Parshas Mishpatim contains a number of mitzvahs concerning justice. Some of them are don't accept a one sided false report and don't go along with the crowd to do evil. As exhortations for the ordinary man they are very understandable. Also one can see them as extensions of the ninth commandment against perjury. However they also are aimed at the judge. This is difficult because one would expect a judge to be at a level that something like this would be obvious, but apparently it is not.
Previously the Chumash talked about Yisro's plan for a hierarchical legal system. In it there would be ministers of tens, hundreds, and thousands with the top cases being decided by Moshe himself. His concern was that because of the huge number of cases Moshe would wear himself out if he was the only judge. Not only that but so would the nation because of the long wait. It does say, “the people stood about Moshe from morning until evening”, (Exodus 18:13). However the Mekhilta of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai says that this is a metaphor because judges only sit until dinner time. He then brings a proof that any judge that judges a case entirely truthfully is reckoned as a partner in the creation if the world. Rashi brings this source and adds that even if judging the case truthfully, just took an hour, Scripture reckons him as if he was busy with Torah all day.
Yitro specified that the judges should be qualified possessing the characteristics of fear of the Powers that be, men of truth, and that hate unjust gain. However when Moshe picks them the Chumash simply says they were qualified. The Seforno comments that this is because he did not find people with all of the other qualities.
In his last address to the nation Moshe rabbeinu rebukes the nation for this system. He starts by saying, “How can I bear alone your aggravations, burdens, and quarrels”, (Deuteronomy 1:12). My rabbi Eli Chaim Carlebach, of blessed memory, emphasized that the first word here is “אֵיכָה”. He explained that this is also the first word in the book of Lamentations and it is not accidental. Rather this is a hint that because of this plan the Temple was destroyed. He continued that if a person talks once to someone like Moshe rabbeinu, it may influence him the rest of his life.
Similarly there is a story about a hasid who had three persistent questions that troubled him very much. After a long time he decided to travel to the great Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi, the first Lubavitcher Rebbe, to ask the questions. As soon as he made the decision one of the questions he had immediately became resolved. As he was entering the coach the answer to a second question entered his mind. And when he was about to knock on the rebbe's door, the answer to the third question came to him. Simply the thought of discussing these issues with such a sage and saint was enough for him to arrive at the correct conclusions.
One time I went to a talk given by Rabbi Meir Kahane, ז”ל. I had read a number of his books and found them notable for their truthfulness and honesty. These poster advertising the lecture said that seeing him once could change your life. After the talk people lined up to ask him questions. The answers were very penetrating even though the conversations did not last that long, and I could see that this praise of him was true.
Other big rabbis do the same. The Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson would talk to people going through an emotional crisis to restore them to a calm state of mind. The amulets written by Rabbi Yitzchak Kaduri may have kept a number of people sane.
What this means is a bad person can become good and stay good because of a single conversation. In addition there are times when a person is very impressionable and an encounter with the law can be one of them. If the judge and the other people in the legal system are good, they really can set a criminal straight. If they are bad the tendency is to make the situation worse.
On the verse, “Bring from each of your tribes, men who are wise, understanding, and experienced, and I will place them as your heads”, (Deuteronomy 1:13), Rashi notes the use of the word “and I will place” in Hebrew ואשמם. He explains that it resembles the word אשם or blame. He then comments, “this teaches that the transgressions (אשם) of Israel are hung on the heads of their judges, because it is their duty to prevent them from sinning, and to direct them onto the straight path (Sifrei Devarim 13:6)”.
לע"נ האמא מלכה בת חיים ז"ל נלב"ע טז ניסן תשנ"ח
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