There a most fundamental mitzvah in Parshas Devarim, which serves as an integral base for any effective court system. In the parshah, Moshe Rabbeinu is speaking to Bnei Yisrael, and at a certain point of the monologue he begins discussing the subject of judges. The Torah says (Devarim 1:16-17):
וָאֲצַוֶּה אֶת-שֹׁפְטֵיכֶם בָּעֵת הַהִוא לֵאמֹר שָׁמֹעַ בֵּין-אֲחֵיכֶם וּשְׁפַטְתֶּם צֶדֶק בֵּין-אִישׁ וּבֵין-אָחִיו וּבֵין גֵּרוֹ. לֹא-תַכִּירוּ פָנִים בַּמִּשְׁפָּט כַּקָּטֹן כַּגָּדֹל תִּשְׁמָעוּן לֹא תָגוּרוּ מִפְּנֵי-אִישׁ כִּי הַמִּשְׁפָּט לֵאלֹהִים הוּא וְהַדָּבָר אֲשֶׁר יִקְשֶׁה מִכֶּם תַּקְרִבוּן אֵלַי וּשְׁמַעְתִּיו.
Moshe decreed that the judges of Bnei Yisrael judge with righteousness. They may not show favor to either side of the case over there no matter what. Wealth and poverty have no place in the deciding factors of who is correct in a halachic dispute.
לא תגורו מפני איש- Rashi explains: Fear no man. Having learned in yeshivah for a while, the title “Dayan” bears some weight in my mind. Such a man, who represents Torah before whatevr litigants may come before him, must fear no one other than the Ribbono Shel Olam whom he represents. He may not let any political, social, financial, etc, factor influence his pesak. Why?
כי המשפט לאלקים הוא- Mishpat in Hashem’s. The Law that a dayan represents is not his own, it is Hashem’s. A Dayan does not create halachah, he represents the corpus of Torah Law and citrates how it is applied in different cases. If you pervert it, justice will be carried out by the Supreme Judge.. As Rashi explains, if you unlawfully take money from someone who is really entitled to it, Hashem will cause you to give it back to him somehow.
This week is Shabbos Chazon, named after the haftorah, “Chazon Yeshayahu.” The haftorah ends with the pasuk “ציון במשפט תפדה”. Tzion will be redeemd through Mishpat. What is MIshpat? The concept of an underlying, unifying truth to everything. And what is the source of this truth? HaKadosh Baruch Hu, the Ultimate Judge. Our job is to recognize this and employ this recognition into our lives. This is why there is a specific mitzvah that a judge, a representative of Hashem and arbitrator of the Truth must fear no one but Hashem, and have no inclination towards anything but applying the truth of Torah. And if not, then the truth will prevail, for Hashem is the True Judge.
I just thought of mentioning a comment of the author of the Avnei Neizer on the Gemara in Berachos 10a. The Gemara there lists five similarities between Hashem and our neshamos:
1. Just as Hashem fills the world, so too the neshamah fills the body.
2. Just as Hashem sees but is not seen, so too the neshamah sees but is not seen.
3. Just as Hashem feeds the whole world, so too the neshamah feeds the body.
4. Just as Hashem is tahor, so too the neshamah is tehorah.
5. Just as Hashem resides in an inner chamber, so too the neshamah resides in an inner chamber.
The Avnei Neizer points out that these comparisons are brought down in the Tikkunei Zohar 17 with one difference. Instead of what the Gemara says for #4, there it says that just as Hashem judges the world, so to the neshamah judges the body. But he writes that this not a contradiction. It’s all one idea. A judge must be tahor, pure, and not bow to any external influence. Halachah is and must be implemented as objective truth.
I just thought of mentioning a comment of the author of the Avnei Neizer on the Gemara in Berachos 10a. The Gemara there lists five similarities between Hashem and our neshamos:
1. Just as Hashem fills the world, so too the neshamah fills the body.
2. Just as Hashem sees but is not seen, so too the neshamah sees but is not seen.
3. Just as Hashem feeds the whole world, so too the neshamah feeds the body.
4. Just as Hashem is tahor, so too the neshamah is tehorah.
5. Just as Hashem resides in an inner chamber, so too the neshamah resides in an inner chamber.
The Avnei Neizer points out that these comparisons are brought down in the Tikkunei Zohar 17 with one difference. Instead of what the Gemara says for #4, there it says that just as Hashem judges the world, so to the neshamah judges the body. But he writes that this not a contradiction. It’s all one idea. A judge must be tahor, pure, and not bow to any external influence. Halachah is and must be implemented as objective truth.
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