By Rabbi Joshua (suspiciously known as The Hoffer) Hoffman z"l
Proceeding with its prescription for holiness, the Torah presents us, in one verse, with several directives that all seem to fit into one context. We are told, “You shall not commit a perversion of justice, you shall not favor the poor, and you shall not honor the great; with righteousness shall you judge your fellow” (Vayikra 19:15). All of these directives seem to be addressed to judges within the context of rendering a legal decision. They are told not to pervert justice and not to favor a poor person in any particular case simply because he is poor, nor to similarly favor the great, and, in a kind of summation, to rule our fellow with righteousness, as Rashi explains in his first comment on the final phrase of the verse.
Rashi, however, offers a second explanation of the final phrase, which is that we should judge our fellow favorably. As Rav Shimshon Raphael Hirsch points out, this seems to contradict the earlier parts of the verse, which directs judges to rule according to the strict dictates of the law. Rav Hirsch says that, actually, there is no contradiction, because judging our fellow favorably is something that must be done in a social context, rather than in a judicial one. We may add that when taken in this sense, the phrase is connected, not to the earlier part of the verse, but to the verse that follows, which reads, “You shall not be a gossip-mongerer among your people, you shall not stand aside while your fellow’s blood is being shed; I am the Lord,” (Vayikra 19:16). This verse, I believe, when connected to the last phrase of the previous verse, as understood by Rashi and Rav Hirsch, can be seen as a prescription for building a healthy society, when in an expanded sense, as I once heard explained by Rav Aharon Lichtenstein.
Rav Lichtenstein suggested that one aspect of judging people favorably is to set up a sense of trust in society. We are well aware of societies in which there prevails an atmosphere of mistrust, where eavesdropping and even spying are commonplace, and where people are persecuted and imprisoned for mere suspicion of subversive activity, without any proof being offered. Sadly, this kind of atmosphere has existed, at certain points in history, even in the United States, and has still not totally vanished. Gossip-mongering contributes to this kind of atmosphere, as well, and needs to be prevented in order to build a healthy society in which people are free to develop themselves in a positive way without fear of being denounced out of suspicion. Involvement in other people’s affairs in a healthy society should be focused on helping one’s fellow when in need, as directed by the prohibition of standing by while his blood is being spilled. This directive applies, according to halacha, to cases of financial loss, as well. The starting point of crafting such an atmosphere in society is to judge one’s fellow favorably, and it is in that context that Rashi’s second comment can be best understood.
