Judging favorably is a mitzvah. To do so, however, sometime it takes...

A Bit Of Corn

We live in Israel. This past week I sent our son to the corner store to buy canned corn. Before he left, I wrote a note for him to give to the store owner specifying how many cans, and underlining three times "No sugar!" When he returned ten minutes later, he proudly pulled out the corn, and ran for the can opener in the kitchen. I, however, inwardly groaned. One glance at the label and I knew it was the wrong stuff. Yup. Right there on the list of ingredients: Corn, Water, Sugar! Yick. Why would he send the kind I specifically wrote not to? Well, think quick and judge favorably, I chastised myself. "Did you pick out these cans yourself?" I asked our son. "No." "Hmmm. Did you give the store man the note?" He nodded yes. Suddenly, I remembered! It wasn't anyone's fault but my own! On the note, I had by mistake written the Hebrew words "bli melach!" (no salt), underlined three times, instead of "bli sukar!" (no sugar). I pointed out to our kids what had happened, and how quickly I had judged unfavorably our innocent store owner!

(Submitted by Chava Dumas)

The Other Side of the Story Archives

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 info@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

The Ohr Somayach Home Page is hosted by TeamGenesis