A Good Eye and Its Limits

The Chiddushei HaRim said that he worked on himself for some seventeen years to acquire the trait of ayin tova (a good eye), which lets a person see only the best traits and the good in others. His grandson Rav Pintshe of Piltz, mechaber of Sifsei Tzaddik, testified that he worked tirelessly to see only the good in other Jews and to ignore any shortcoming or evil. Once he became a Rebbe, however, many chassidim traveled to him seeking his berachos and advice, and he wanted to help each one of them. He realized that he had no choice but to recognize their shortcomings, so that he could advise them what to correct and help them on their path to teshuvah.