Wills have been a feature of humanity for 80% of our written history. These documents provide a way for our wishes to be followed after we die, a small projection of ourselves forward beyond our biological lifespans. In the will, we specify an executor, someone who we trust to interpret our words in a way that aligns with our desires, and as such we typically pick a close relative; someone who knows us, loves us, and who we believe has a good sense of who we are. These days, we are also encouraged to prepare not only this traditional will, but also a living will that specifies what we want to occur if we are incapable of making decisions ourselves and someone who we want to make the hard-to-make decisions for us. For the latter, people typically specify the same individual that they did in the former, someone who knows us, loves us. However, research shows that these people often do not make decisions that align with those of the dying, or in the case of most studies, the theoretically dying. In fact, a specific type of complete stranger was shown to make the decisions most in line with our own. A stranger of similar age, from a similar profession, with similar income, and similar relationships to friends, family, children, and parents. The data bear out what Hillel suggests: the best to judge us are those who are standing in our place.

As our world has condensed, with news streaming into our ears, 24/7, or hopefully for most Jews who embrace the gift of Shabbat, 24/6, it can be easy to imagine that we have arrived in the place of others and are thus fit to judge them. This past week, I learned a bit more about three people who seemed to be in the same place. All three lived in major US cities, check. All three were graduates from state-sponsored universities, check. All three were between 25 and 30(1), with rounding check. All three were researchers pursuing better treatment of minorities, check. All three were passionate about peace for the Palestinians, check. All three were outside the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington DC on Wednesday evening, check. Two of them were murdered by the third, who even took the time to reload to complete the assassination, before walking inside to calmly inform police of what he did and why, “Free, free Palestine”. While my first reaction to this week’s mishnah was that it was so obvious as to be trite, my second that so often our politicians fail to imagine themselves in the places of those they govern; those who stand to lose access to healthcare, food, education, housing, safety, security and opportunity so that those with an abundance of each can have a bit more along with the satisfaction of winning. But learning about this event in DC has changed that. Perhaps Hillel was wrong: even being in someone’s place is not enough to be justified in judgement. And yet now, we must judge the willful, calculating, murderer whose place we are not in. How can we do it? How can we no? We have encountered the idea previously that to Rodef Shalom, to Pursue Peace is hard, and I don’t see it getting any easier anytime soon.

Do not judge your fellow man until you have reached his place. 

Open Mishnah

 ولا تحكُم على صاحبِكَ حتى تكونَ في موضعِه.

نهج السلف (Nahj Al-Salaf)- The Beit Dakira Translation [ar]
Source: sefaria.org
Digitization: Sefaria
License: [missing]

…richte deinen Nächsten nicht, bis du in seine Lage gekommen;

Mischnajot mit deutscher Übersetzung und Erklärung. Berlin 1887-1933 [de]
Source: talmud.de
Digitization: Sefaria License: [missing]

RICHTE DEINEN NÄCHSTEN NICHT, BIS DU IN SEINE LAGE GEKOMMEN BIST. 

Talmud Bavli. Lazarus Goldschmidt. 1929 [de]
Source: nli.org.il
Digitization: Sefaria License: Public Domain

Ne juge pas ton prochain tant que tu ne t’es pas trouvé à sa place. 

No prejuzgues a tu prójimo a menos que te encuentres en su misma situación.

Não julgues o teu companheiro até estares no lugar dele. (Nota: não te ponhas condenar de forma leviana)

…e não julgue seu companheiro até que chegue ao lugar dele,…