See This and Sanctify It

"And Hashem said to Moses, 'Come to Pharaoh'" (Exodus 10:1)

Moses was afraid of the power of the Klipah (husk/impurity) within Pharaoh, lest he would want, Heaven forbid, to drag Israel into the 50th gate of impurity, which is heresy and atheism, may the Merciful One save us. Therefore, Hashem said to him, "Come"—meaning, I and you together, and you have no reason to fear him at all (Be'er Moshe).

"See This and Sanctify It"

We search for the tiny, tiny point of the new moon, and when it is found, the Beis Din (Rabbinical Court) declares: "Sanctified, Sanctified." The sanctification of the new moon is the first mitzvah Hashem gave to the Jewish people. What is the secret of this mitzvah? What is the secret of the tiny point from which the new moon begins?

When you cannot find anything good in your friend, when you see only darkness in him, keep searching until you eventually find it. Just like Moses, our Teacher, who searched for the point of light in the new moon and could not find it, until Hashem came and helped him, saying: "See this and sanctify it." Do you see this tiny point that is barely visible? As small as it is, it is great; it is wonderful. Sanctify it, for it will blossom and grow until it transforms into a great light.

It is much easier for us to disqualify, to see the flaws in another, and to decide rather quickly that we have no common interest with this "character" than it is to find something good in him. One must exert effort, just as Moses exerted effort, and when we make an effort, Hashem helps, and we find it.

We must not think that we are better than others. Every Jew has something that his friend does not. Everyone has their own personal tile within the giant mosaic in which all of Israel shares. Everyone has their own special point in which they excel, in which they are a tzaddik.

It is such a pleasure to stop thinking that you are better than everyone else and to start seeing the good points in others. It is such a pleasure to see how the other person succeeds, how he advances more than you, and to be happy for him.

A "good point" is a massive concept. The path to holiness must pass through recognizing the virtue of every Jew. This is holy work: to identify the good in another and marvel at it. You connect to Hashem through this point. The great tzaddikim are always engaged in this work. This is how they arouse Heavenly mercy. This is how they bring the Geulah (Redemption) closer. Sometimes it takes time to discover the good point in another, even if you have known the person for quite a long time. But if you make an effort, you will merit that opportunity where his special point will be revealed to you, and then you will simply go over and say a few good words. Marvel at it. Just like King David, who is the root of all good points in the world, who saw only good in everyone, who loved all of Hashem's creatures as his own soul, to the point of restraint, yielding, and overcoming his nature even toward his pursuers who sought his life. He had "beautiful eyes" and good vision; with his good eye, he saw the relief within every trouble, the grace and kindness in everything, the beauty in every single person. In this merit, he became Mashiach Tzidkenu (our righteous Messiah).

What a pleasant and good life we could have if we started looking at people with good eyes. Just as Hashem looks at us, even though we are far from perfection. "Israel, in whom I take pride"—I take pride in every tiny effort you make, especially in times when it is difficult for you.

Like the tzaddik, who is called so because he justifies (matzdik), because he is an expert in judging every Jew on the scale of merit.

It starts with the people closest to you. Just as one knows how to connect to a child with a difficulty, one must know how to connect to a spouse with a difficulty. Instead of seeing that he isn't so sympathetic, isn't so smart, isn't one who knows how to give compliments, isn't so understanding, isn't so considerate, isn't so attentive—see what he is. And the same applies in reverse. We need to raise one another, give a lot of respect, marvel, yield, and give. When living together like this, life becomes the Garden of Eden.

A person can complain for years about a spouse, thinking his wife is very bad, or complain about some Rebbe in Cheder, or about the neighbors who stole his sunlight, or about a child who is shortening his life. He is certain that the trouble is because of this thing or that thing. Later, he reaches a realization, an understanding; he grasps that the trouble is within himself. Because if he looked at life differently, suddenly everything would look different to him, and it is not the spouse at all, nor the neighbor, nor the children.

Do you have a problem with a certain person? Say a good word. On the spot, the bad departs from him; suddenly he smiles at you. Suddenly, that person who you previously thought was a bad person becomes so good. "As water reflects the face to the face, so is the heart of man to man."

We search for the tiny point of the new moon and sanctify it. One does not need to wait for the entire moon to be revealed. A little bit of light pushes away a lot of darkness. Focus on the tiny point where you see good in the other, and suddenly you will see that there is no bad, that he is a tzaddik, that this tiny point is his reality, and all his bad things are nonsense. Do this with your friend, and do this with yourself. This is the most famous teaching of our holy Rebbe Nachman (Likutey Moharan I, 282), which revives us. This is the teaching that speaks of the Godly honor found in every single Jew; this is the teaching that brings the masses close to Rebbe Nachman.

["There is no such thing as a person being entirely bad. Every Jew has a holy soul. You cannot say about him that he is secular (chiloni), that he is connected only to the profane (chol), that he has no connection to holiness there. If he has not assimilated, if he has not reached a state where he does not want the name 'Jew' to be called upon him, then he is not secular.

