Komentaryong Sumisipi para sa Jeremias 6:13

HATING UNJUST GAIN. “Men who disdain their own money in a law-suit, just as we say:¹¹⁵Baba Bathra 58b. ‘Any judge from whom money is collected by a judgment is not qualified as a judge.’” Thus Rashi’s language. By this, Rashi meant to explain that they disdain all money which they know can be collected from them by law, and return it themselves even though it is truly theirs, such as the case wherein one bought a slave without witnesses,¹¹⁶And the owner comes to reclaim him. Now even though the slave is rightfully the buyer’s, the latter knows that because he has no witnesses who can attest to the sale, the original owner will regain possession of the slave in a law-suit. The buyer therefore voluntarily returns the slave to the original owner. See my Hebrew commentary, p. 381, as to why Ramban mentioned such a specific case. or a similar example.
But the text in the Mechilta is not so, [i.e., as Rashi commented]. Rather, this is the way it is taught there:¹¹⁷Mechilta on the verse here. “‘Hating unjust gain. I.e., those who, when sitting in judgment, disdain to accept money.’ These are the words of Rabbi Yehoshua. Rabbi Eleazar of Modi’im says: ‘Hating unjust gain. I. e., those who disdain their own money. If they disdain their own money, how much more will they despise the money of their friends!’” The explanation [of this text of the Mechilta] is that Rabbi Yehoshua interprets the expression hating ‘botza’ as meaning “hating bribery,” the usage of the word [betza] being similar to: Every one is greedy for ‘botza’ (gain);¹¹⁸Jeremiah 6:13. Each one ‘l’bitzo’ (to his gain), one and all.¹¹⁹Isaiah 56:11. Rabbi Eleazar of Modi’im explained that hating ‘botza’ means that they despise abundance of money and have no desire to increase their silver and gold, something like the verse, If I rejoiced because my wealth was great, and because my hand had gotten much.¹²⁰Job 31:25. Money [or profit] is called betza [in Hebrew]: What ‘betza’ (profit) is it if we slay our brother?¹²¹Genesis 37:26. Is it any ‘betza’ (gain) to Him, that thou makest thy ways blameless?¹²²Job 22:3. And thou shalt devote ‘bitz’am (their gain) unto the Eternal, and their substance unto the Lord of the whole earth.¹²³Micah 4:13.
Again, I have seen in the Yelamdeinu:¹²⁴See Sifre, Devarim 17. For the name Yelamdeinu, see Seder Bo, Note 196. “Hating unjust gain [means] those who disdain their own money, and needless to say, they disdain the money of others. They are the ones who say, ‘Even if this man will burn my stack, even if he will destroy my plants, I will render judgment correctly.’” This is the intent of Rabbi Eleazar of Modi’im, who said that they disdain their own money, meaning that they pay no regard to their property when sitting in judgment, that is, if they will suffer a loss of money on account of it. Moses further admonished them on this, saying, Ye shall not be afraid of the face of any man.¹²⁵Deuteronomy 1:17. [Thus according to the Yelamdeinu], betza means money, as I have explained. Onkelos rendered it: “those who hate to receive money.” But the word “money,” [as Onkelos uses it], does not mean a bribe, [which of course is forbidden in itself]. It means rather that they should never accept money from people as a gift or loan, so that they should show them no favoritism at the time of judgment. It is similar to what the Rabbis have said:¹²⁶Kethuboth 105b. “A judge who is in the habit of borrowing things [from his neighbors] is forbidden to act as judge in a law-suit involving them.”
In line with the plain meaning of Scripture, men of truth, hating ‘botza’, means those who love the truth and hate “oppression.” When they see oppression and violence, they cannot tolerate them, their whole desire being only to deliver the spoiled out of the hand of the oppressor.¹²⁷Jeremiah 21:12.