In the days of Rabbi Yosef Chaim Sonnenfeld, the Rabbi of the Old Yishuv in Jerusalem, some Jews who had recently immigrated from abroad came to him and complained about shortcomings they found in Jerusalem and among its residents.
Rabbi Sonnenfeld listened to their words and then said:
"When the spies returned from their mission to scout the Land and reported what they had seen, the Torah refers to them as 'those who spread slander about the Land.'
“They did not speak falsehoods, but merely focusing on the negative aspects that may exist in the Land of Israel is already considered slandering the Land."
He concluded:
"This is how I interpret the verse 'and see the good of Jerusalem'—one must always look only at the good side of Jerusalem."
This issue of Living Jewish is dedicated by Daniel & Mazal Rosin of Jerusalem & family on occasion of their 50th wedding anniversary, baruch Hashem. Mazal Tov!
