Taamei Hamitzvos - The Sacred Responsibility of Judgment
by Rabbi Shmuel Kraines
“Study improves the quality of the act and completes it, and a mitzvah is more beautiful when it emerges from someone who understands its significance.” (Meiri, Bava Kama 17a)
Mitzvah #414
After instructing the Jewish people to appoint only expert and righteous judges, who will not favor the powerful nor ignore the poor, Moshe adds, “because judgment is
The fact that the judge represents Hashem places upon him an overwhelming responsibility. Indeed, a good portion of the 613 Mitzvos, as well as much of Pirkei Avos, pertain to judges. The Sages warn judges with the utmost severity about the seriousness of judging Hashem’s people and the consequences of the slightest error (see Shulchan Aruch, Choshen Mishpat 8:2).
Unlike a judge of civil law, who qualifies based on his knowledge alone, a judge of Torah law must be a person of sterling character and impeccable honesty, and the more pious he is, the more fitting he is to judge. We thus find that Yisro advised Moshe to appoint only judges with four qualities: “wealthy men,” who are not easily tempted to accept bribes; “G-d-fearing men”; “trustworthy men,” whose verdict will be accepted by the losing litigant; and “men who despise profit,” and even more so bribes (see Rashi and Ramban to Shemos 18:21). A judge should also have a pristine reputation and should be well-liked by the public (see Chinuch).
The Shulchan Aruch (Choshen Mishpat 7-8) lists many more prerequisites for becoming a judge. Among them is that a woman cannot serve as a judge (7:4), which the Talmud Yerushalmi (Yoma 6:1) infers from the fact that women may not bear witness. A possible reason for this restriction may be that the Sages observe in a number of places, “a woman’s mind is easily swayed,” in comparison with men, “who do not change their minds easily” (Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer, ch. 13 in Warsaw ed.). Rabbi Meir’s wife, Beruriah, a famously wise and erudite woman (see Pesachim 62b), found this principle difficult to accept, but he proved it to her (see Rashi to Avodah Zarah 18b). Since a judge of Torah law has to administer perfect judgment, the Torah requires us to appoint judges whose minds are least likely to be swayed.
The Sages similarly explain that the primordial serpent approached Eve to persuade her to sin and did not even attempt to persuade Adam because it knew that it is not easy to persuade a man and change his mind (Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer ibid.). The serpent may have also intended that once Eve sinned, she would convince her husband to do the same, as indeed occurred, because “men tend to follow their wives’ opinions” (ibid., ch. 41). Incidentally, the opposite occurred by the Giving of the Torah. Hashem told Moshe to offer the Torah to the women before offering it to the men, for this reason (ibid.).
As to how the prophetess Devorah was able to judge the nation (Shoftim 4:4), her case was different because she was appointed by Hashem, and it was also an exceptional circumstance due to the scarcity of Torah scholarship in her time. Furthermore, she did not judge in the usual sense; rather, she taught the laws, and the people accepted her words because she was a prophetess (see Tosafos to Niddah 50a, Bava Kamma 15a, Gittin 88b, and Shevuos 29b, cited in Machazeh Elyon ch. 5, and Divrei Tovah).
Our appreciation of the Torah’s concept of justice doubles when we contrast it with the concept of civil justice, which has been developed and improved over millennia to become the still-flawed system of today. The judges, who are chosen because of their knowledge, are often swayed by personal biases. The wealthy are empowered to postpone judgment indefinitely and to trample their less-capable opponents by hiring lawyers who know the loopholes and failings of a code of law with the same limitations as their morality. And the poor cannot afford to even attempt claiming their due remuneration when it does not exceed the exorbitant cost of judgment. This alone is a reason to eagerly await the days when Hashem will rebuild the Beis HaMikdash and dwell among us once again, returning our judges as in the days of yore (Yeshayah 1:26) and reestablishing the world upon its three pillars: justice, truth, and peace (Avos 1:18).
