Nobody called for you!” This was the strange manner in which Rabbi Eliezer Hager, the son of the Monsey-Vizhnitz Rebbe, was greeted by a Jew from Bnei Brak who was marrying off his daughter in Monsey. This seemingly rude greeting upset some of Rabbi Hager’s followers and other guests who began to grumble about the arrogance of the Bnei Brak mechuten.
When Rabbi Hager learned of the commotion, he calmed everyone down with this explanation.
“The mechuten from Bnei Brak and I have been close friends for many years. When he arrived from Eretz Yisrael for the wedding, he told me that he needed a cell phone, and asked me if I have a spare one to lend him. As I handed him my spare, I asked him to notify me if anyone tried to contact me at that number. When I arrived here, he informed me, ‘Nobody called for you.’ ”
[Credit: Ohr Somayach Institutions www.ohr.edu. Printed with permission]
...בְּצֶדֶק תִּשְּפֹּט עֲמִּיתֶךָ - הוי דן את חברך לכף זכות [פירוש רש“י]
Kedoshim is the parsha which teaches us that we need to judge others favorably [i.e., to give the benefit of the doubt]. The story below (by Rabbi Mendel Weinbach zt”l) gives us a real-life example...
