Pirkei Avot-Tools for the Three Weeks-In The Eyes of Others

The Bible demands of people that they be clean in the eyes of God and Israel. But the Sage in Pirkei Avot merely teaches us not to be wicked in our own eyes. The difference in counsel can be explained as follows: an obscure man can be satisfied if he is right according to his own personal conscience, but a man of eminence must also satisfy people in the community outside himself (Michtevei haRav Chafetz Chaim, page 90).

The Semag teaches that the most necessary ingredient for salvation is that we behave in such a manner that people would respond to the arrival of the Messiah by saying, “They deserve redemption!”

During the Three Weeks, when we pray for Redemption, it is essential that we act in such a manner that our behavior reflects people of such quality that they deserve Redemption.