DEUT35 In addition to judging the actions of our fellow man favorably (except for known evil people), there are others who should be judged favorably in their actions as well. The first is in regard to the actions of God Himself. Moses castigated the Jewish people for impugning the motives of God in bringing them out of Egypt [this verse]. The people said that the only reason God took them out of Egypt was because He hated the Jewish people and wanted them to be destroyed by the Emorites. For not judging God "favorably," these Jews were punished. On the other hand, part of Rabbi Akiva's greatness was that he judged God and His actions towards people in a favorable manner, no matter how bad the situation seemed. In a famous story, Rabbi Akiva wanted to stay at the Inn, accompanied by his donkey, chicken, and torch, and every step of the way it seemed that God was "against" Rabbi Akiva (Berachot 60b). And yet, Rabbi Akiva but never lost hope that everything that was happening was for a positive reason, controlled by God. First, he could not find any room in any "motel" to stay at, so he had to sleep in the fields outside of town. A strong gust of wind blew out his fire, so he was in complete darkness. Then a weasel ate his chicken and a lion then ate his donkey. At each step of the way, Rabbi Akiva blessed God and attributed positive reasons to everything that occurred, despite the fact that each action seemed to place Rabbi Akiva in a more desperate situation. The next morning, Rabbi Akiva awoke and saw that robbers had invaded the town and killed its inhabitants. If the robbers had seen his light or heard his chicken or donkey, they would have spotted Rabbi Akiva and killed him as well. So too, Nachum Ish Gamzu would always judge God favorably and say, "Gam Zu LeTova" -- "This too is for good," for everything that happened in his life, even though his arms and legs were amputated at one point (Ta'anit 21a). This attitude and obligation to judge God favorably are not mere stories in the Talmud, but are brought down in Jewish law as an obligation for every Jew in Jewish law in the way that Jews must view life and view God (Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chaim 230:5). Another group of people that each person must change favorably is themselves! A person may not view himself or herself as totally evil, but should always try to judge himself or herself favorably (Mishna Avot 2:13). Maimonides explains this Jewish law to signify that we may not exaggerate one's faults, but rather, we must try to see the good in his or her behavior as well (Maimonides commentary on Mishna Avot 2:13). Rabbeinu Yonah begins one of his philosophical works with a call for awareness about every Jew's obligation to introspect and see all the good in himself or herself. While trying to constantly improve one's moral character, a person should never lose sight of all the goodness within and should therefore judge himself or herself favorably (Rabbeinu Yonah, Sha'arei Avoda, "Introduction").