I TRAVEL quite a bit for my work and to be honest, it isnt fun. Besides the hassle of trying to book a flight online before the price changes (I swear there is someone in cyber space who monitors my thoughts!), theres the stress of getting to the airport in sufficient time to remove half the clothes I put on a few hours before.
Not to mention the high sodium, low taste airplane food I consume in flight, which generally consists of a can of Snappy Tom tomato juice and a bag of peanuts or, on a good day, a little bag of biscotti cookies, the ones that resemble bars of hotel soap.
But theres another aspect of airport travel that gets to me, although I am loathe to admit it. Its the heightened sense of scrutiny and mistrust that I carry with me from terminal to terminal.
Only last week, I noticed a very husky, foreign-looking man with more body art than a cartoon strip, get on the plane I was boarding. Before 9/11, I wouldnt have given him a second thought; today I feel a sense of insecurity wash over me and hate myself for it.
I debated ordering vodka with my Snappy Tom but decided that 10 a.m. was a bit too early to do it.
The flight was uneventful and when we landed, I watched my would-be terrorist get off, only to be greeted in baggage claim by two adorable children and a wife who held an infant in her arms. Hugs, not thugs, I thought sheepishly as I walked off with my luggage.
I know its only human to make assumptions about others. We instinctively judge others based on how they look, what they wear and how they speak. But while it may be a human tendency to judge others, it is also one that limits our ability to be caring human beings.
JEWISH tradition has much to say about judging others. Leviticus 19:15 states: With righteousness shall you judge your fellow, which means that we should give others the benefit of the doubt when evaluating their behavior and try to view them with compassion, understanding and kindness.
Great advice that is easier said than done.
While I might be able to make excuses or find reasons for why someone looks like a gangster, talks badly to his spouse or spends money on things I dont value, my own assessments will inevitably affect my feelings about him or her.
The Talmud provides a practical insight in Pirkei Avot (1:6) where we are told to judge everyone favorably. A proper Hebrew translation is actually Judge the whole of a person favorably.
We are required to look at the entire person before making judgments. We are asked to take into account the vast complexities and inconsistencies of being human. We are asked to acknowledge the kindheartedness as well as the thoughtlessness, the loving words as well as the hurtful ones, the generosity of spirit as well as the meanness, in order to remain open and fair in the ultimate conclusions we draw about another person.
We must come from a place of inner peace, or shalom, which also means wholeness, when we judge others.
Jewish tradition wisely recognizes the human tendency to pass judgment on others without fully understanding the cultural background, mental or physical challenges, psychological or financial stresses or inner feelings that motivate a person to act.
That is why the sagely words of Rabbi Hillel spoken more than a 2,000 years ago still ring true today:
Do not judge another person until you have reached his place.
Copyright © 2012 by the Intermountain Jewish News
