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How can Pirkei Avos both command judging everyone favorably and warn against judging until you reach their place? The resolution lies in human psychology: we naturally judge our own questionable actions favorably, starting from the assumption we're good people trying to do right. Reaching "their place" means applying this same charitable standard to others that we instinctively use for ourselves.
This shiur addresses a fundamental question about two seemingly contradictory teachings in Pirkei Avos regarding judgment of others. The first Mishna instructs us to judge every person favorably (dan es kol adam l'kaf zechus), while a later Mishna states 'Al tadin es chaveircha ad shetagi'a limkomo' - don't judge your friend until you reach his place. Rabbi Greenberg begins by noting this apparent contradiction: if we're told to judge everyone favorably, why are we also told not to judge at all unless we're in their exact situation? How can we ever truly be in another person's place with their specific nisyonos and circumstances?
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Parshas Emor (Kedoshim) - Tzedek tzedek tirdof
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