How to avoid confrontation in the Land of the Jews

I have adopted a new practice when interacting with people in this blessed Land.

Interactions often lead to confrontations. You don't have to say or do much for the other person to find something offensive or abrasive in your actions or your words. It's really about the incredible closeness between us in our Land, a closeness that is a precondition for love, but also for friction.

But now, before the confrontation can happen, I say, "Did you know that every Jew has a part of God from above --חלק אלוה ממעל -- inside? It's only when we focus on the outside (חיצוניות) that we runinto trouble. When we look at the inside (פנימיות), we see only good." This approach typically elicits a smile.

The other day, over a parking matter, I mentioned this to someone who was looking gruff and ready for a fight. After he heard about the outside and how it differs from the inside, he said, "Yes," and then he smiled, "It’s like what they say about not judging a wine by its bottle.”


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