Beth Abraham Hillel Moses

5075 Maple Road just west of Inkster Road in West Bloomfield

Opens Our Doors To You!

Distortion, Abuse
Found In Judgements

From Our. •
To Your • • •

Sunday - August 29
10:00 am-2:00 Pm

Please Stop by
or Call and
Ask About Our
`New Members
Special"

Our Congregational Family is
looking forward to meeting you.

Hey Kids!

have your picture taken
with everyone's
favorite Dinosaur!

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All of our Clergy will be there!
Have a taste of Sperber's
Our Caterer will be providing a light sampling

851-6880

RENEW YOUR.
OBSERVE THE HIGH HOLIDAYS WITH US
AT

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Hertzberg Sanctuary

Rabbi Martin Berman
Cantor Max Shimansky
Reverend Joseph Baras

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LL!

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Sol J. Schwartz Auditorium

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Auxiliary Services

Rabbi Milton Arm
David Arm

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For Information Call: 352-8670

21100 West Twelve Mile Road, Southfield, Michigan 48076

RABBI MORTON F. YOLKUT SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS

0

ne of the sins in the
Al Chet, the great con-
fessional of Yom Kip-
pur is, "And for the sin
which we have committed
before You, biflilut — by mis-
judging." But what do we who
are not judges have to do with
this sin? Let those who render
judgments say those words;
how do they apply to us?
The answer is that not only
people who wear black robes
and sit upon the bench judge.
All of us judge all the time.
We judge each other, and we
sometimes do it spitefully can
callously. For these ubiqui-
tous and unfair judgments,
we ask forgiveness on the Day
of Atonement.
In this week's sedrah we
read the following command-
ment: "You shall not have in
your bag diverse weights,
large and small. You shall not
have in your home diverse
measures, large and small .. .
A perfect and just weight, a
perfect and just measure shall
you have (Deuteronomy 25:
13-15). This injunction refers
not only to the instruments
and scales used in business
and commerce. Jewish tradi-
tion also understands that
there are measuring devices
and standards in the ethical
and moral realms that have
to be used honestly and with
great sensitivity.
One of the most common
failings in contemporary life
is the tendency to apply
favorable sets of standards for
ourselves and unfavorable
ones for others. To justify our
conduct and to crown our
achievements, we use scales
balanced in our favor. For
others we often use a "small
scale." We belittle and
denigrate the standing and
accomplishments of our
friends and neighbors. By
minimizing the worth of
others, we hope to achieve
greater credit for ourselves.
Jewish tradition refers to this
propensity as mitkabed
b'kalon chavero, of gaining
honor at the expense of sham-
ing others and it is considered
a major violation of Jewish
ethical law (Maimonides,
Laws of Repentance 4:4).
Legion are the examples of
this kind of distortion and
abuse. There is a famous
essay that underscores this
all too common human

Morton Yolkut is rabbi of

Congregation B'nai David.

failure: "Isn't it funny .. .
When the other fellow takes
a long time to do something,
he is slow; but when I take a
long time to do something, I
am thorough. When the other
fellow doesn't do it, he is lazy;
but when I don't do it, I'm too
busy. When the other fellow
does something on his own,
he is aggressive and over-
stepping his authority; but
when I go ahead and do
something without being
told, that's initiative. When
the other fellow states his opi-
nion strongly, he is opi-
nionated; but when I state my
opinion strongly, I am being
firm. When the other fellow
gets a promotion, he sure had
the lucky breaks; but when I
get a promotion, it is due to
hard work and efficiency.
Funny isn't it — or is it!"
This practice of employing
two standards — one for
ourselves and another for
others — is a major cause of

Shabbat Ki Teze:
Deuteronomy
21:10-25:19.
Isaiah 54:1-10.

friction, jealousy and hostili-
ty that impacts on our in-
terpersonal relationships.
And so the Torah insists "You
shall not have in your house
diverse weights . . . and
measures."
One must weigh, measure
and judge honestly. Our
charity towards others, our
evaluation of ourselves are all
reflected in the mirror of
language. Others are often
not worse than we are;
neither are they always much
better. If we were willing to be
charitable regarding our own
faults and failures, let us be
equally kind about the
mistakes and deficiencies of
others.
"For the sin we have com-
mitted before You biflilut —
by misjudging." How often do
we all judge others and how
careful we should be before
we judge. 0

The Chassid will be held ac-
countable for saying, "I have
a rabbi, why do I need a
book?" and the anti-Chassid
for saying, "I have a book,
why do I need a rabbi?"
—Israel Lipkin