When two people or two sides come to a beis din because of a dispute, so the Torah tells us what the primary obligation of the judges is: וְהִצְדִּיקוּ אֶת הַצַּדִּיק – And you should justify the just (Devarim 25:1). It’s true that the judges have other functions too. But their primary function is וְהִצְדִּיקוּ אֶת הַצַּדִּיק. The dayanim are obligated to declare the righteousness of the tzaddik; to speak up for the one who is in the right.
It’s a big subject; to be a Jewish judge is not simple. Dayanim have to be capable talmidei chachomim and they have to be wise in the ways of the world too. And therefore nobody should attempt to judge dinei Torah unless you have semicha that gives you permission to do so; it’s a mitzvah only for the select few. And yet we’re going to see now that this mitzvah is more all-encompassing than just the function of a beis din; we’re going to see that it applies to all of us.
One Tree, Many Branches
You know, in his sefer Ma’alos HaTorah (Perek Alef), the brother of the Vilna Gaon teaches us a very important rule. He says it in the name of his brother but it’s found in the Rishonim as well. It’s an idea that opens up for us a panorama of opportunity. He writes there that although the six hundred and thirteen mitzvos of the Torah are commandments on their own, they are also intended to be much more than that. They are actually six hundred and thirteen general principles that serve as models to guide us in our everyday lives.
And so we’ll say that one of our functions in this world is to declare the righteousness of the tzaddik. וְהִצְדִּיקוּ אֶת הַצַּדִּיק means much more than merely protecting the righteous one from his accusers in beis din. Included in these words is a general intention for everyone. “And you should justify the just,” is a model to follow, a way of life. We must elevate righteousness in the eyes of the world by finding ways and means of speaking up for and justifying the tzaddik.
