Commentary פַּרְשָׁנוּת
When talking about how judges should behave, Moshe tells them:
לֹא תָגוּרוּ מִפְּנֵי אִישׁ
Do not be afraid of anyone.
But what does this mean? And what does it have to do with judging?
רַבִּי יְהוֹשֻׁעַ בֶּן קָרְחָה אוֹמֵר: מִנַּיִן לְתַלְמִיד שֶׁיּוֹשֵׁב לִפְנֵי רַבּוֹ וְרָאָה זְכוּת לֶעָנִי וְחוֹבָה לֶעָשִׁיר, מִנַּיִן שֶׁלֹּא יִשְׁתֹּק? שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: לֹא תָגוּרוּ מִפְּנֵי אִישׁ.
R. Yehoshua ben Korhah says: If a student sits before their rabbi, and sees evidence for a poor person or against a rich person, how do we know that the student shouldn’t be silent? From the words, “Do not be afraid of anyone.”
There are a lot of reasons you might not want to speak up in a situation like this. You might think, “My teacher is smarter than me,” or, “I don’t want to embarrass myself by being wrong.” You might also be tempted to judge in favor of the rich and powerful person who might do favors for you later, or might make things hard for you in the future if you judge against them. But the Torah is telling us to not be afraid of anyone. No matter what, you have to speak up and help judge the case with as much honesty and truth as you can.
- What does this teach us about the value of truth?
- When very smart judges are discussing a case, and it looks like they agree, it might be difficult to share a different idea. Why is that? Have you ever second-guessed yourself because you assumed everyone else was right?
- The Torah often reminds us to make sure people are judged fairly, especially when they are orphans or poor or don’t have much power or people who stand up for them. Why is that? What would happen to the world if people used their money and power to win any court cases they were in?
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