A Vital Tree

Rav Naftali of Ropshitz, zt”l, once found that the Chozeh of Lublin, zt”l, was troubled by something and asked him what it was. The Chozeh answered, “The verse states, 'השמר לך פן תשכח את ה' אלקיך'—‘Guard yourself lest you forget Hashem your G-d.’ Our sages teach in Zevachim 106 that anywhere the verse uses the words 'השמר', 'פן' or 'אל' this teaches that what is being discussed is a negative commandment. It comes out that one who forgets Hashem even for an instant violates a negative commandment. How is it that so many Jews forget Hashem throughout the day? Must we say that they violate a negative commandment every time they forget?”
The Ropshitzer replied that thankfully there was a way around this harsh judgment. “Regarding Peah the Mishnah teaches that a special olive which tends to drip oil but only does so in some years is special and therefore not in the category of שכחה. Chazal explain that Peah only applies to an ordinary tree which one tends to forget. But regarding a tree which one is sure to remember eventually, שכחה does not apply. This tree is important and the owners will surely come back for it. And the same is true regarding one who forgets Hashem, chalilah. If it is important in the eyes of the one who forgot and he plans to get back to it as soon as he is able this is not considered halachic שכחה and is not a violation of the לא תעשה.”

Judging Favorably

The Klausenberger Rebbe, zt”l, once gave a very inspiring shiur about judging others favorably. “The Chozeh of Lublin, zt”l, explained that the greater a tzaddik is, the more he is able to judge others favorably. A true tzaddik can even see the good in a wicked person who appears to have no positive qualities at all. The tzaddik searches and searches until he is finally able to see good even in him.
“We find a similar idea in the writings of the students of the Arizal regarding the special quality of Moshiach. He will truly understand the motivations of even the worst person, and this will enable him to always give the other the benefit of the doubt. This explains why we judges in a capital case which sentenced someone to death must fast. The gemara learns this from the verse, 'לא תאכלו על הדם'—‘Do not eat upon the blood.’ The fact that the sanhedrin found someone guilty means that they must fast. If they were truly righteous, they would have found a way to judge the murderer favorably, as expressed in the startling statement of Rabbi Tarfon and Rabbi Akiva: ‘If we were in the sanhedrin no one would ever have been killed.’ Due to their great righteousness they would have found a way to exonerate even the worst-seeming wicked person in the world.”