We’ve just been through an election and a war for more than a year now. As mentioned in these pages, if we look closely we notice a similarity, a pattern- it’s all about polarization. About not really respecting the other side. About moral or spiritual superiority. Taking the high ground is rare, a thing of the past.
But I’m thinking, there are other players here. Bystanders, neighbors, co-workers, people in the street who in the diaspora do not share our common heritage. How do they look at us? Do they see us as flag waving, perhaps fascist Trump supporters? Genocidal maniacs or supporters of gruesome events? Deeply religious members of a cult?
How do we see them? As blind or even brainless, brainwashed lemmings? Poor souls that don’t know any better?
Now that there's a new reality in America as far as the leadership is concerned, they have to be looking at us, a group who were vocally and visibly at Mr. Trump's side throughout, and they might be scared. They also might be thinking “hey, these religious people are not so bad. They are nice to their parents, well behaved kids, and are community minded loving individuals. They're not yimach shmo Hitler-style followers or garbage.”
Things might even start to form a different light in Middle East events for them. And anti-Semitism might decline! We have a chance now to finally be judged favorably. One thing I can promise if we judge our fellow Jews, our families, friends and leaders favorably, then the world will judge us favorably!
A story will illustrate this point:
A Yemenite Rav entered a rich gvir’s opulent home. Sitting at his table, he explained all that his Yeshiva and Kollel had been doing for the community. All the outreach was yielding fruit, he said. The youth especially, were catching fire with enthusiasm. The gvir was impressed.
“Please wait here as I go to my office and get a check,” he said.
While the host was in the other room the Rav glanced at a newly released sefer on the table. But as soon as the gvir entered the room, his demeanor changed.
“I cannot and will not give you one cent. Please leave my house immediately.”
Yemenite Jews are shy by nature. The Rav was shocked but quietly and shamefully picked up his belongings and started walking towards the front door. Summoning his last ounce of courage, he asked the furious baal habayis “What did I do, what did I say to cause you to act this way? Is there anything I can correct?”
“Well if you must know (as if you don’t) I will tell you. You are obviously an ignoramus; you do not know even simple Hebrew. How can you be a Rosh Kollel?”
“How is that?” the Rav asked quizzically.
“When I came back from my study I saw you were glancing at the sefer on my table – but upside down. You do not know simple Ivrit!!!
“Adoni, let me explain” the Yemenite Rav responded.
“When we were children in Yemen, we had a Rebbe that taught us diligently and with zerizut, because we were afraid of the authorities. He had only one copy of each sefer we used to learn kriah, and every other subject, from.
“The lone sefer stayed on his desk as we, his students read from the sefer, but upside down.
“Now as well, I normally read everything right side up but, when I need to read fast, I hearken back to earlier times when the Rebbi only had one sefer and taught us at his desk with the holy sefer facing him and the upside down letters facing towards us!”
The Rav then proceeded to demonstrate his amazing skill in reading Hebrew upside down. The baal habayis retreated to his room and doubled the amount of his donation – for he had finally learned the true meaning of judging one's friend favorably.
Written by R’ Avrohom Hillel Reich based on a lesson and story by Harav Ben Tziyon Sneh Shlita
