Timeless Torah

Ethics, even more than law, often defines the true essence of who we are. The reason for this should be patently obvious. Rules, imposed by some greater, external authority compel us to do things not necessarily consistent with our real feelings or mores. Ethics, on the other hand, are not always measurable actions that can be regulated by some outside group. They represent our values, inner beliefs, attitudes, and our general outlook on life: In short, our entire personality.
Nonetheless, our Sages of old wished to regulate, or at least formulate, our ethics. Their suggestions, if you will, would serve as guides that would better our relationship with ourselves, our peers, and our Creator.
This week’s lesson is based upon the third chapter of the moralistic work, Ethics of our Fathers. There the first Mishna reads in part, “Reflect upon three things and you will not come to sin; know from where you came, to where you are going, and before whom you are destined to give a judgment and accounting.”
Many of the commentaries are puzzled by the peculiar order of the phrase, “Before whom you are destined to give a judgment and accounting.” Isn’t the normal order of events the exact reverse? Isn’t the soul first cross-examined as to its deeds on this earth? Surely a reckoning that tallies up all of the defendant’s actions occurs prior to any verdict handed down? So should not the “judgment” follow the “accounting”?
In addition to the order of the words there is another question about the phraseology itself. Why would the Mishna state, “You are destined to give judgment” as opposed to, “you are destined to be judged? It sounds as if one passes judgment, instead of receiving it.
Among the various answers is the explanation of the founder of the Chassidic movement, Rabbi Israel Baal Shem Tov. Throughout a person’s lifetime, we encounter thousands of individuals in any number of situations. Sometimes our interactions are positive, other times they seem negative. Unfortunately, we are quick to judge others, (how come they didn’t keep their promise, appointment, etc.). We do this even though we don’t always know the entire story, and we conveniently forget that at one time we were probably guilty of the same offense.
A hundred and twenty years later when a person comes before the supernal court to account for his sojourn on earth. But even then no judgment is ever passed on a person from above. Instead, it is demonstrated to him how his deeds and circumstances parallel those individuals upon whom he has already passed judgment. Ultimately then, it is the person himself who passes judgment on his own failings and achievements.
This explains why the “judgment” is mentioned before any “reckoning”, and why it states, “You...give judgment” as it is your pre-judgment that we are referring to.
The same idea is also implicit in another passage in our chapter of the Ethics that reminds us that, “Retribution is extracted from a person, with his knowledge and without his knowledge.” What this means is that as a person knowingly expresses his opinion on a certain matter, he is unwittingly passing judgment on himself.
Besides the obvious lesson on the kind of non-judgmental person we ought to be, there is another profound insight into the uniqueness of the human soul that can be gleaned from this discussion. In all of creation, nothing is loftier than the spark of G-dliness that is the soul of man. So even when a soul comes to stand in judgment, implying that there are perhaps faults and failings in its past performance, no judge, be it the loftiest and most spiritual of heavenly beings, has any jurisdiction over its fate. The only power on earth or heaven that can judge man is man himself.