א'- ב' יְהוּדִי (שלי) תָּאַ֣בְתִּי לִֽישׁוּעָתְךָ֣ יְהוָ֑ה וְ֝תֽוֹרָתְךָ֗ שַׁעֲשֻׁעָֽי (תהילים קי"ט קע"ד)

(10) There are four temperaments among men: the one who says "what is mine is mine, and what is yours is yours" -- that's an [average] temperament. And there are some who say that is the temperament of Sodom. [A second type is one who says] "what is mine is yours, and what is yours is mine" -- [that's an] am ha'arets (uneducated person). [A third type is one who says] "what is mine is yours, and what is yours is yours" -- [that's a] pious person. [A final type is one who says] "what is yours is mine, and what is mine is mine" -- [that's a] wicked person.

(6) Yehoshua ben Perachiah and Nitai of Arbel received from them. Yehoshua ben Perachia says, "Make for yourself a mentor, acquire for yourself a friend and judge every person as meritorious."

(5) How do we press the witnesses in a capital case? We bring them in [to the court's chambers] and press them: "Perhaps what you say [isn't eyewitness testimony] is but your own assessment, or from rumors, or your witnessing an actual witness testify, or your reporting what a trustworthy said. Or perhaps you were unaware that by the end we'd interrogate you, with examination and inquiry. Know that capital cases are not like monetary ones. In monetary cases, [a false witness] can return the money and achieve atonement. But in capital cases, the blood of [the victim [and all his future offspring hang upon you until the end of time. For thus we find in regard to Cain, who killed his brother, "The bloods of your brother scream out!" (Genesis 4:10) - the verse does not say blood of your brother, but bloods of your brother, because it was his blood and also the blood of his future offspring [screaming out]! [Another explanation of the verse: for his blood was splattered over the trees and rocks [there was more than one pool of blood]. [The judges' speech continues] "It was for this reason that man was first created as one person [Adam], to teach you that anyone who destroys a life is considered by Scripture to have destroyed an entire world; and anyone who saves a life is as if he saved an entire world." And also, to promote peace among the creations, that no man would say to his friend, "My ancestors are greater than yours." And also, so that heretics will not say, "there are many rulers up in Heaven." And also, to express the grandeur of The Holy One [blessed be He]: For a man strikes many coins from the same die, and all the coins are alike. But the King, the King of Kings, The Holy One [blessed be He] strikes every man from the die of the First Man, and yet no man is quite like his friend. Therefore, every person must say, “For my sake ‎the world was created.”‎ [The judges' speech continues:] "Maybe you [the witnesses] will now say, 'What do we need this, and all this anxiety for [let's not come forward even with true testimony]!' But Scripture has already spoken: "If he be a witness - having seen or known - if he does not express it, he shall bear his sin." (Lev. 5:1) Maybe you will now say, 'What do we need this, to be responsible for another man's death?' But Scripture has already spoken: "When the wicked are destroyed there is rejoicing." (Prov. 11:10)"

(1) Know, that it is necessary to judge every person as meritorious. Even if someone is entirely wicked, it is necessary to search and find in him some bit of good, that in that bit he is not wicked, and by means of this, that you find in him a bit of good, and judge him as meritorious, by means of this you raise him in truth to the side of merit, and you can return him in repentance. This is "a little bit and there is no wicked, you will contemplate on his place and he isn't there" (Psalms 37:10), that is, the verse warns to judge everyone as meritorious, and even though you see the he is completely wicked, even so, you must search and quest to find in him a bit of good where he isn't wicked. This is "a little bit and there is no wicked" - you have to search out in him a bit of good that is still there, where he is not wicked, because even though he is wicked, how is it possible that there isn't still a bit of good, because how is possible that he didn't do a mitzvah or a good thing his whole life? By means of this that you find in him a bit of good where he is not wicked, and you judge him as meritorious, by means of this you raise him in truth from the side of liability to the side of merit, until he returns in repentance by means of his. This is "a little bit and there is no wicked", by means of finding in the wicked a bit of good, where he isn't wicked "you will contemplate on his place and he isn't there", meaning when you contemplate and look at his place and level, he isn't there, in his original place, because by means of finding in him a bit of good, a good point, and judging him as meritorious, by means of this you truly take him from the side of liability to the side of merit. This is "you will contemplate on his place and he isn't there". Understand this well. [...]

(2) Just so, one must find [a modicum of good] in himself as well. For it is well-known that one must take great care to be in a state of happiness at all times and to keep sadness very very distant (as we have explained several times). Even when one begins to scrutinize himself and sees that there is no goodness in him, and that he is full of sins, and the Plaintiff (lit. ba'al davar, one who has a claim; fig. the Evil One) desires to cause his downfall through sadness and depression (lit. black bile, melancholy), Heaven forfend, nevertheless it is forbidden for him to fall on this account. He must just seek to find in himself some modicum of good, for how is it possible that he did not perform in all his days some mitzvah or good deed? And even [if], when one begins to scrutinize that good deed, he sees that it is full of flaws and has no soundness, that is to say that one sees that even that mitzvah or holy deed that he merited to perform, it too is full of turnings and inappropriate intentions and many imperfections, nevertheless, how is it possible that there should not be in that mitzvah or holy deed some modicum of good? For, no matter how things are, there must have been some good point in the mitzvah or the good dead that he performed. For one must search out and seek to find in himself some modicum of good, in order to revive himself, and to attain joy, as mentioned above. By seeking to find in himself that there is still a modicum of good, he truly leaves the scale of guilt for the scale of merit, so that he is able to turn back in repentance. This is connected conceptually to the verse, "A little longer and there will be no wicked man; you will look at where he was— he will be gone," as mentioned above... Similarly, one must seek further, to find in himself another good deed. Even if that good deed likewise is mixed with much waste (פסולת), he will be able to extract from there likewise some good point. And thus one should seek to collect further good points (or "notes"/נקודות). In this way melodies are made, as explained in another place (Likutei Moharan 54), which is the concept of playing a musical instrument, which is related to collecting good breath (spirit, רוח) from the spirit of gloom and sadness, see there.... When one does not allow himself to fall, and revives himself by searching, seeking, and finding in himself some good points, and gathers and clarifies these good points from the bad and the waste that is in him, as stated above--in this way melodies are formed, and then he is able to pray, to sing, and to give thanks to God. For it is well-known that when one despairs on account of his physicality and evil deeds, seeing that he is really very, very far from holiness, then in most cases he is unable to pray at all, and is unable to open his mouth at all, due to the greatness of his sadness and melancholy and the heaviness that befalls him, since he sees the great force of his alienation (distancing, ריחוקו) from Hashem, may He be blessed...

(3) This is connected conceptually with the verse, "I will sing songs to my God while I exist (=בעודי, through my עוד/still)" (Psalms 146:2)--precisely through my "still" (עוד), that is, by means of the concept of my עוד/still, that I find in myself--related to "A little longer (עוד, 'still') and there will be no wicked man; you will look at where he was— he will be gone" (Psalms 37:10), as mentioned above. By means of this point/note (נקודה) [that is, the עוד/the modicum of goodness that persists], I will be able to sing and to give thanks to Hashem, as mentioned above. Thus, "I will sing"--it is precisely that I will sing, that is, songs and melodies that are made by means of collecting the good notes, as mentioned above.