A respectable and distinguished woman was horrified by her next-door neighbor’s lifestyle. The neighbor seemed to be a horrendously poor housekeeper; she lived in a filthy house and raised messy, dirty children. The situation was disgraceful.

The woman decided to share her feelings of frustration with a visiting friend. “Just look at those clothes she has out on the line,” she began, pointing to her neighbor’s backyard. “See the black streaks spattered up and down those sheets and pillowcases?”

“It appears to be, my dear,” answered the visitor, “that the clothes are perfectly clean. The streaks that you see are on your own window.”

“Before you criticize someone, put yourself on the receiving end.”

“When I start to find fault with all that I see, it’s time to start looking for what’s wrong with me.”
—Adapted from Rabbi Yisroel Baal Shem Tov

“When an archer misses the mark, he should look for the fault within himself. Failure to hit the bull’s-eye is never the fault of the target. To improve your aim, improve yourself.”

“When you point your finger at someone else, three fingers are pointing at yourself.”