{"id":41095,"date":"2018-02-09T17:40:25","date_gmt":"2018-02-09T23:40:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/?p=41095"},"modified":"2018-06-02T04:41:11","modified_gmt":"2018-06-02T10:41:11","slug":"say-little-do-much-suspicion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/say-little-do-much-suspicion\/","title":{"rendered":"Say Little, Do Much: Suspicion"},"content":{"rendered":"

By RABBI JOSEPH H. PROUSER<\/p>\n

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Perhaps it was criticism he endured for his misspent youth which led Resh Lakish to observe: \u201cHa-choshed b\u2019kesherim lokeh b\u2019gufo<\/em> — One who harbors suspicions against the decent and honorable will suffer bodily afflictions\u201d (Shabbat 97A). Resh Lakish understood the personal pain \u2013 and the damage to relationships and to society \u2013 caused when we suspect the very worst of each other.<\/p>\n

Nations and public institutions \u2013 just like friendships, families, and marriages \u2013 require a presumption of faith in the decency and honor of our partners in those endeavors\u2026 \u201ceven without witnesses,\u201d 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: \u201cImmerse yourself in the ways of honor before questioning it in others\u201d (Bava Metzia 107B).<\/p>\n

(Rabbi Joseph H. Prouser is the rabbi of Temple Emanuel of Northern Jersey and the National Chaplain of the National Jewish Committee on Scouting.)<\/em><\/p>\n

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