פלס ומאזני משפט לה' מעשהו כל אבני כיס (משלי טז, יא)
“Honest scales and weights are the Lord’s; all the weights in the bag (pocket) are His work”
(Begins each Parsha with a derush from Mishlei)
Solomon wanted to tell us in this verse that all of man’s deeds are carefully weighed and that all the weights (by which they are evaluated) belong to G’d. The single most heavy weight is called פלס; also, a much smaller weight of which there are two are called מאזנים. The word is derived from אזן, i.e. when there are two weights each called אזן, the scale is called מאזנים to indicate that equal weights are on opposite sides. There are many words in Scripture which appear in the plural, especially when in order to make full use of what these words represent one requires two of them. Examples are נעלים, shoes, רחים, millstones, etc. G’d is described as “weighing” each of our actions using small weights known as “pocket weights, weights small enough to be carried in one’s pocket. The largest weight known in the Torah is called ככר, whereas the smaller weights known as אונקיה are usually divided into אונקיה, and half or quarter “ounces.” [This is not the “ounce” we are familiar with but a weight of about 4 regular shekalim or about 29 grams]. Solomon only wanted to illustrate that when “weighing” our sins in the scales of merits and demerits respectively, even the smallest sin (or merit) is taken into account.
Reward and punishment is meted out according to G’d’s yardsticks as to the relative “weight” of such deeds we have performed. If you need proof that after G’d has first weighed the “heavy” sins He proceeds to also weigh the “light” sins look at Jeremiah 16,16 where the prophet says: הנני שולח לדיגים רבים נאום ה' ודיגום ואחרי כן אשלח לרבים צידים וצדום, “Lo, I am sending for many fishermen--declares the Lord--and they shall haul them out; and after that I shall send the hunters and they shall hunt them.” The prophet employed the verb צידה, hunt, after the expression “fishing.” It is similar to a person who moves out of a house and first removes the larger pieces of furniture, returning to pick up the smaller items he has left behind. The meaning of the whole verse quoted above is: the large weight stone called peles, the smaller ones, i.e. moznayim, as well as weights carried in one’s pocket; all of them are at the disposal of the Lord and He makes use of them.” In other words, the justice dispensed by the Lord will be true justice having taken into account all factors relevant to arriving at a verdict.
The reason Solomon refers to small weights as אבני כיס is because people are in the habit of carrying them in a pocket, a small bag. This is in order to keep them clean and not exposed to erosion.
It is possible that an additional dimension contained in the expression אבני כיס is an allusion to the fact that G’d’s verdict remains hidden from us similar to these little weights a person carries in his pocket being concealed from others. Man’s intelligence and knowledge is very limited and it is impossible for us to have access to all the factors which combine to make G’d arrive at a fair verdict concerning man’s deeds. This is why, when describing G’d’s superior way of judging, David says in Psalms 36,7: “Your beneficence is like high mountains; Your justice like the great deep;” David means that G’d’s righteousness and His deeds of loving kindness are so far above us as are high mountains and the bottom of the deep sea; both are inaccessible to us.
However, there is a difference between the high mountains and the depth of the ocean. High mountains can be seen though they may be inaccessible, where the bottom of the deep is something we cannot even see. Similarly, G’d’s righteousness is well known throughout the world though we may not be able to explore it; the justice of G’d, however, is totally beyond our ability to assess.
Let me illustrate what I mean. Jerusalem was destroyed on the ninth day of the month of Av. When Ezekiel was told of this G’d is described as having sent a messenger who arrived on the tenth day of the fifth month. (Ezekiel 33,21 describes the arrival of an escaped citizen of Jerusalem as having occurred on the fifth of the tenth month). Examination of the verse in Ezekiel both in chapter 33 and chapter 24 poses obvious contradictions. We are forced to conclude that G’d wanted to conceal the true dates and that therefore incomplete information is recorded in the Book of Ezekiel. You may contrast this with extremely precise information given by the Torah in the opening chapter of the Book of Bamidbar, (when the subject was not destruction, i.e. meting out of justice). Here the Torah gives 1) the day of the month; 2) the name of the month; 3) the year in which this occurred; 4) in relation to which previous event, i.e. the Exodus from Egypt.
