Dan l’kaf zechus

I wasn’t sure where to post this, so I started a new thread.

Baruch Hashem, tznius is not one of my big challenges. Unfortunately, I have many, many, many other challenges.

Today, while waiting for the bus, someone was giving away free newspapers so I took one primarily to do the sudoku on the bus. When the bus came, I turned to the sudoku page, took out my pen, and got to work. This didn’t last long.

Sitting across from me was a woman wearing pants, a sleeveless top, and more makeup than I ever wear (although I’ve seen worse). She was saying Tehillim.

I was thinking, here I am dressed totally appropriately, doing sudoku. And here she is dressed in a manner I would not consider appropriate, saying Tehillim.

So I put away the sudoku and took out the Tehillim and started saying as many as I could.

As I got off the bus I thanked her for inspiring me. (At least I tried. I’m not sure I said it correctly or if she understood me.)

Hashem knows where she came from and where I came from. I know only where I came from.

Hashem knows her capabilities and my capabilities. I know only my capabilities.

I don’t know how Hashem judges these things. But I wouldn’t want to ask him which of us is doing the better job. I’d be afraid of the answer.