Another Kind of Pilpul

Rav Aharon of Belz, zt”l, was exceedingly careful to always judge every Jew favorably. He once explained why while attending a rabbinic conference. “If you encounter a difficult Rambam what do you do? Surely you work on it until you find a way to explain it. The same should hold true when you encounter a Jew who acts in a way that is difficult to understand. You must work and work until you find a way to excuse his behavior.
“My grandfather, Rebbe Yehoshua of Belz, zt”l, explained that for this reason he preferred to learn pilpul. This discipline provides the necessary tools to find a way to give every Jew the benefit of the doubt.”
On another occasion he explained more thoroughly, “A Jew must feel as if he is the hired advocate of his fellow. Just like an advocate does his utmost to defend his client from any accusation and certainly sees no evil in his client, so too every Jew must search and search until he finds a way to see only good no matter what he sees or hears about a fellow Jew.”
Once, at his tisch, the name of a certain person was called signifying that he should approach the rebbe for shirayim. For some reason this man did not come when called. Despite the insult, since the man surely heard his name called, the rebbe immediately defended him in a very creative manner. “In Avoda Zarah 66 we find a machlokes which we can apply to shirayiim and explain why this man has not come forward. Those who come forward hold that the main thing at the tisch is the טעם taste, so they must take what is offered and eat it. But if we hold that the main thing is the name, it is enough that we called his name!”

The Benefit of the Doubt

Once there was an informer who was a thorn in the side of his community. One day, a peddler ran into him while bearing a load of eggs. The informer hinted that he expected free goods, but the seller made clear his demand for payment. Infuriated, the moser smashed all the eggs and left the seller covered in filth. The peddler went straight to the rav of the town, who sent his reluctant shamash to summon the moser to a din Torah. When the shamash arrived at the informer’s house, he was thrown out. The rav forced his shamash to return, this time with a threat that if he did not appear he would be excommunicated. The moser beat the poor shamash and threw him out.
On Shabbos, they called the moser to the Torah as usual, but when he approached the bimah the rav shouted, “Rasha! How dare you refuse to come to a din Torah?” The moser blanched and retreated, muttering threats. Several days later, the rav left to officiate at a bris in the next town with two students. On the road, the group noticed the moser following them on horseback. All the while, the rav was deep in thought. When the moser finally dismounted, the talmidim were baffled by his behavior.
In a choked and teary voice, he asked the rav, “Rebbi, may I thrash your talmidim?”
“Chalilah,” answered the rav.
“Can’t I at least give them a good slap in the face?” begged the moser.
“Don't touch them,” was the rav’s reply.
“Won’t you at least allow me to spit on them to teach them a lesson?” he pleaded.
“No,” the rav responded immediately.
The moser then broke down, “Rebbi, please forgive me for all the pain I caused you.”
“Pay for the eggs and appease the peddler and I will forgive you,” said the Rav.
The man acquiesced and turned back, and the group continued on their journey. One of the students asked the rav, “What happened here?”
The rav answered, “When I saw he intended us harm, I davened for help. Then I remembered an important principle: people reflect the feelings that we have toward them. Since I had hated his wickedness, he hated me in return. But when I started looking for his zechuyos, his attitude toward me changed. As he approached I thought, ‘Surely he absorbed evil from a bad environment and lacked for good examples. And perhaps he had really intended to pay for the eggs and was angry that the seller assumed he meant to take them by force. Maybe he was hurt because I summoned him like a criminal instead of setting a date as is proper? And he did not respond when I shamed him publicly; perhaps all his sins were forgiven!’ I am sure that on his end he also began to consider me in a better light. From moment to moment our hearts were drawn closer until he stood before me full of love in place of anger.”
The student asked, “If so, why did he wish to hurt the two of us?”
“Because you were thinking, ‘The wicked moser has come to kill our rav.’ He naturally felt the same hatred toward you. He really wanted to thrash you!”