It is well known that the heiligeh Berditchever Rebbe was a meilitz yosher (an advocate) for Klal Yisrael, always being melamed zechus (finding merit) for every Jew. How can we relate to this avodah in our generation?
There are two reasons for this heiligeh avodah. One is to be a meilitz yosher in front of Hashem. The second is for the benefit of the person himself, as we will explain.
The Baal Shem Tov teaches that one should never speak badly about a fellow Jew, because such words can bring a kitrug (accusation) against that Jew, chas v’shalom. The Baal Shem Tov even criticized the maggidim of his time who spoke negatively about Yidden. We see from this that a Jew’s words carry enormous spiritual power. From here we learn that when a Jew speaks well about another Jew and sees the good in him, it can actually have a positive effect on that person’s judgment in Shamayim.
We have to understand this. Hashem knows everything, and He knows exactly what every Jew does at every moment. So why does it make a difference to our fellow Yid’s judgment if we think and speak positively about him?
We can understand this better through two well-known stories about the Berditchever Rebbe.
The first story: The Berditchever Rebbe was once walking down the street and saw a Jew davening and wearing tefillin while greasing the wheels of his wagon. Instead of looking with a negative eye, and seeing a Jew who was wearing tefillin and davening in a dirty place, the Berditchever flipped the script, lifted his eyes to Heaven, and said, “Hashem, look what heiligeh children You have! Even while greasing their wagon wheels, they are davening to You!”
The second story: The Berditchever was walking down the street on Yom Kippur afternoon and saw a Jew eating a piece of meat. He said, “You must have forgotten that today is Yom Kippur.” The Jew replied boldly, “No, I know that today is Yom Kippur.” “Oh, so maybe you forgot that it’s forbidden to eat on Yom Kippur?” “No,” the Jew answered, “I know that it is forbidden to eat on Yom Kippur.” Immediately, the Berditchever looked upward and exclaimed, “Hashem, look at Your children! Even when they are in such a low spiritual state, they refuse to tell a lie!”
The first story is easy to understand. The Berditchever was melamed zechus on the Jew’s actions, finding a way to see good instead of bad. But in the second story, the action was still terrible — the Jew was eating on Yom Kippur. Yet the Berditchever found another positive point in him (that he didn’t lie), that was unrelated to the sinful action itself. Why is this also called being a meilitz yosher?
This teaches us something deeper about the avodah of being a meilitz yosher. The main work is to bring out the truth that every Jew is good. A Jew is a cheilek Elokai mima’al mamish — a piece of Hashem — and he wants only to do good. The reason a Jew sometimes falls is because this goodness is covered over by klipos. They hide the good and give the impression that the Jew is, chas v’shalom, bad. This is when we must be a meilitz yosher and say: Just because this Jew did something bad does not mean he is bad. A Jew is only good! This is always true, no matter what his conscious intentions were.
This makes the avodah much easier. Even if you can’t think of a real zechus for the action, you can still be a meilitz yosher by saying: This is not the real Jew who sinned – a Jew is never “bad”! {אין יהודי רע, יש יהודי שרע לו}
If that is the case, why do we need to speak this truth out as a form of advocacy to Hashem? Why is there a proactive avodah of being a meilitz yosher?
The answer is that devarim she’balev einam devarim — thoughts in the heart are not the same as spoken words. Something that we think in our heart has the potential to affect the world in a powerful way {“b’koach”}, but it is only fully activated in actuality when it is brought into the world {“b’poel”} by being expressed in words. Our avodah, through our words, is to bring it into reality — b’poel. This world is a world of action. Our job is to make a dwelling place for Hashem b’poel mamish!
(This is also why, when a Yid feels that he really wants to come close to Hashem, he should say that to Hashem, and not just allow it to remain in his mind and in his heart. By expressing it by talking to Hashem it becomes b’poel.)
When a Jew sins, rachmana litzlan, there can be a kitrug — an accusation that he caused a chilul Hashem instead of a kiddush Hashem. But if another Jew uses his mouth to say, “This Jew is really heilig and lichtig. It’s just that the yetzer hara got the better of him,” then that is what counts in Shamayim.
The power of speech matters. It shows what people truly think of him. This is why speaking well of Yidden is so important — it can literally make the difference and save them from kitrug, chas v’shalom.
That is the first part, to be a meilitz yosher before Hashem. But there’s also a second part, for the person himself. When you see another Jew doing something wrong, and you say to yourself — or even just think — “This Jew is really heilig. The klipos have taken hold of him and covered his goodness, but I believe he is great!” Those words and thoughts actually have an impact on that Yid’s neshama. So besides for helping your fellow Yid in the Heavenly court, by saying good things about him, you are helping awaken and brighten his neshama, even if he doesn’t know that you were an advocate on his behalf!
This is also true in chinuch. When a parent sees a child failing, instead of getting angry or frustrated — which only pushes the child further away — he should think positively about him. Say to yourself how great this child really is, how heilig his neshama is.
We find something interesting about the Berditchever: Even though he was a famous rebbe, he did not start a dynasty. Perhaps this is because the Berditchever did not bring a new derech in avodas Hashem. He built the foundation for all other derachim. One chassidus might emphasize tefillah, another Torah, another kedusha — but before all of that, we must know: What is a Jew? The Berditchever taught the world the very essence of what a Jew is! That’s why he doesn’t have a dynasty — because in a sense, everyone is a Berditchever chassid.
Is there not a concern that if we are melamed zechus on other Jews, we might be influenced negatively by their actions, since we’re looking at them positively?
Obviously, one must always stay away from bad influences, as Chazal teach: Harchek mishachein ra — distance yourself from a bad neighbor. This avodah of being a meilitz yosher is directed towards Hashem, it is not about making excuses for sinning.
But after understanding the pnimiyus of being a meilitz yosher, as we’ve explained, this is not a question. The main avodah is not to justify the action, but the person. As we said: Look at the person’s pnimiyus, his neshama. We are not justifying bad actions.
Only in a situation where there is no risk of becoming lenient in your own avodah may you justify the action itself. For example, if you justify the bad action by assuming the Yid did not know it was prohibited, is not going to risk you becoming lenient in that area, because you obviously know it is prohibited. But if justifying the action may lead you to do it yourself, because you feel that it is now OK for you to do — then the avodah of being a meilitz yosher is not to justify the action, but rather to advocate for the Yid himself, by saying that even if he did something wrong, it does not define who he is, etc.
This article was found in Nekuda Tova Issue 55 Berditchever Yahrtzeit Edition.