דע, כי צריך לדון את כל אדם לכף זכות, ואפלו מי שהוא רשא גמור “Know that a person must judge everyone for the good, even someone who is completely wicked,” צריך לחפש ולמצא בו איזה מעט טוב, “it is necessary to search and find within him some modicum of good, שבאותו המעט אינו רשע, “because through this little bit he is not wicked”. ועל ידי זה שמוצא בו מעט טוב, ודן אותו לכף זכות, “By finding in him some little bit of good, judging him favorably, על ידי זה מעלה אותו באמת לכף זכות, ויוכל להשיבו בתשובה, “through this, one genuinely elevates him to the scale of merit and can make it possible for him to return in teshuvah” (Likutei Moharan 282:1).

This teaching of Rebbe Nachman of Breslov, codified in Likutei Moharan, is the ikar, the essence of our spiritual work right now, this very moment. By looking for the good in another, even in the completely wicked, we fundamentally change him to have goodness, worth, hope, and life. 

How can this be? Perhaps it is through a reevaluation in which we recognize a positive aspect that we overlooked. He wasn’t actually completely wicked. Or perhaps, we shift the spiritual makeup of another by choosing to find מעט טוב, even a little bit of good in them. We shift the divine evaluation for the good, elevating another from the scale of guilt to the scale of merit– מכף חובה לכף זכות.

Rebbe Nachman continues, וכן צריך האדם למצא גם בעצמו, “So too, a person much find some good point within himself.” ואפלו כשמתחיל להסתכל בעצמו........

© The Times of Israel (Blogs)