In our 13 Middot series, we are up to Middah number six, V’Rav Hessed / and His kindness is abundant. The Gemara in Masechet Rosh Hashana explains that God tilts to the kindness. This means that if somebody is 50/50, Hashem will give them a tilt towards the kindness. The commentaries explain that this means after you went through Aseret Yeme Teshuva and you are still 50/50 on Yom Kippur, Hashem gives an extra tilt. How does this work? There's a side that has mitzvot and a side that has averot , so how do we tilt it? The rabbis answer that, as the Rambam says, the way to weigh and measure things is only in the hands of God. What is a zechut worth? We don't know.. What is a smile to your friend worth? Well, it depends. What kind of day did you have? How much effort did it take the smile? Only Hashem can weigh these things. When somebody is 50/50, it doesn’t mean they’re exactly 50/50. It means they’re pulled both ways, but Hashem will look at things in a different light, a different angle with a more positive look, and turn the 50/50 fellow into a 60/40 fellow. There was a man who had a life full of suffering and difficulties, and he so he went to the Chida for a beracha, and waited on line. But after his long journey, he fell asleep. In his dream, he saw that at his end of his life they were coming to weigh his deeds- his good deeds and his bad deeds. He saw black chariots with black angels coming. He asked what they were and he was told that those were all his sins. There was whole long line of trucks loaded up with the black angels. Then he saw one old, weak angel with a wheelbarrow- he was told that those were his Mitzvot, and they were put on the scale. Of course, it looked like it was all over. It looked like he lost. But then his little white angel said, “ What about his suffering? What about his Yissurim?” So they start throwing on the yisurim - a difficult child, a challenge in business… and all the suffering he went through in his life went onto the scale. Finally, it was just about even, 50/50, but not quite enough to tilt the scale. So he started yelling, “ More yesurim, more yesurim, more suffering, more suffering!” Then he woke up, and of course, it was just a dream. But he realized that the suffering was really good for him, so he turned around and went back home. That's a story about how only Hashem knows how to judge what to put on the scale, and what not to put on the scale. We need V’Rav Hessed , we need that extra kindness to tilt the scale and look at our deeds in a different way. The same is true for friend. We may want to give a negative verdict on whatever it may be in our relationship with him, but we have to take into consideration all the factors in his life, and give him a little more rope, be a little bit more easygoing, focus on the positive, discount the negative, and give him the tilt to Hessed. Have a wonderful day.