Resh Lakish was a sage with a past. Before his rabbinic career, he led the brutal life of a Roman gladiator. In later life, Resh Lakish was a model of piety, integrity, and personal honor. It was said that anyone with whom he was willing to converse in public could, on that basis alone, be trusted in business even in the absence of witnesses (Yoma 9B). One could assume the very best of Resh Lakish’s associates.
Perhaps it was criticism he endured for his misspent youth which led Resh Lakish to observe: “Ha-choshed b’kesherim lokeh b’gufo — One who harbors suspicions against the decent and honorable will suffer bodily afflictions” (Shabbat 97A). Resh Lakish understood the personal pain – and the damage to relationships and to society – caused when we suspect the very worst of each other.
Nations and public institutions – just like friendships, families, and marriages – require a presumption of faith in the decency and honor of our partners in those endeavors… “even without witnesses,” even (perhaps especially) when we disagree. The body politic will be sorely afflicted by unchecked suspicion and mistrust. How is society (or the individual) to achieve such faith? Resh Lakish provides this guidance: “Immerse yourself in the ways of honor before questioning it in others” (Bava Metzia 107B).
(Rabbi Joseph H. Prouser is the rabbi of Temple Emanuel of Northern Jersey and the National Chaplain of the National Jewish Committee on Scouting.)
Resh Lakish was a sage with a past. Before his rabbinic career, he led the brutal life of a Roman gladiator. In later life, Resh Lakish was a model of piety, integrity, and personal honor. It was said that anyone with whom he was willing to converse in public could, on that basis alone, be trusted in business even in the absence of witnesses (Yoma 9B). One could assume the very best of Resh Lakish’s associates.