Most of us are quick to jump to negative conclusions about other people. Yet we judge without knowing all the factors that go into their decisions. The Mussar teachers urge us to give up this (often unconscious) habit in order that we not cultivate a heart of suspicion in ourselves, nor a personal world peopled by perceived wrongdoers. Giving others the benefit of the doubt elevates both your own heart and the world in which you live.
Hillel taught: "Do not judge your fellow until you are in his place." [Pirkei Avot 2:4]
— Alan Morinis in Every Day, Holy Day