Shoftim
Rabbi Jablinowitz
We read in this week’s parsha the requirement on the part of the judges to rule properly and pursue justice. Included in these mitzvoth is the prohibition against accepting bribes. The Torah says (Chapter 16, Pasuk 19), V’Lo Sikach Shochad, Ki HaShochad Ye’aver Einei Chachamim, Veesalef Divrei Tzadikim. You shall not accept bribes, for bribes blind the eyes of the wise, and distort the words of the righteous. Rashi adds to this, that you may not accept bribes even if in the end the judgment is truthful.
The Sfas Emes asks, why is it forbidden to accept a bribe in a case where the truth is evident. Since the reason for the prohibition of the bribe is in order not to distort the truth, as the pasuk states, then why is it prohibited in a situation where justice will prevail and there isn’t a distortion of the truth?
The Sfas Emes also asks a different question. Why does our parsha, which begins with the mitzvah of setting up a judicial system, immediately follow last week’s parsha which ends with the mitzvah of the Shalosh Regalim, the three annual festivals when we go up to Yerushalayim. He answers that just as there is a mitzvah to be seen three times a year, there is an obligation to look at the three possibilities in judgment. One must see the one litigant as innocent, then he must view the other in the same vein, and finally the third step is making the decision and finding the truth between both possibilities.
When a judge is unable to go through this process, it is a distortion of justice. The truthful judicial process is essential in reaching a proper verdict. When this three-stage process is disrupted, then there is a distortion of justice despite the end result. According to this approach, Rashi is teaching us that even when the proper decision is reached, the bribe is prohibited for distorting the judicial process.
There is another reason why bribes are prohibited even when the proper judgment is reached. The Sfas Emes teaches that the main reason for the prohibition against accepting bribes is not in order to ensure reaching a truthful verdict, but rather the main reason is in order not to distort the eyes of the judge, as the pasuk states, Ki HaShochad Ye’aver Einei Chachamim. Therefore, the prohibition is applicable even when a truthful verdict is reached.
What is the meaning of this idea that the eyes of the judge will be blinded and distorted, independent of the actual outcome of the judgment? The eyes of the person represent how he views the world and his place in the world. Therefore we refer to the wisdom of a person as Einei Chachamim, but it is more a reference to his heart and his inner beliefs. When one takes a bribe, he is distorting his heart and his values, even if he does manage a correct verdict. This is the real destructive effect of a bribe.
This p’shat can also be connected to the end of last week’s parsha and the mitzvah of going to Yerushalayim for the three festivals. In parshat Balak, when Bil’am hits his donkey and the donkey asks why have you hit me three times, it says why have you hit me shalosh regalim? And Rashi explains that this term is used to indicate that Bil’am will not be successful against a nation that celebrates three festivals a year, Umah HaChogeges Shalosh Regalim. The Meshech Chachmah explains that this term is used because Rashi teaches in the Gemarah in Chagigah 2A that when Bnei Yisrael went up to be seen by Hashem in Yerushalayim on the festivals, they also “saw” Gd. They experienced a unique spiritual vision of clarity, and were “Ro’eh Pnei HaShchinah”. Therefore Bil’am’s donkey said, you can’t see this angel on the path, which is why I am not moving forward. How do you expect to defeat a people who celebrate three festivals and “see” Hashem in Yerushalayim?
It is precisely this clarity of vision experienced by Bnei Yisrael that is compromised by taking bribes. The real mark of the Chachamim who serve as judges is their fear of and belief in Hashem. As the pasuk in Iyov (Chapter 28, Pasuk 28) states, Hein Yiras Hashem He Chachmah, true wisdom is fear of Gd. Therefore, when the Torah warns that taking bribes will distort the eyes of the wise, it indicates that the main concern of receiving bribes is the end result. Not perhaps the end results of the judgment, but rather the end result of the judge. His heart is swayed by taking a bribe, adversely affecting his wisdom and beliefs. And these mitzvoth follow the mitzvah of going up to Yerushalayim, for it is precisely during the festivals that Bnei Yisrael experience the clarity of vision that enables us to establish court systems which pursue justice.
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