T136 PNC - Do Not Judge Until You Reach His Place — Judge Every Person Favorably (1 seg)

Pirkei Avot (2:4) teaches: 'Do not judge your fellow until you reach his place.' Additionally, the earlier chapter of Avot instructs us to judge every person to the scale of merit — that is, to find the favorable interpretation of their actions. When there is a question or dispute about someone's conduct, one must first try to understand it in the most favorable light possible. The reason: no one can fully understand another person's situation — their pressures, their inner state, their history, their temptations — unless they have stood in that exact place themselves. To judge without that understanding is to judge incompletely. The practical teaching: before judging anyone, ask yourself whether you have truly been in their position. If not, withhold judgment. And even if you have been in a similar position, remember that the details of their situation are known only to God.