This week’s parashah begins with the following injunctions: שֹׁפְטִים וְשֹׁטְרִים תִּתֶּן לְךָ בְּכָל שְׁעָרֶיךָ...וְשָׁפְטוּ אֶת הָעָם מִשְׁפַּט צֶדֶק: לֹא תַטֶּה מִשְׁפָּט לֹא תַכִּיר פָּנִים וְלֹא תִקַּח שֹׁחַד כִּי הַשֹּׁחַד יְעַוֵּר עֵינֵי חֲכָמִים וִיסַלֵּף דִּבְרֵי צַדִּיקִם: צֶדֶק צֶדֶק תִּרְדֹּף..., Judges and enforcers shall you appoint in all your cities…and they shall judge the nation a just judgment. You shall not warp justice, you shall not be biased, and you shall not take bribes, for bribes blind the eyes of the wise and distort the words of the righteous. A just justice shall you pursue…
It would seem that the second verse – which appears to apply to the judges – should have been written in the third person, plural לֹא יַטוּ מִשְׁפָּט לֹא יַכִּירוּ פָּנִים..., they shall not warp justice, they shall not be biased….
It has been said that the primary role of beis din is to teach honest and well-intentioned people the proper thing to do.
So perhaps the Torah is telling us that we must certainly establish courts and enforcement mechanisms.
But first we must try to do the right thing and make the proper judgments.
The Torah is saying you – every one of us – must realize that we should live our lives properly judging situations and making decisions without the bias of groupthink and preconceptions and, to the best of our ability, ignoring our personal interests, the “bribe” human nature dangles before us.
Our commitment to honestly view and assess every situation is the best way to live our life wisely and properly.
May Hashem give us the wisdom, discernment and fortitude to fulfill this tall order.
Gut Shabbos.
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