Judges and officers shall you appoint in all your cities - which Hashem, your God, gives you - for your tribes; and they shall judge the people with righteous judgment. You shall not pervert judgment, you shall not respect someone's presence, and you shall not accept a bribe, for the bribe will blind the eyes of the wise and make just words crooked. Righteousness, righteousness shall you pursue, so that you will live and possess the Land that Hashem, your God, gives you. (Devarim 16.18-20)
From the Stone Edition Chumash Commentary...
Establishment of just courts: Previously, the Torah implied that there had to be standing courts to resolve disputes (Exodus 21:22, 22:28); here the Torah gives the formal command that such courts be established in every city of Eretz Yisrael, with a Sanhedrin, or high court, for each tribe. In addition to judges, the Torah requires the appointment of officers of the court, who would have the responsibility to enforce the decisions of the judges, and would circulate in the markets and streets to enforce standards of honesty and summon violators to the court for adjudication (Rambam, Hil. Sanhedrin; Ramban).
Most of the Sidrah deals with commandments directed to the leaders of the nation, because their conduct has a powerful influence on the rest of the people, for good or bad (Sforno). In addition, the Torah warns very forcefully that decisions of the Sanhedrin must be obeyed (17:10-13), for God granted its Sages the power to interpret the Torah's laws on a day-to-day basis. If there were to be a breakdown of respect for their interpretation, the downfall of the nation could not be far behind; such a breakdown would lead to anarchy, with the Torah being fragmented into many Torahs (Ramban to 17:11).
They shall judge ... with righteous judgment: The mere appointment of personages to staff the courts is not sufficient; they must be qualified and righteous, so that they will judge honestly and correctly (Rashi). If the community has a hand in appointing unqualified judges, God holds them all responsible for the resultant perversions of justice (Or HaChaim).
~ SHABBAT SHALOM ~
How well we can all relate now to this parasha as the court systems all
ReplyDeletearound the world, it seems, have been corrupted. The courts and law enforcement are of the most vital institutions and if they become corrupted, their punishments are more severe, as it all comes directly from the Torah, so we learn how very important they really are!
C.S.