A Soulful Journey

A judge must feel as he himself is faced with a sword pointing at his heart when he is about to pronounce judgement.  - Sanhedrin 7b A life is at stake.  A person can be ruined in the blink of an eye.  This applies to a court of law as well as in our personal interactions.

In Russia, the Czar had absolute power. Once the czar was on an army maneuvers but had to return in the evening for a party. Alas, the bridge was washed away by storm and the Czar could not cross the river. What could be done? Would the Czar then miss his entertainment? Not at all. The order to march was given. Thousands of soldiers burdened with heavy supplies and weapons marched into the river. The current carried many of them to their deaths. Hundreds died, their corpses floated with the current until bodies snagged by the rivers obstacles formed a huge pile, and the Czar drove across the bridge of dead soldiers to his party. As terrible as it was, people saw a king knew what fear was, what fear of judgment was. We have little comprehension of what it means when we call God a "melekh."

"Hesitancy in judgment is the only true mark of a thinker."  -Dagobert Runes

“A person will have to give account on the Day of Judgment for every good permissible thing he might have enjoyed but did not.”   -Yerushalmi, Kedushin 4:12

In the Talmud, Tractate Shabbat (31a), Rava tells us that when we are brought for judgment in the next world, we are asked several questions: “Were you honest in business? Did you set aside time for study? Did you engage in procreation?” “Did you hope for salvation?” Never, never give up.