Avos 1:8-9

בס״ד

אבות א:ח-ט

Yehudah ben Tabbai and Shimon ben Shatakh accepted the gift of Torah from them. Yehudah ben Tabbai says: Don’t act like a slick lawyer. And when litigants come before you in a case, treat them as if they are guilty; But when they leave the court, treat them as innocent, because they have accepted the judgement on themselves. Shimon ben Shatakh says: Question witnesses very carefully; But be careful in what you say, For your words might teach them how to lie.

יְהוּדָה בֶן טַבַּאי וְשִׁמְעוֹן בֶּן שָׁטָח קִבְּלוּ מֵהֶם. יְהוּדָה בֶן טַבַּאי אוֹמֵר, אַל תַּעַשׂ עַצְמְךָ כְעוֹרְכֵי הַדַּיָּנִין. וּכְשֶׁיִּהְיוּ בַעֲלֵי דִינִין עוֹמְדִים לְפָנֶיךָ, יִהְיוּ בְעֵינֶיךָ כִרְשָׁעִים. וּכְשֶׁנִּפְטָרִים מִלְּפָנֶיךָ, יִהְיוּ בְעֵינֶיךָ כְזַכָּאִין, כְּשֶׁקִּבְּלוּ עֲלֵיהֶם אֶת הַדִּין: שִׁמְעוֹן בֶּן שָׁטָח אוֹמֵר, הֱוֵי מַרְבֶּה לַחְקֹר אֶת הָעֵדִים, וֶהֱוֵי זָהִיר בִּדְבָרֶיךָ, שֶׁמָּא מִתּוֹכָם יִלְמְדוּ לְשַׁקֵּר:

        

        While the first two Pairs teach us about the role of Torah in our homes, Yehudah ben Tabbai and Shimon ben Shatakh remind us that the Sages had lives outside their homes.  As judges in the Beis Din (Sanhedrin) of Yerushalayim and other local courts, Sages were the primary representatives of social justice in Jewish society.  The teachings in these mishnahs remind disciples of the most important traits that a judge must embody — absolute impartiality.

        This trait is not simply a practical piece of common sense.  The establishment of fairness in the courts is both a positive and a negative mitzvah from the Torah.    As Moshe Rabbenu teaches us: “Do not sway justice, do not show favoritism, and do not take bribes, for bribes blind the eyes of the Sages and pervert the words of the righteous.  Justice, justice shall you pursue so that you may live and inherit the Land that HaShem your Gd is giving you.”  (Deuteronomy 16:19-21; also Exodus 23:2-3).

        Rambam’s commentary on this verse lists a number of reasons for the Torah’s repetition of the word “justice” in Moshe’s sentence. Among them is: “you should not only establish justice in the courts, but you yourself ought to pursue personal virtue by becoming a disciple of the Sages.”  It seems to me, though, that both Yehudah ben Tabbai and Shimon ben Shatakh are interpreting Moshe’s words a little differently.  According to them, the repetition of “justice” means that justice must be given to the powerful just as justice must be given to the weak.  We are not free to favor either party beyond what the evidence of the case suggests.

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