LEV573 Express your anger directly to the person who offended you. Many people, afraid to confront the other person, instead share their anger with others, thereby besmirching their opponent's good name. The Rabbis understood the law [this verse] as meaning that when you have a grievance, you should neither hold it in nor share it with others. Rather, you should go directly to the person and inform him of what he has done to hurt you. There is much wisdom in William Blake's poem "A Poison Tree": "I was angry with my friend; I told my wrath, my wrath did end. I was angry with my foe; I told it not, my wrath did grow." As a general rule, it is wisest not to confront the person with whom you are angry when you are at the height of your rage, since it is difficult at such moments to express your anger fairly. Obviously, we should also be cautious about expressing anger to someone in a position to do us harm; the goal of expressing anger is to improve our situation with the other party, not worsen it.