Middot at War 1: Judging others

Our previous post touched on the importance of practising what you preach. It’s not always easy, as I hope to show in this piece and the one which will follow it.

Israel is at war and a very large number of young men and women have been called to action. Though news is scarce, most of us have been led to expect that a ground invasion of Gaza is imminent.

In the streets of Jerusalem it is not unusual to see youngsters chatting with friends or sitting round a table in one of the city’s innumerable cafes and enjoying a drink together. When these youngsters are in uniform, I find myself gazing benignly at them, feeling happy that they are there to protect me and hoping that they will make the most of their leave before they return to the front.

Yet when I see youngsters who are not in uniform doing the same thing, my first thoughts are unkind ones: why are they not involved in the country’s welfare at this time of great need? Are they shirking their duty? Do they not care?

Under normal circumstances it would never have occurred to me to draw any distinction between those young people who were wearing uniform and those who were not. So is it right for me to do so now?

In reality there are a large number of reasons why people whom I view as potential soldiers might not be serving at the front. Some people suffer from physical or mental conditions that render them ineligible or unsuitable for combat; these conditions are often invisible to the casual onlooker. There are other people who hold government jobs that require them to be here in Jerusalem, or who work in healthcare and other sectors where staff cannot be spared. Others again may be volunteers who have taken a short break from sorting equipment and clothes that are sent to the front or provided for the many families and individuals who have been displaced.

This group has frequently discussed Yehoshua ben Perachyah’s teaching at Avot 1:6 that one should judge others on the basis that what they do has some merit. We should give them the benefit of the doubt. It’s easy to say this and even easier to tell other people that it’s what they should be doing—as I have often done. But now, when it is I who am challenged to live up to my Avot ideals, I still find it an effort to conquer my initial, irrational conclusion.

The moral: I must in future be less judgmental towards other people who have found it difficult to judge others meritoriously themselves.

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