גם אלה לחכמים הכר פנים במשפט בל טוב. “These things also belong to the wise; it is not good to display partiality in judgment” (Proverbs 24,23).
From the beginning of the Book of Proverbs up until here Solomon made it his business to admonish foolish people and adolescents. In fact, he announced his purpose at the very beginning of the Book when he said (1,4) “to give prudence to the simple, to the young man knowledge and discretion.” Commencing with this verse he switches and admonishes the scholars, the ones who preside in the courts and dispense justice. This is why he said at the beginning of the verse we quoted above גם אלה, meaning that “also these parables” are meant for the wise. What does his admonition consist of? “It is not good to display partiality in judgment.” Solomon condemns partiality as a negative character trait. Why did we need Solomon to tell us this seeing that the Torah (Devarim. 1,17) has already written: לא תכירו פנים במשפט, “do not show favoritism in judgment?” Solomon added an additional dimension to what the Torah had said in that the Torah did not mention a specific penalty for judges guilty of showing favoritism. Solomon adds (verse 24) “he who says to the wicked ‘you are righteous’ will be cursed by people, nations will abhor him.” If a judge convicts an innocent person the outrage of the people will be even greater, and he will likely be removed from his position as judge. Seeing that the entire Torah from בראשית until לעיני כל ישראל is inextricably tied to a system of justice Solomon said בל טוב instead of לא טוב parallel to what we say in Psalms 147,20 ומשפטים בל ידעום, “He did not acquaint them with a system of fair justice (the Gentiles).”
והמית איש או אשה, “and it kills a man or a woman, etc.” Shmos 21,29
According to Pessikta Zutrata on our verse, these words are redundant in connection with the immediate subject at hand. They are therefore available to serve as a basic premise that just as there is no difference in the treatment of man and woman if either has been gored by an ox, neither does Jewish law make a distinction between men and women in other instances of woman sustaining death or injury. Although nowadays (since the Jews were exiled to Babylon) we do not have the authority to impose financial penalties, if someone who was wronged (injured) compensated himself by seizing property belonging to the guilty party our local courts do not reverse what the injured party has done.
Our sages in Baba Kama 30 relate a list of anecdotes describing how careful various Talmudic scholars were to ensure that their property (inert) could not accidentally become the cause of injuring people. They buried plowshares 3 feet underground, were very careful that discarded shards should not pose a hazard to anyone, etc. Devarim 22,8 (in connection with the fence on one’s roof) states “in order that you do not place blood in your house,” as the basic warning not to become guilty of damage or injury through inadvertence. A certain individual was observed throwing stones which he did not want any more from his house into the public domain, the street. An old man accosted this individual challenging him why he threw refuse from a place which was his own to a place which was not. The offender replied sarcastically: After some time had passed the offending individual found himself in financial straits and had to sell his house. He tripped over the stones which he had thrown out sometime earlier. He then remembered the words of the old man who had scolded him at the time and now he acknowledged that the reproof had been in place. The story is an illustration of what Solomon said in Koheles 12,1: “remember your Creator in your youth.”
כי תצא אש, “if a fire is started and spreads, etc.” by itself; שלם ישלם המבעיר את הבערה, “the party who started the conflagration must pay compensation.” Shmos 22,5
The party who had started the fire is the root-cause of the damage. Had he not started it the fire could not have spread and burned standing corn or stacked, harvested grain. The sages in Baba Kama 60 use this verse to see an allusion in it to the destruction by fire of the Holy Temple. They quote G’d as saying that He Himself must compensate the Jewish people for the burning down of the Temple as He had started the fire. The sages quote Isaiah 64,10: “our Holy Temple, our pride, where our fathers praised You, has been consumed by fire; all that was dear to us has been ruined.” Seeing that the Jews attribute the destruction to their own faults, G’d was willing to describe Himself as the root-cause and assumes the burden of compensating the Jewish people as if He had started the fire (compare Rashi there).
