Rebbe Elimelech: Seeing the Good in Another Person

A TZADDIK IS ONE WHO SEES THE GOOD IN ANOTHER UNTIL THAT GOOD BECOMES REAL.

Attribution printed on the image: Rebbe Elimelech of Lizhensk

A reflection on the teaching

Seeing good in someone can influence how we speak to them and what opportunities we offer. A person repeatedly treated as a problem may struggle to imagine a better response. Honest recognition of a strength can help them use it. The saying attributed to Rebbe Elimelech asks for patient, generous attention. It should not be understood as a guarantee that our belief will change someone else. Their choices remain theirs. We can do our part by naming a real good, encouraging a concrete action and refusing to reduce the person to a single failure.

Source note: The attribution above is transcribed from the image. The exact source and English wording have not been independently verified.