פרשת שופטים תש"ב - שופטים ופרשת המלך

Judges and officers shalt thou make thee in all thy gates, which the LORD thy God giveth thee, tribe by tribe; and they shall judge the people with righteous judgment.

שפטים ושטרים JUDGES AND BAILIFFS — שופטים are the judges who pronounce sentence, and שוטרים are those who chastise the people at their (the judges’) order [beating and binding the recalcitrant] with a stick and a strap until he accepts the judge’s sentence (Sanhedrin 16b and Rashi thereon; cf. Sifrei Devarim 144:6).

Thou shalt not wrest judgment; thou shalt not respect persons; neither shalt thou take a gift; for a gift doth blind the eyes of the wise, and pervert the words of the righteous.

Justice, justice shalt thou follow, that thou mayest live, and inherit the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.

צדק צדק תרדף JUSTICE, JUSTICE SHALT THOU PURSUE — go to (search after) a reliable court (Sifrei Devarim 144:14; Sanhedrin 32b).

Justice, justice Scripture addresses the litigants. The word appears twice: because one must pursue justice, whether it be to one’s gain, or to one’s loss; or the repetition denotes “time after time” — all the days of your life; or for emphasis.

צדק צדק תרדוף. When you are about to put this legislation into practice, the party in charge of appointing such judges is told by Moses to select only those who are already known for their sense of fair play and righteousness. He will have to look for such people all over the tribe. If potential judges do not have all the qualifications which are desirable in a judge, this qualification of fairness is the overriding quality all must possess. This is what the prophet Samuel was told by G’d when he had to look for a replacement of King Sha-ul among the sons of Yishai. (Samuel I 16,7) He was specifically told to ignore external appearances.

thou shalt in any wise set him king over thee, whom the LORD thy God shall choose; one from among thy brethren shalt thou set king over thee; thou mayest not put a foreigner over thee, who is not thy brother.

you cannot (i.e., you may not) enthrone your brother if he be not an Israelite (e.g., an Edomite, even though he is called “your brother” [23: 8]). The reason for the law about the horses is that in those times horses were imported from Egypt. The evidence is the passage “a chariot going out of Egypt…” [I Kings 10: 29], which occurred during Solomonic times. Because of Solomon’s need for their horses, he caused the people to sin and to return to Egypt. Obviously, it is a disgrace to return to Egypt after God has redeemed us from there (Uriah the prophet fled there only because his life was in danger [Jeremiah 26: 21]; and Jeremiah went there against his will [Jeremiah 43: 5-7]).