What do we call the avodah of looking for the best in every Yid? Some people call it looking for the “pintele Yid” which means the ‘dot’ within a Jew. Rebbe Nachman uses a similar expression in Hebrew, calling on us to see the “Nekuda Tova” (point of good) in every Jew, even a sinner. Here’s what he writes (Likutei Moharan, 282):
The passuk in Tehillim (37:10) says וְעוֹד מְעַט וְאֵין רָשָׁע וְהִתְבּוֹנַנְתָּ עַל מְקוֹמוֹ וְאֵינֶנּוּ
In a little bit the wicked man is not; you will reflect upon his place and he will not be there.” This verse is urging us to judge everyone favorably. Even if you see that someone is completely wicked, you must search and seek the point of good within him, where he is not wicked. The passuk can therefore be understood as follows:
“In a little bit the wicked man is not”: Seek out the little bit of good even in a wicked person, because in that place he is not wicked.
“You will reflect upon his place, and he will not be there”: When you contemplate upon that point of goodness (נְקֻדָּה טוֹבָה), he will no longer be in his original place of wickedness.
But why is it called Nekuda Tova — the point of goodness? Why not Middah Tova, the good attribute, or something else? There are so many ways it could have been phrased, but it’s specifically called Nekuda.
A nekuda is a dot, a single point. If you look at it, it seems tiny, almost insignificant. But if you zoom in on it, you’ll see that it’s actually a circle. I started to think about this. We are taught to focus on that place, that nekuda tova—to find that good point, that spark of goodness, whether in someone else, in a situation, or within yourself. And when you focus on the nekuda tova, in that moment, there is no average person, no rasha—there’s only the tzadik, only that goodness.
So what does that mean? Imagine you take a small circle, just a dot on a page, and you zoom in. Have you ever seen those videos where they zoom into a picture on the wall, and suddenly, there’s a whole world inside that picture? And then they zoom into something inside that world, and there’s another world inside that, and it keeps going deeper and deeper. That’s how it is with a nekuda. If you take that little dot and zoom in far enough, you find yourself inside it. Once you’re inside, all you see is that circle; you’re surrounded by it completely.
The best mashal I can think of is planet Earth. If you hitch a ride with Elon Musk to outer space and look down, Earth looks like a tiny dot—a nekuda. There are many other stars and planets around, and compared to them, it’s just one small point. But when you’re living inside the Earth, like we do, that dot becomes your entire world. All you see, everywhere you look, is Earth.
That’s the avodah of Nekuda Tova. When you find that good point in someone, you go into it completely. You live inside it. You see nothing else, because you’re inside that circle of goodness. In that space, there’s no rasha, no negativity—only that nekuda tova.
And that’s why this idea is so powerful, more than people realize. Many think it just means to “find something good in someone.” Very nice, shkoyach, you found one good thing. The avodah is not to see that one good thing. The avodah is to zoom in on it, and then enter into it, until you are inside the circle and all you see is the goodness all around you.
Imagine seeing rows and columns of dark black circles, and then, in one place, instead of a black circle, you see white. Now zoom in on that white, until all you see is white. That’s the avodah of seeing the Nekuda Tova in another Yid. If all you see in a Jew is darkness, don’t just notice the one white spot, the one area where you can notice his pintele Yid. Zoom in on it. Magnify it until all you notice is this place of holiness. Get inside that holy space. Move in and live there.
If we did this avodah, it would mammish turn people into tzadikim and bring the Geulah. Reb Nachman is teaching us something much deeper than we imagine. It’s not just noticing a good point—it’s entering into it so deeply until you realize that Nekuda is the only thing that exists and there is only tov in yourself and others and nothing else.
It’s not just that when we focus on the good, the bad disappears from view. When we focus on the good, the bad disappears entirely! When we do this avodah properly, we can uplift our fellow Jew entirely, and help them return to Hashem. When we focus on the good point in our fellow Jew, and show him/her their own goodness, they start to see themselves in a whole different light, and begin to see themselves the way you see them. As Rebbe Nachman writes further:
עַל־יְדֵי־זֶה אַתָּה מַעֲלֶה אוֹתוֹ בֶּאֱמֶת מִכַּף חוֹבָה לְכַף זְכוּת, עַד שֶׁיָּשׁוּב בִּתְשׁוּבָה עַל־יְדֵי־זֶה
Through this you elevate them from the side of guilt to the side of merit, until, as a result of this, they will return to Hashem in repentance.
We inspire our fellow Yid to do a genuine teshuva when we focus on their good point, giving them the hope and encouragement they need to see their value and return to Hashem completely.
And Rebbe Nachman goes on to urge us to see ourselves in this way as well, so that we can uplift ourselves to return to Hashem.
כְּמוֹ כֵן הוּא אֵצֶל הָאָדָם בְּעַצְמוֹ, שֶׁצָּרִיךְ לָדוּן אֶת עַצְמוֹ לְכַף זְכוּת, וְלִמְצֹא בְּעַצְמוֹ אֵיזֶה נְקֻדָּה טוֹבָה עֲדַיִן, כְּדֵי לְחַזֵּק אֶת עַצְמוֹ שֶׁלֹּא יִפֹּל לְגַמְרֵי, חַס וְשָׁלוֹם, רַק אַדְּרַבָּא יְחַיֶּה אֶת עַצְמו…וְכֵן יְחַפֵּשׂ וִילַקֵּט עוֹד הַנְּקֻדּוֹת טוֹבוֹת…עַל־יְדֵי־זֶה הוּא יוֹצֵא בֶּאֱמֶת מִכַּף חוֹבָה לְכַף זְכוּת, וְיוּכַל לָשׁוּב בִּתְשׁוּבָה
Likewise, a person has to judge himself favorably and find in himself a remaining good point, in order to strengthen himself to avoid falling completely. On the contrary, he will revive himself…and so he should continue to gather more and more good points… through this he can bring himself to do teshuva.
V’Hisbonanata al Hamakom, look strongly on that place. V’Einenu, and you’ll see that the bad is longer there.
This article was found in Nekuda Tova Issue 59.