The good eye is what will lead our lives so that we have a good and happy life. Every time something not good happens, we will understand that it actually stems from our own 'not good' eye, that we looked at matters incorrectly. We then need to step aside a bit and reflect, to think: what actually happened here? Until we reach the conclusion that everything depends on our eyes, and we succeed in awakening the good eye. In this way, we will be able to progress further and further until Mashiach Tzidkenu comes, who merited what he merited by virtue of his good eye."] (Be'or Pnei Melech)

Good eyes are our entire tikkun (rectification) here in this world. The good eye searches for the good point hidden inside, in the depth of the person's soul, even if one cannot see it, even if one might think he is not so positive, not so good. But to Hashem, he is good, and to the tzaddikim, he is good. We, too, need to learn this path of how to judge everyone favorably, how to love everyone; that is the good eye.

A Jew needs to forgive, to judge on the scale of merit. If we remember forever every flaw, every defect, every problem we had with a certain person, not a single person will be left to us for healing. And if it hurt me so much that I cannot forgive, it is better to approach that person and tell him, to get it off one's chest, to release it, so that this grudge does not turn into hatred, Heaven forbid.

The mission of our life is to acquire a good eye for ourselves. Not to be jealous of another, but to rejoice in his success. If you rejoice, Hashem will give to you too. This is such a difficult test; let us not lie to ourselves. We all still have an evil eye; it is hard for us to see the other succeed, to see him advance much more than us. How much we need to cry to Hashem: "Hashem, what do I do with my evil eye? I can't be jealous anymore; it is such suffering, such torment! Help me understand, finally, that my path to reach the peak of the mountain does not clash in any way with the path of the other, that these are two completely separate paths, and anyway, he cannot take what is waiting for me."

A person needs to do his part regardless of others, to do his part for the sake of Heaven. He needs to act on his path, not on the path of others.

We need to start looking positively at ourselves. Because if I do not have a good eye toward myself, then I will constantly be busy looking for flaws in others to calm myself down, so that a drop of vitality remains for me. We are too sad, and unsatisfied, and [feel] we were deprived, and we weren't accepted, and it didn't happen to the other guy but it happened to me, and the neighbor is doing excellently so what will be with me? We forget that there is Someone above who manages everything here, and every time we complain, and get angry, and feel deprived, it is as if we are saying to Hashem: You are not managing the world correctly, Heaven forbid.

A good eye means that a person can love the other as he is, rejoice with him, judge him on the scale of merit, and remember that he is a Godly creature. This is lifelong work. We need to pass it on, to our sons, to our grandchildren, so they learn to look with a good eye at everyone. How? If the person himself is in a state of humility and lowliness of spirit, feeling himself to be nothing—"I am such a simple person, who am I anyway? I am flesh and blood, what am I at all? Have I finished fixing myself already?"—then naturally he can love the other, can always find something good in him, and judge him favorably.

It is not that I am worthless. I am worth something. If I disgrace myself, I disgrace the Image of God, the Godly soul that Hashem placed within me; I have no permission to disgrace it. I merited to be a vessel, even in a drop, in something very small, for the Godly light that is reflected in me—is that nothing? It is a massive and tremendous thing.

Good eyes are the Geulah itself. If a person has a good eye, it is a sign that he has completely exited the turbid blood and completely rectified himself. A good eye is the peak of connection, just as an evil eye is the peak of separation.

The Rav (Rabbi Berland): ["The biggest Yetzer Hara (Evil Inclination) a person has is criticism. Complaining about a friend, disqualifying the other, looking at him with a crooked eye, not tolerating him. A Jew must always judge favorably, to look with a good eye. Even the Erev Rav (Mixed Multitude) could have been brought back in teshuvah (repentance). Even the biggest wicked people.

Inside the biggest wicked person hides a great tzaddik. Inside the wall of darkness that separates me from the other, there is a burning of a true Jewish soul that burns for Hashem, even if the external covering is one of coarse words, or severe disputes, or terrible alienation. I need to connect to the unique point of the other, for the Infinite (Ein Sof) is there. I cannot exempt myself by saying that I live for myself and I am connected to the Infinite. I need to be connected to the Infinite of this fellow man whom I find difficult to understand, who is my opposite, and whose entire perception of life is completely different from mine. I will never be exempt from this; we will never complete the tikkun until we reveal the unique point found in this person whom we do not understand. And not so that we do a favor for the other, but so that we can feel good with ourselves, so that we can reveal our own unique point."] (Up to here from The Rav).

How can I think for a moment that it is not fitting for me to be near this one, and not fitting for me to speak with that one, and not fitting for me to connect with this one, and I wouldn't want this one to be my neighbor, because I am a little more... After all, everyone is a portion of God from above! Love of creatures is connected to the love of Hashem. We love Hashem so much, we feel so much that we are part of Him, that suddenly we understand that not only us, but everyone is part of Hashem; everyone is a Godly spark. When there is light, we no longer scrutinize each and every one. When there is darkness, then "this one said this" and "that one did that," but when there is light, we love everyone. Then we can connect to such wonderful things, for the sake of which connection we came here.