If I were to call you a thief would you be insulted? You might not be happy, might even decide not to associate with me again, but is there really no truth in the assertion?

Come on, be honest. Chances are that at some time you've probably succumbed to temptation and helped yourself to something that didn't previously belong to you. Whether a five-fingered discount in a local store, underreporting your income to the tax-office, or raiding your mother's pantry for lollies, most people have shameful episodes in their past for which they now feel regret.

You did control yourself, and that's why you aren't reading this article from a prison cellWhat if I accused you of murder? Less need to browbeat over this one, you aren't guilty: end of story. Sure, you might have felt the desire some time in the past, might have been so overcome with rage that you could barely control yourself from lashing out, but that's precisely the point; you did control yourself, and that's why you aren't reading this article from a prison cell.

What if you were accused of something truly despicable, such as rape, pederasty, or barracking against your national team? It might pain you to be bothered by such a patently false assertion, but you would feel no actual guilt, because you know yourself to be innocent.

When you accuse me of a crime of which I was indeed once guilty, I feel bad, I'm ashamed of the memories of my past infractions, and commit to be more resolute when next tempted. Accuse me of something I haven't done, however, and I'll probably just laugh and stroll away, unbothered by your obvious misidentification.


The rebel Korach and his henchmen publicly accused Moses of a host of sins including corruption, nepotism, misappropriating communal funds, perverting justice and megalomania. For a man of Moses' character and impeccable reputation, this was the equivalent of an average man being branded a mass murderer: no bodies, no case to answer. Moses would have been well within his rights to march off in a huff and demand G‑d revenge their slander.

Moses' response was typical of the man; he threw himself to the ground and prayed. Moses was the most humble man to ever live. Irrespective of his enormous accomplishments he never held himself to be above criticism or refused to improve. Am I guilty of these transgressions in even the subtlest of ways, he asked himself? Who knows, perhaps I have been utilizing my G‑dly appointed position for personal gains? Perhaps I need to repent.

Irrespective of his enormous accomplishments he never held himself to be above criticismAfter undergoing a rigorous bout of self-analysis he rose from the ground and dealt with the challenge to his leadership.

How many of us, when attacked, respond by lashing out at the messenger rather than taking the message to heart and learning from it? Nothing in this world happens by chance. If I find myself in a situation not of my choosing, facing an unfeeling enemy, with scuttle-mongers whispering at my rear, I can either retire to my tent and sulk, or take the knock on the chin, learn a life-lesson from the discomfort, and then dust myself off and set about accomplishing whatever needs to be done.