Dorothy Tiano Melvin
I learned a hard lesson this week in being critical and judgmental. The couple involved did not even realize that I was rude, but I knew it. So last night, I drove an hour to bring a cake to them and apologize. They were confused, and were very gracious when I explained what I had done. We parted friends, hugging. In future, I will try to remember what my mother always said to me, “Dorothy! Think before you speak!”
Good reminder from Rabbi Jawary:
“Noach was a righteous man, perfect in his generations” (Genesis 6:9).
After such an approbation from G-d, it would seem hard to have
anything negative to say about Noach. Very few people in life can
receive an approbation like this, which makes it interesting that the
Talmud brings two conflicting opinions about him: one obviously
acknowledging his greatness, but the other looking at this appellation
in a negative way and disparaging him by saying that, had he lived in
the time of Abraham, he would have been a nobody. Perhaps one of the
ideas the Talmud is trying to teach us is how easy it is to find fault
in others and criticize them, even when they are really good people.
It seems to be part of our genetic makeup that we are willing to
justify everything we do, while at the same time we are so quick to
criticize others. A person who is really connected to G-d will try to
see the world and the people around him through G-d’s eyes, where in
the big picture of things, He could say that everything He had made
was “exceedingly good.”
—
Shabbat Shalom!
Rabbi Jawary
So many thoughts weaving through my brain, so much good, and so much not so good all around, even in immediate family, friends, and neighborhood.
This story blew me away, http://jewishjournal.com/culture/arts/226149/ghinsbergs-jungle-adventure-finds-its-way-from-the-amazon-to-the-big-screen/.
We all have stuff.
Other people’s stuff make me grateful for my stuff.
Coach Yulia