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THE WEEKLY SIDRA- SHOFTIM
Rabbi Moshe Greebel

    
Of course, there is the story of the judge, who ordered both attorneys of the litigants to approach the bench.  “Now, both of you,” sternly accused the judge, “have had the unmitigated gall to give me a bribe!  Attorney A gave me $10,000.00, and Attorney B gave me $15,000.00!”

The two attorneys stood frozen, as the judge continued, “Therefore, I’m returning $5,000.00 to Attorney B, and this case will be decided on its own merits!”

Unquestioningly, when one has a personal agenda in any matter, he can never be completely objective and partial regarding it.  One of the reasons HaKadosh Baruch Hu placed so many other people in His vast world, is that we might be able to seek a sense of objectivity outside of ourselves.  Now, there is nothing inherently evil or perverse about this inability for impartiality when personally involved, for, it is simply a matter of human nature, shared by us all constantly.

Actual bribes however, are much more sinister in nature, and, are so powerful a force, that they influence even one who does not at the moment, realize he is being bribed.  We shall shortly return to this.  This week’s Sidra warns those who render ritual and legal decisions, with these words:  
“You shall not pervert judgment; you shall not favor persons, nor take a bribe; for a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise, and perverts the words of the righteous.” (D’varim 16:19)

One does not necessarily have to be a great Talmid Chacham (Torah scholar) to take note that there is something very obviously odd about the phrasing of a bribe in the Torah, which states, ‘And perverts the words of the righteous.’  Simply put, if one accepts a bribe, how can he possibly be righteous?     

A possible answer to this question, can be found in an incident which took place long ago, and involved the celebrated Admur (Chassidic master) Rav Avraham Y’hoshua Heschel of Apta, the Ohev Yisroel (who loves Yisroel) 1748-1825, of blessed memory, when he served as the Av Bais Din (head of the Rabbinical court) in Kolbishov, Poland, as recorded in the text G’nizainu Ha’atik.

Two litigants, wealthy Jewish merchants, once approached the Bais Din of Kolbishov, with their argument over a vast sum of money.  Now, the Ohev Yisroel listened very carefully to each of the arguments presented to the Bais Din by the litigants. 

After very careful and painstaking deliberation with the other two Dayanim (judges), the Ohev Yisroel was able to determine that the arguments, proofs, and documentation of litigant A, were all very much in order, without flaw or anything omitted.  However, when it came to the arguments, proofs, and documentation of litigant B, the Ohev Yisroel was quite able to ascertain that much was missing and confused.

Now, litigant B saw right off that he could not compete with his opponent, and thought to bribe the Ohev Yisroel.  But, he knew that the Ohev Yisroel was a Tzadik (righteous man), who would certainly not accept a bribe.  What to do?  Litigant B decided upon the plan to  surreptitiously place a sum of money in the pocket of the overcoat of the Ohev Yisroel, which hung on a peg on the wall very nearby.  Litigant B being somewhat adept at such practices, accomplished his plan without being noticed by anyone.

At this point in the proceedings, something very odd took place.  Most surprisingly, the Ohev Yisroel noticed that he was now re-thinking the arguments, proofs, and documentation of Litigant B, and finding less objections with them.  Needless to say, the fact that the Ohev Yisroel was initially inclined to render with Litigant A, and now found himself re-considering his opinion of Litigant B, bothered him greatly.  He then  decided that some fresh air was needed, which might help him sort things out, excused himself for a few moments from the proceedings, took his overcoat from the peg on the wall, put it on, opened the door, and walked outside for a little stroll.
The winter day was especially cold on that morning, and to warm himself, the Ohev Yisroel quickly stuck his hands in his overcoat pockets, where he was aghast to find a generous wad of bills, with a not wrapped around it from Litigant B.

“How incredible,” observed the Ohev Yisroel to himself, “is the power of the bribe!  Once it was placed in my overcoat pocket, even though I had no knowledge of it, the bribe began to overpower me, and I began to incline in judgment to the extreme!”

“And, that is why,” expounded Rav Avraham Y’hoshua Heschel, “the Passuk (verse) states, ‘And perverts the words of the righteous.’  For, while one may be a Tzadik, even an unnoticed bribe will influence him!”

So, ends our incident with Rav Avraham Y’hoshua Heschel.  Now then, while it is quite conceivable to think that a Tzadik the likes of the Ohev Yisroel was much more sensitive to iniquity than we are in these current times of indifference, there is still a very powerful lesson for us to learn from this account. 

Even those of us who do not serve in the capacity of formal Dayanim, have constant decisions to make when ascertaining others, whether it be raising children, dealing with co-workers, neighbors, students, relatives, or any number of other possible situations, where we must always be impartial and equitable to all the parties involved.  Whereas one may readily argue that this impartiality is easier said than done, it is nonetheless, an obligation of the Torah HaK’dosha, to which we must continuously endeavor.

May we soon see the G’ulah Sh’laimah in its complete resplendency- speedily, and in our times.  Good Shabbos.

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