The Other Side of the Story - Giving People the Benefit of the Doubt

Judging favorably means finding excuses for questionable behavior, excuses which make sense to us and leave us with a positive feeling towards the person in question. When we find ourselves suspecting others, we must ask ourselves: Are there any redeeming factors? Did I miss something? Did I jump to the wrong conclusion?

Below are cases which illustrate the Other Side of the Story:
  1. The Fauxtographer
  2. Hillel
  3. The Practicing Doctor and His Prescription Slip
  4. Dressed to Kill
  5. Abracadabra!
  6. Verbal Eyes
  7. The Crummy Guests
  8. The Brinks Job
  9. Visitation Rights
  10. Something New Cooking
  11. When Something's a Miss, Something's a Foot
  12. In The Un-Easy Chair
  13. Cheesy Dealings
  14. Far Above Pearls
  15. Help
  16. Tanya
  17. Taken for a Ride
  18. Jumping to Conclusions
  19. The Problematic Guest
  20. When
  21. The Goldstein Family
  22. The Wedding
  23. No Children Allowed
  24. The Mystery of the Missing Buttons
  25. The Funeral
  26. It Just Didn't Gel
  27. A Bit Of Corn
  28. The Posters
  29. A Fan Of The Jews
  30. Feeding You A Whopper
  31. It Takes A Thief
  32. Words Will Sometimes Hurt
  33. Jump Rope To Conclusions
  34. An Offer You Can't Refuse
  35. A Singular Song
  36. Bonds of Friendship
  37. Feeding You A Whopper II
  38. Granny Get Your Gun
  39. Call Me Mr. Cats
  40. The Other Side of the Pizza
  41. Sell U Phone
  42. Tree of Life
  43. Heads or Tales
  44. Cow's Cruise
  45. Two Tales Of Two Sisters
  46. Apples of Discord
  47. Thinking Ill
  48. A Puff and A Huff
  49. Guest Who?
  50. Commuter
  51. The Wrong Moccasins
  52. A Lot Of Hot Water
  53. Intensive Car
  54. Milk, Honey?
  55. As Ye Hoe...
  56. Shabbos Connection
  57. Crash Test Dummy
  58. Hike a Mile, Reptile!
  59. The Mad Professor
  60. Shlamazel Tov
  61. Wash Your Brain
  62. Upside Down Plate
  63. Pipe Dreams
  64. Flip Your Wig
  65. Pray Delay
  66. "Hi" Technology
  67. The Other Side of the Coin
  68. Smile!
  69. Amusement Park
  70. Head Strong
  71. Wood Work
  72. I am Thankful For ...
  73. Grab Bag
  74. Phoney Prayer
  75. Mom's the Word
  76. Fall Back
  77. Under Her Hat
  78. Silence is Golden
  79. Cookie Policy
  80. Oops! Ups!
  81. Will He Stay?
  82. Toot Sweet
  83. Brats Love
  84. The Mechanech-Mechanic
  85. Money Laundering
  86. A Turn for the Nurse
  87. A Package Deal
  88. Dumbo
  89. To Tell the Truth
  90. Jet Speed Judgements
  91. An Elephant With Nasal Congestion
  92. Medical Slip
  93. Pot Luck
  94. Takes the Cake
  95. Tallisjack
  96. Out of Order I
  97. Out of Order II
  98. Back to Normal
  99. The Other Side of the Envelope
  100. Radio Activity
  101. The "Sting" of the Bee
  102. Traffic Jam
  103. Pancakes
  104. A Tale of Ale
  105. A Helping Hand
  106. To the Dump! Dump! Dump!
  107. "Say Cheese"
  108. There's A Raisin For Everything
  109. The Other Side of the Store
Based on "The Other Side of the Story" by Mrs. Yehudis Samet, ArtScroll Series

Do you have a story to share?

Were you in a situation where there was the potential to misjudge a person, but there really was a valid explanation? Has a friend or a relative ever told you how they were in such a situation?

Share you stories with us for inclusion in future columns of The Other Side of the Story.

To submit your story, send it to ohr@ohr.edu. (To insure proper handling, put "Other Side" in the subject line of your message).

Subscribe to The Other Side of the Story via PointCast

Copyright © 1998 - 2001 Ohr Somayach International. Send us feedback.