שֹׁפְטִים וְשֹׁטְרִים תִּתֶּן לְךָ
בְּכׇל שְׁעָרֶיךָ אֲשֶׁר ה' אֱלֹקֶיךָ נֹתֵן לְךָ לִשְׁבָטֶיךָ
וְשָׁפְטוּ אֶת הָעָם מִשְׁפַּט צֶדֶק׃
לֹא תַטֶּה מִשְׁפָּט
לֹא תַכִּיר פָּנִים
וְלֹא תִקַּח שֹׁחַד
כִּי הַשֹּׁחַד יְעַוֵּר עֵינֵי חֲכָמִים
וִיסַלֵּף דִּבְרֵי צַדִּיקִם׃
צֶדֶק צֶדֶק תִּרְדֹּף
לְמַעַן תִּחְיֶה
וְיָרַשְׁתָּ אֶת הָאָרֶץ אֲשֶׁר ה' אֱלֹקֶיךָ נֹתֵן לָךְ׃
You shall appoint judges and officers for yourselves, in all the settlements that God your Lord is giving to your tribes,
and they shall govern the people with justice.
You shall not judge unfairly.
Do not pick favorites.
Do not take a bribe.
Because bribes blind the eyes of wise people
and twist the words of just people.
Justice, justice you shall pursue,
so that you may live
and inherit the land that God your Lord is giving you.
- What do you notice? What’s the big message?
- Who is this addressed to: the judges and officers themselves, or everyone in Benei Yisrael? How can you tell?
- How might a bribe blind someone who accepts it? Can you think of an example of a time when you might have taken someone’s side in an argument because of something nice they did for you?
- What exactly is justice, and how can you pursue it? How do individuals pursue justice, and how does society pursue justice?
- Why is justice connected to inheriting and living in Eretz Yisrael?
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