This aphorism, from Pirkei Avot, is usually translated at “Judge everyone favorably,” but by Telushkin’s reckoning, this isn’t accurate. How does this idea compare with yesterdays? Yesterday, Telushkin seemed to suggest that it is important to give careful consideration to ‘the other person’ when considering reasons you might feel slighted by the actions of that person. Today, Telushkin emphatically notes that he is not suggesting that one give a bank robber a position at a bank. Rather, when considering a person’s behaviors, think about the whole person. Is she someone who has always been a friend, but in this one instance might have acted imprudently? Do her positive qualities outweigh her negative ones? If so, go with the positive. Similarly, I guess, if someone has often behaved in a socially inappropriate manner, it might take more than one or two good behaviors to demonstrate that she has become a better person.
No one acts in a vacuum - neither in the individual actions, nor in the context of the community as a whole. It is important to consider the whole of the person’s relationships with the world when considering their worth.
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