Hasidut untuk Ulangan 16:19

And via corruption of mishpat comes corruption to the eyes, as is written (Deut. 16): "for bribery blinds the eyes of the wise." This is like the outside thoughts during the prayer, which are "clouds covering the eyes" (Zohar Bamidbar 252), as is written (Lam. 3): "You have covered Yourself with a cloud" etc.

Afterwards I saw that they are full of adultery, and there are so many illicit relations there that it has already become like an altogether permissible thing for them. And I said to them that on account of this, the taste, the smell and the vision were ruined for them, for the aforementioned cruel king had left them the three aforementioned squads of agents so that they should go and ruin the country. For they went around and spoke lewd speech among them, bringing lewd speech into the country, and through lewd speech the result was that the taste was ruined, so that all the tastes had the same taste as nevelah [carcass of an animal that died on its own; same root as nivul < nbl decayed]. And likewise they brought bribery into the country, and thereby their vision was ruined and it got dark in their eyes, for so it states, "Ki hashochad ye`aver `einei chakhamim," in other words bribery blinds the eyes of the wise [Deut. 16:19]. And similarly the henchmen brought lechery into the country, and through this the smell was ruined, for lechery results in ruined smell (and look in another place in our words [Likutei Moharan II 1:12] that lechery blemishes one's smell). Therefore you should see that you repair the country from these three sins and seek after these people (that is, the agents who brought the three sins into the country, as mentioned) and drive them out. And when you do so and you purge the country from the three sins, I say to you that not only will the taste, vision and smell be repaired, but that moreover even the gardener who was lost from you will also be recoverable.

This is similar to “a bribe, which blinds [the eyes of the wise] etc.”²²Deuteronomy 16:19, also see Exodus 23:8