신명기 1:17의 Musar

“Fear no man, for judgment is God’s” (Deuteronomy 1:17). We were warned with this to believe that injury will not occur to us on account of righteous judgment, when we do not show favoritism. [It is] like our Rabbis, may their memory be blessed, said (Pesachim 5b), “Agents of a commandment will not be injured, not on their way [to do it] and not on their return.” And this is the explanation of, “for judgment is God’s” - that injury caused by Him will not happen to you.

One who does not perpetuate a dispute against those who stand on a path that is not good, and those that haul in iniquity, is surely punished for their transgressions in all their sins (of the actual sinners); and [also] transgresses a negative commandment - as it is stated (Leviticus 19:17), “and not bear sin because of him..” And it is stated (Hosea 10:9) “You have sinned more, O Israel, than in the days of Gibeah; there they stand; shall they not be overtaken [as] at Gibeah by a war upon scoundrels?” Its explanation is [that] if that generation (of Hosea) was standing there, they would not have overtaken those in Gibeah in war, to destroy the evil, as that generation had overcome [the evildoers of that time] in war. The understanding of “there they stand” is, if they stood there. And likewise “and leave his father” (Genesis 44:22) is, if he left. [This is] meaning to say, that their sin was of the type of sin of Gibeah. However [the earlier generation] was better than these, since they gathered and stood with their lives to destroy the evil. And it is stated (Judges 5:23), “‘Curse Meroz,’ said the angel of the Lord; ‘Bitterly curse its inhabitants, because they came not to the aid of the Lord, to the aid of the Lord among the warriors.” And it is stated (Deuteronomy 1:17), “do not fear in front of a man.” And anyone who is for God, may He be blessed, should give over his life for the sanctification of God, as it is stated (Exodus 32:26), “‘Whoever is for the Lord, come to me’; and all the Levites gathered to him.” And it is [also] stated (Numbers 25:7), “And Phinheas saw, etc. and he took a spear in his hand.” And it is an obligation on all that fear [God] - even if he is one that loves pureness of heart - to arouse zealotry when he sees that behold, the officers and the prefects are in trespass, as it is stated (Ezra 9:2), “and it was the hand of the officers and prefects who were in this trespass first.”

Moses was jealous of the Egyptian, as it is said, "And he smote the Egyptian" (Exod. 2:12). And so we find in the case of Elijah, when he said, "I have been very jealous for the Lord, the God of hosts, for the children of Israel have forsaken Thy covenant" (I Kings 19:10). And so is it said, "In that he was very jealous for My sake among them" (Num. 25:11), and the Lord, may He be Blessed, gave him his reward for this as it is said : "Behold, I give unto him My covenant of peace!" (Num. 25:12). And it is said, "… Ye shall not be afraid of any man …" (Deut. 1:17). Now he who reveres the Lord, may He be Blessed, will gladly offer his life for the sanctification of God's name. As it is said, "Whoso is on the Lord's side, let him come unto me. And all the Levites rallied to him" (Exod. 32:26), and it is further said, "And when Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, saw it, he rose up from the midst of the congregation, and took a spear in his hand" (Num. 25:7).

The Talmud in Ketuvot 105, divides the word שוחד into two, i.e. שהוא חד that it causes the judge to lean only in one direction, that of the person who offered the bribe. This is the reverse of אחדות, since it automatically removes the other litigant from the judge. When both litigants are equally close to the judge we can speak of אחדות, unity, harmony. This condition must prevail when judgment is pronounced, since המשפט לאלוקים הוא, and G–d represents unity and harmony (Deut 1,17).

Commandment 414 forbids the appointment of a judge whose expertise does not include Torah law, even though he may be a recognized expert in other disciplines. This is based on Deut. 1,17: "You shall not be partial in judgment."

Nor should one who sits in judgement fear any man, as it is said, "Ye shall not be afraid of the face of any man" (Deut. 1:17). More over, such flattery entails the guilt of falsehood.

When Moses, the man described as the most humble man who ever lived, permitted himself to say: "Any matter which is too difficult for you bring to me," G–d reacted by proving that he could not even deal with a problem that women knew the answer to, i.e. the problem presented by the daughters of Tzlofchod (Deut. 1,17, concerning Numbers 27,4-5).

3) He must be aware that an honest decision makes him a partner of G–d in His creation of the universe, whereas a dishonest decision would cause G–d's Presence to depart from Israel, G–d's people. Any judge who illegally deprives a litigant of material things, giving them to the guilty party, will be punished by G–d in that נפשות, lives, will be cut short among members of his family. Should the judge, on the other hand, refuse to preside over litigation for fear of exposing himself to these dangers, the verse in Chronicles II 19,6 ועמכם בדבר משפט is to reassure such a judge that G–d will be with him (compare Shabbat 10, Sanhedrin 7). A judge is only held responsible for matters his eyes could see (Sanhedrin 6). He is not required to be omniscient. 4) There are occasions which call for the application of a judge's common sense, i.e. weighing probabilities. (Details of such occasions are spelled out in Tur Shulchan Aruch Choshen Mishpat section 15, based on Maimonides). This applies particularly when the judge is convinced that the claimant is a swindler, but is unable to prove it, or is unable to prove that the witnesses lied. The witnesses may even be telling the truth and the claim may still be false. In such a case the judge must disqualify himself, possibly even suggest that other judges should not entertain such a claim. He must not say to himself that any miscarriage of justice will be due to the witnesses' testimony and is not his responsibility. In such cases the name for the judge, אלוהים, is especially appropriate, since the Torah says כי המשפט לאלוהים הוא, that in the final analysis justice is G–d's business (Deut 1,17). The rule mentioned applies only when in the estimation of the judge it is the claimant who appears to be a swindler. When the defendant appears to be the rogue, the judge must on no account disqualify himself from sitting in judgment, but must make every endeavour to unmask the defendant who tries to swindle the claimant. Our sages have said in Baba Metzia 30 that Jerusalem was destroyed because [among other things Ed.] the judges "based themselves only on דברי תורה," i.e. the letter of the law instead of also considering the spirit of the law. The judges must take emergencies into consideration,such as the spiritual level of the generation during which the judge lives. I have explained this in detail on the relevant verse [see Parshat Shoftim, page 201 in the edition used by me. Ed.].