Justice Shaking the Pillars of Creation

לא תטה משפט.

“Do not pervert justice.”

The verse in Shoftim (Deuteronomy 16:19) warns judges not to bend the law.

ואין מובן כי איך האדם מטה המשפט במה שהוא מטה עצמו מן המשפט.

This is hard to understand. How can a person bend justice itself? What he bends is himself, away from justice.

Justice is God’s and cannot truly be moved. A judge who strays only moves himself away from it.

רק דכתי' חקיו ומשפטיו לישראל.

But it is written, “His statutes and His judgments to Israel.”

Psalms 147:19 teaches that God handed His laws to Israel, making them partners in His justice.

לכן צריך כ"א לידע כי מעשיו נוגעים לגוף המשפט באמת.

Therefore each person must know that his deeds truly touch the very substance of justice.

Because the law was entrusted to Israel, a person’s actions can really affect justice itself.

וז"ש במד' דע שאתה מזעזע א' מרגלי העולם כו' על הדין כו':

This is what the Midrash says: “Know that you are shaking one of the supports of the world,” said about judgment, and so on.

The Midrash warns a judge that a wrong ruling shakes the foundations of the world.

Summary: Justice belongs to God, yet the Torah gave His judgments to Israel, so a person’s conduct really touches it. Bending the law is more than a private failing; it shakes the supports of the world.