Pirkei Avos (2:5) tells us 'Don't judge your friend until you are in his situation'.
I was wondering about the term 'judge'
Merriam-Webster online defines:-
'judgement' as 'the process of forming an opinion or evaluation by discerning and comparing' and
'discernment' as 'the ability to see and understand people, things, or situations clearly and intelligently'.
So when one judges another person one is not only using discernment but is also comparing.
Would the Mishna therefore allow one to use discernment regarding others as opposed to judgement?
The Hebrew for discern is להבחין and to judge is לדון.
Or is the Mishna teaching us that any form of evaluation of another (whether judging or discerning) is unacceptable and one should just totally accept each person as they are?
Is there maybe a different Torah source that may show a difference between discernment and judgement?