אבות א, ח - הוראות למשפט צדק

(8) Judah ben Tabbai and Shimon ben Shetach received [the oral tradition] from them. Judah ben Tabbai said: do not [as a judge] play the part of an advocate; and when the litigants are standing before you, look upon them as if they were [both] guilty; and when they leave your presence, look upon them as if they were [both] innocent, when they have accepted the judgement.

(8) "The judges' advisers (literally, organizers)": They are people that study the arguments and the laws until the people become experts in their cases. As they compose questions and answers: when the judge says this, answer him that; and when the litigant argues this, so should be your answer - as if they are organizing the case, and the litigant is [coming] in front of them. And that is why they are called the judges' organizers - it is as if they organize the cases in front of them. And they warned them from being similar to them; meaning to say to teach one of the litigants an argument that will benefit him and to say to him, "Say this," or "Refute [an opposing claim] in such and such a way." And even if he knew about him that he was the victim and that his fellow's claim against him is false according to what he truly thinks, nonetheless, it is not permissible for him to teach him an argument that will save him or benefit him at all.

[If] one of the litigants said, 'Let So-and-so act as Judge for me,' and his fellow-litigant said, 'Let So-and-so act as Judge for me,' — then these two Judges each of whom were chosen respectively by the litigants nominate a third Judge; and it is not necessary that the third Judge [should be nominated] with the consent of the litigants; and all three of them [the Judges] try them [the litigants], for in this wise a true judgment will be rendered.

§ The mishna taught (51a) that if a woman was struck with illness, her husband is obligated to heal her, i.e., to pay for her medical expenses. The Sages taught in a baraita: In the case of a widow who is sustained from the property of the orphans and who requires medical treatment, her medical needs are like her sustenance, and the orphans must bear the costs. Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel disagrees and says: With regard to treatment that has a fixed cost, she is healed from her marriage contract, i.e., the amount is subtracted from her marriage contract. If it is a treatment that does not have a fixed cost, it is considered like sustenance. Rabbi Yoḥanan said: The Sages established that in Eretz Yisrael, bloodletting is considered like a treatment that does not have a fixed cost, and therefore the heirs must pay for that treatment. The Gemara relates: The relatives of Rabbi Yoḥanan had to take care of the wife of their father, who required treatment every day, and therefore her medical expenses were high. They came before Rabbi Yoḥanan to ask him what to do. He said to them: Go and fix a lump sum with the doctor for his services. The treatment would then be considered as having a fixed cost, which is deducted from the marriage contract. Later Rabbi Yoḥanan said in regret: We have made ourselves like legal advisors, who help people with their legal claims. The Gemara asks: At the outset, what did he hold and ultimately, what did he hold? The Gemara explains: At the outset he held that one should act in accordance with the verse “and that you do not hide yourself from your own flesh” (Isaiah 58:7), which indicates that one must help his relatives. And ultimately he held that an important person is different. If a man of stature offers assistance to his family in a manner that causes a loss to another individual, it appears as though he were unfairly favoring his relatives.