This week’s parsha mentions “You shall not take revenge…” (Vayikra 19:18) This is probably one of the most difficult mitzvos to fulfill. So many sins are committed because one person wants to take revenge on another person. The original action might not have even been done intentionally, but the victim still plans out his revenge. The way a person takes revenge can even be in the most severe form of murder. But we must always remember that this is a mitzvah in the Torah and every mitzvah is attainable if we try.

In the end of Sefer Bereshis, Yaakov passed away and the brothers of Yosef were very nervous that Yosef would take revenge on them. The brothers, through baseless hatred, sold Yosef to slavery in the most immoral society that has ever existed. Yosef also had so much power that he could have taken revenge on them and never been punished for it. But Yosef did not think this way. He greeted his brothers with a smile and told them Hashem was the one that put him in that situation. We can see from here that it is possible not to take revenge. Yosef had every reason to take revenge, but he did not.

I recently heard a story from Rav Paysach Krohn about a person (let’s call him Shaya) who asked a friend that would be visiting Eretz Yisrael (let’s call him Binyamin) if he could bring some money to a needy family there. Shaya gave Binyamin $1700 in cash. A few days later, Shaya found out that Binyamin accidentally misplaced the money. It was all lost forever. When Binyamin returned from Eretz Yisrael, he wondered how Shaya would react. He did not have to wait long. Shaya met him at his house with a big smile and a cake from the bakery. Shaya said, “I forgive you for losing the money. Let’s be friends.”

So how does a person come to reach this level? The key is to always think positively. When things start going wrong, realize that G-d is the One making the events happen, not the other person. G-d is either testing the person or putting him through this event to atone for his sins. If a person always tries to find something positive, he will never seek revenge.

In 1983, the final episode of the original Star Wars trilogy was released. Its name was “Return of the Jedi”, but this was not always its name. Originally, the episode as supposed to be called “Revenge of the Jedi”. After a few months, those working on the episode changed it because a true Jedi warrior does not take Revenge. Neither does a Jew.

Good Shabbos!
-yes
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