The Talmud (Shabbat 127b) tells of a man who worked for an employer in the north of Israel for three years. When his contract ended, he went to collect his wages on the eve of Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement), eager to bring the money home to his family.
"I have no money," the employer told him. "Give me my wages in produce, then," the man said. "I have no produce." "In land?" "No land." "In cattle?" "No cattle." "In pillows or bedding?" "Nothing."
The laborer slung his empty bag over his shoulder and went home in despair.
After the holiday, the employer appeared at the laborer's door with three donkeys loaded with food, drink, and delicacies — plus the full wages owed. As they sat eating together, the employer asked: "When I told you I had no money, what did you think?"
"I thought perhaps you had invested it all in merchandise," the laborer replied. "And when I said I had no land?" "Perhaps you had leased it to others." "No cattle?" "Perhaps hired out." "No produce?" "Perhaps not yet tithed." "No bedding?" "Perhaps you had dedicated everything to the Temple."
"That is exactly what happened!" the employer exclaimed. He had vowed all his property to the Temple in a moment of anger at his son, and had to go to the sages to have the vow annulled. "Just as you judged me favorably," he said, "may God judge you favorably."
The sages taught: judge every person on the scale of merit. The laborer's faith in his employer's honesty — despite every appearance to the contrary — became the model for how all Jews should view their fellows.