{"id":38304,"date":"2017-09-07T23:59:22","date_gmt":"2017-09-08T05:59:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/?p=38304"},"modified":"2017-09-08T06:58:45","modified_gmt":"2017-09-08T12:58:45","slug":"off-the-pulpit-inside-and-outside","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/off-the-pulpit-inside-and-outside\/","title":{"rendered":"Off the Pulpit: Inside and Outside"},"content":{"rendered":"

By RABBI DAVID WOLPE<\/p>\n

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Perhaps for this month of Elul we should reverse the process. Try seeing yourself from the outside \u2014 how do my actions affect others? How do they appear to them? At the same time, try to judge others from the inside: what could have moved them to do this, or why might they have done something I think is wrong \u2014 can I find good reasons for their action?<\/p>\n

You can only see the world through your own eyes. But detachment \u2014 the attempt to move away from the center of ego toward the perspective of another \u2014 is a crucial moral exercise.\u00a0Believing in the depth and complexity of other souls takes work.\u00a0But then, we want them to see us that way, don\u2019t we?<\/p>\n

(Rabbi David Wolpe is the spiritual leader of Sinai Temple in Los Angeles.)<\/em><\/p>\n

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