Judgements

Halakhic Principles

Sources

You shall not render an unfair decision: do not favor the poor or show deference to the rich; judge your kin fairly.

Leviticus 19:15

I charged your magistrates at that time as follows, “Hear out your fellow Israelites, and decide justly between one party and the other—be it a fellow Israelite or a stranger.

Deuteronomy 1:16

You shall neither side with the mighty to do wrong—you shall not give perverse testimony in a dispute so as to pervert it in favor of the mighty—

Alas, she has become a whore,
The faithful city
That was filled with justice,
Where righteousness dwelt—
But now murderers. Your silver has turned to dross;
Your wine is cut with water. Your rulers are rogues
And cronies of thieves…

You shall not judge unfairly: you shall show no partiality; you shall not take bribes, for bribes blind the eyes of the discerning and upset the plea of the just. Justice, justice shall you pursue, that you may thrive and occupy the land that your God יהוה is giving you.

Deuteronomy 16:19-20

O House of David, thus said GOD:
Render just verdicts
Morning by morning;
Rescue from the defrauder
Anyone who is robbed.
Else My wrath will break forth like fire
And burn, with none to quench it,
Because of your wicked acts.

Rabban Shimon ben Gamaliel used to say: on three things does the world stand: On justice, on truth and on peace, as it is said: “execute the judgment of truth and peace in your gates” (Zechariah 8:16).

Pirkei Avot 1:18

A psalm of Asaph.

God stands in the divine assembly;
among the divine beings He pronounces judgment.

Moses received the Torah at Sinai and transmitted it to Joshua, Joshua to the elders, and the elders to the prophets, and the prophets to the Men of the Great Assembly. They said three things: Be patient in [the administration of] justice, raise many disciples and make a fence round the Torah.

Pirkei Avot 1:1

Speaking of judgment, the Gemara relates that Rav Ami and Rav Asi would sit and study between the pillars beneath the study hall. And each and every hour they would knock on the bolt of the door and say: If there is someone who has a case that requires judgment, let him enter and come before us. The Gemara also relates that Rav Ḥisda and Rabba bar Rav Huna would sit in judgment all day and their hearts would grow weak from hunger. Therefore, Rav Ḥiyya bar Rav from Difti taught them a baraita with regard to the verse: “And it was the next day and…

Rabbi Ishmael his son said: he who refrains himself from judgment, rids himself of enmity, robbery and false swearing; But he whose heart is presumptuous in giving a judicial decision, is foolish, wicked and arrogant. He used to say: judge not alone, for none may judge alone save one. And say not “accept my view”, for they are free but not you.

Pirkei Avot 4:7-8

It is forbidden for the court to have compassion for the killer. The judges should not say: "Since this person has already been killed, what advantage is there in killing another person," and thus be lax in executing him. This is implied by Deuteronomy 19:13: "Do not allow your eyes to take pity. You shall eliminate innocent bloodshed."
Similarly, it is forbidden for the court to take pity on a person who was obligated to pay a fine. They should not say: "He is poor. He acted unintentionally." Instead, they should exact the entire payment from him without compassion, as Ibid…

Mishneh Torah, The Sanhedrin and the Penalties within Their Jurisdiction 20:4

§ The Gemara continues to interpret clauses from the verse cited above. “You shall hear the small and the great alike” (Deuteronomy 1:17). Reish Lakish says: This teaches that the judgment of one peruta should be as dear, i.e., important, to you as the judgment of one hundred maneh, i.e., ten thousand dinars. The Gemara asks: With regard to what halakha is this said? If we say it is with regard to the need to study it carefully and to decide the case justly…

I make a feast for the Sages. Rava said: May I receive my reward because when a young Torah scholar comes before me for judgment, I do not put my head on the pillow until I seek as many of his merits as possible, based on conditions and his claims. Mar bar Rav Ashi said: I am disqualified to sit in judgment of a young Torah scholar. What is the reason that I am disqualified? It is because the Torah scholar is as beloved to me as my own self, and a person does not find fault in himself.

Rabbi Ḥanina said: The verse states prophetically concerning Jerusalem after the destruction of the First Temple: “She that was full of justice, righteousness lodged in her, but now murderers” (Isaiah 1:21). The verse associates lodging, or waiting overnight, with justice. And Rava says that these matters are derived from here: “Learn to do well; seek judgment, relieve [ashru] the oppressed [ḥamotz]” (Isaiah 1:17). This is interpreted: Praise [ashru] the judge who delays [meḥametz] his verdict before he pronounces it.

Sanhedrin 35a:6

Rebbi Eleazar said, παρά βασιλέως ‘ο νόμος ʼάγραφος. Usually in the world a king of flesh and blood decides a decision. If he desires it, he keeps it. If he desires it, others keep it. But the Holy One, praise to Him, is not so but if He decides a decision He keeps it first. What is the reason? They have to keep My watch, I am the Eternal, I am He Who keeps the commandments of the Torah first. Rebbi Simon said, it is written, before white hairs you have to stand, and honor the presence of an elderly person, and to fear your God, I am the Eternal…

Jerusalem Talmud Rosh Hashanah 1:3:5

in such cases the assembly shall decide between the slayer and the blood-avenger. The assembly shall protect the killer from the blood-avenger, and the assembly shall restore him to the city of refuge to which he fled, and there he shall remain until the death of the high priest who was anointed with the sacred oil. But if the killer ever goes outside the limits of the city of refuge to which he has fled, and the blood-avenger comes upon him outside the limits of his city of refuge, and the blood-avenger kills the killer, there is no bloodguilt on his account…

Numbers 35:24-30

Speak up for the dumb,
For the rights of all the unfortunate. Speak up, judge righteously,
Champion the poor and the needy.

Proverbs 31:8-9

§ The Gemara cites another interpretation of the verse. The Sages taught: “Then the two men shall stand”; this indicates that there is a mitzva for the litigants to stand during the court proceedings. Rabbi Yehuda said: I heard that if the judges wished to seat both of the litigants, they may seat them. What, then, is prohibited for the judges? They must ensure that there will not be a situation where one litigant is standing and one litigant is sitting…

Another interpretation, “judges and officers” – Rav Aḥa said: Come and see that Solomon’s throne had six stairs. From where is this derived? It is as it is stated: “There were six stairs to the throne” (I Kings 10:19). And in this passage, six matters are written as negative commandments, and they are: “You shall not distort judgment, you shall not give preference, and you shall not take a bribe” (Deuteronomy 16:19); “You shall not plant for you any kind of sacred tree” (Deuteronomy 16:21); “You shall not establish a monument for you” (Deuteronomy 16:22)…

Devarim Rabbah 5:6

Relatedראו גם

Judgement of God

Parashat Shoftim

The Day of Judgement

Repentance (Teshuvah)

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