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The words in this verse, translated as “wise in heart,” are understood by the Sages as “wise about hearts,” or “wise about innermost thoughts.” This means that God knows what is in man’s hearts and judges accordingly. While man has the capacity to judge his fellow only by what is obvious to the human eye, the Lord knows what is really in a person’s heart. It is man’s challenge to behave like God and, instead of making assumptions solely by what meets the eye, understand that there is more in a person’s heart that might not be apparent from the outside. We are therefore called on to judge others favorably by always giving them the benefit of the doubt. As they train to gain the skills necessary to protect the Holy Land and her people, the IDF must also learn to judge with wisdom who is a threat and who is a friend. This is tremendously difficult and requires deeply refined skills and intellect to carry out the job.
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