“ויעמוד העם על משה מן הבוקר עד הערב ויהי ממחרת וישב משה לשפט את העם,” – “And it was on the next day that Moshe sat to judge the people, and the people stood by Moshe from the morning until the evening.” Rashi asks, is it possible to say that Moshe Rabbeinu was involved in nothing but judging the people for the entire day – from morning until evening? Rather, the Torah is coming to teach us that any judge who renders completely true judgment, even for a short time, is considered by the Torah as if he engaged in Torah study the entire day, and it is as if he became a partner of Hakodosh Boruch Hu in Creation, as the Posuk says, “ויהי ערב ויהי בוקר”. Tosfos in Bava Basra discusses the Lashon, “כל די ין שדן דין אמת לאמתו” – what is the double Lashon of the judge rendering a judgment that is “אמת לאמתו”. Tosfos explains that the Lashon of “אמת” means that he must render a true judgment, excluding a deceptive judgment. Meaning that even if there were witnesses who testified to something, if the judge knows that the witnesses are lying, he must rule the truth – against those witnesses. “לאמתו” means that the judges are not to corrupt the law – they should follow the legal guidelines of the law. Rashi in Parshas Shlach 13:27 says that any שקר, falsehood, that does not have אמת, truth, in the beginning of it, will not endure at the end. Thus, at times, truth can be a preparation for שקר. A Tzaddik once said that it is better for שקר to be a preparation for אמת, than for אמת to be a preparation for שקר. This is what we are saying that one must stay away from – and when a judge renders a judgment, “אמת לאמתו” – complete truth, then he becomes a partner with Hakodosh Boruch Hu in Creation. “אמת לאמתו ” – truth in preparation of truth, and not שקר, and not even שקר which is preparation for אמת.
More in this printout
- Introduction - 18:13An exploration of Moshe Rabbeinu's judgment of the people and how a judge who renders true judgment becomes a partner with God in the act of Creation.
- עוד יוסף חי 18:13An exploration of the letter Lamed and its connection to learning from a Rebbe, Chavrusa, and Talmid, based on the Gematria of the verse in Parshas Yisro.
- לקחת מוסר 18:13An analysis of Moshe Rabbeinu's judgment of the people, exploring the balance between his Torah study and judicial duties based on Meseches Shabbos 10a.
- לקחת מוסר 18:14An analysis of Yisro's question to Moshe regarding his solitary judgment and the Gemara's insight on the spiritual value of rendering true judgment.
- עוד יוסף חי 19:3,4An exploration of the unique nature of Matan Torah, explaining why Hashem revealed Himself directly to all of Israel to establish an indisputable foundation of
- בן איש חי 19:2An exploration of the Ben Ish Chai on Parshas Yisro, discussing the kedusha of Klal Yisroel at Sinai and the profound significance of Torah study and judgment.