וְה֗וּא יִשְׁפֹּֽט־תֵּבֵ֥ל בְּצֶ֑דֶק יָדִ֥ין לְ֝אֻמִּ֗ים בְּמֵישָׁרִֽים׃
At Siya ang hahatol sa sanlibutan nang may katuwiran; huhukuman Niya ang mga bansa nang may katarungan.
Rabbeinu Bahya
ושפטו את העם משפט צדק, “they shall judge the people with fair judgment.” This may be either a warning to the individual judge or to every individual Israelite not to appoint a judge who is not righteous as well as competent. If they fail to do so each Israelite will be an accessory to perversion of justice if and when it occurs.” The judgment is to be absolute. It is to correspond to Leviticus 15,15 בצדק תשפוט עמיתך, “you are to judge your fellow with righteousness.” Sanhedrin 6,2 phrased this as יקוב הדין את ההר, “let the judgment bore a hole into the mountain.” Rabbi Akiva adds that one does not mix mercy with justice (Ketuvot 84). [The aforementioned quotes mean that the time for possible arbitration is before a matter comes to court; once it has come to court only legal considerations are relevant. Ed.]. The wordמשפט implies something “in the middle,” i.e. a clear-cut decision between opposing claims. Compare Psalms 112,5: ”he conducts his affairs with equity.” Jeremiah 30,11 speaks of ויסרתיך במשפט, “He will discipline you with justice.” These applications of strict yardsticks are valid in the dispensation of justice by a human tribunal.
The expression צדק which also appears in our verses is reserved for application by G’d. G’d combines both attributes when He sits in judgment. This is why we find David say in Psalms 99,4: משפט וצדקה ביעקב אתה עשית, “justice and charity You applied in judging Yaakov.” משפט is known in kabbalistic terms as the קו האמצעי the “middle” line on the diagram of the emanations, and Yaakov is the patriarch who represents this line [to the left of חסד on the right, Avraham’s attribute, and to the right of גבורה ,דין Yitzchak’s attribute. Ed.].
This enables us to understand Jeremiah 10,24: יסרני ה' אך במשפט, אל באפך פן תמיעטני, “chastise me o Lord, but in measure; not in Your wrath, lest You reduce me to naught.” The prophet says that the attribute of Justice which is part even of the tetragrammaton should not be applied to him as otherwise he would not survive the chastisement. [The prophet utters a prayer by his people who are aware that the enemy army is close to capturing Jerusalem. Ed]. משפט as distinct from דין, is perceived as the mild aspect of justice at work, whereas אפך is the harsh aspect of justice at work. Tzedek is the attribute of Justice applied to the world, as we know from Psalms 9,9 והוא ישפוט תבל בצדק, “and He will judge the universe by employing צדק.” This attribute receives its input from a higher source known as elohim. This is the meaning of Psalms 58,12 אך יש אלו-הים שופטים בארץ, “there is indeed divine justice on earth.” The word שופטים in that verse in Psalms and the word שופטים in our verse here are mystically linked together. The Torah’s instructions here are to establish the mechanism demonstrating that there is divine justice on earth. If it sounds as if justice is to be tempered with mercy in a court of law, this is misleading. The truth is if the guilty receives sentence the innocent is exonerated and feels that righteousness has been done for him whereas justice has been done to the other litigant.
The expression צדק which also appears in our verses is reserved for application by G’d. G’d combines both attributes when He sits in judgment. This is why we find David say in Psalms 99,4: משפט וצדקה ביעקב אתה עשית, “justice and charity You applied in judging Yaakov.” משפט is known in kabbalistic terms as the קו האמצעי the “middle” line on the diagram of the emanations, and Yaakov is the patriarch who represents this line [to the left of חסד on the right, Avraham’s attribute, and to the right of גבורה ,דין Yitzchak’s attribute. Ed.].
This enables us to understand Jeremiah 10,24: יסרני ה' אך במשפט, אל באפך פן תמיעטני, “chastise me o Lord, but in measure; not in Your wrath, lest You reduce me to naught.” The prophet says that the attribute of Justice which is part even of the tetragrammaton should not be applied to him as otherwise he would not survive the chastisement. [The prophet utters a prayer by his people who are aware that the enemy army is close to capturing Jerusalem. Ed]. משפט as distinct from דין, is perceived as the mild aspect of justice at work, whereas אפך is the harsh aspect of justice at work. Tzedek is the attribute of Justice applied to the world, as we know from Psalms 9,9 והוא ישפוט תבל בצדק, “and He will judge the universe by employing צדק.” This attribute receives its input from a higher source known as elohim. This is the meaning of Psalms 58,12 אך יש אלו-הים שופטים בארץ, “there is indeed divine justice on earth.” The word שופטים in that verse in Psalms and the word שופטים in our verse here are mystically linked together. The Torah’s instructions here are to establish the mechanism demonstrating that there is divine justice on earth. If it sounds as if justice is to be tempered with mercy in a court of law, this is misleading. The truth is if the guilty receives sentence the innocent is exonerated and feels that righteousness has been done for him whereas justice has been done to the other litigant.