Pursuing Truth Forever
שופטים וש' תתן כו' הוא הבטחה ג"כ שביד איש הישראלי למנות ע"ע שופט ושוטר
"Shoftim v'shotrim titen lecha" — "Judges and officers you shall appoint for yourself" — is also a promise, that it lies within the power of every Jewish person to appoint over himself a judge and an officer.
The verse commanding us to appoint judges and officers is not only a command but a promise: every Jew has the inner ability to set up over himself a faculty that judges right from wrong and a faculty that enforces it.
כמ"ש בדרך שאדם רוצה לילך
As Chazal teach, "On the path that a person wishes to travel, there he is led."
Hashem leads a person along whatever road he himself chooses to walk, so a person's own sincere desire determines the help he receives from Above.
ויש מי שרוצה להשיג האמת
There is the one who genuinely desires to attain the truth.
One type of person truly wants to reach the truth and is helped along that road.
וגם מי שאין בו דעת שלימה ורוצה להיות נכפף בע"כ
And there is also the one who does not possess complete understanding, yet wishes to be subdued and bent against his own inclination.
Another person lacks full clarity but still wants to force himself to submit to the truth even against his nature.
גם בדרך זה מסייעין לאדם
On this path too they assist a person from Above.
Even this second person, who must compel himself, receives Heavenly assistance on his chosen path.
וזה פי' שופטים ושוטרים
And this is the meaning of "shoftim v'shotrim" — a judge to discern the truth and an officer to compel oneself toward it.
The two terms map onto the two faculties: the judge that discerns truth and the officer that forces a person to act on it.
והעיקר לבקש את האמת
But the essential thing is to seek out the truth.
The core avodah, whichever path one is on, is to seek the truth itself.
כמ"ש צדק צדק תרדוף
As it is written, "Tzedek tzedek tirdof" — "Justice, justice shall you pursue" (Devarim 16:20).
The Torah underscores this with the doubled language of pursuing justice.
וכן ג"כ בשקר כתיב מדבר שקר תרחק
And likewise regarding falsehood it is written, "Midevar sheker tirchak" — "Distance yourself from a false matter" (Shemos 23:7).
Concerning falsehood the Torah uses the unusual word "distance," telling us to keep far away from it.
ושמעתי ממו"ז ז"ל שהגיד בשם הרב מפרשיסחא ז"ל שלא מצינו הרחקה בשום איסור בתורה רק חכמים תיקנו סיג
And I heard from my mother's father, may his memory be a blessing, who said in the name of the Rav of Pshischa, may his memory be a blessing, that we do not find the language of "distancing" by any prohibition in the Torah — rather it was the Chachamim who instituted a protective fence.
The Sfas Emes cites his grandfather in the name of the Rav of Pshischa: nowhere else in the Torah does Hashem use the language of "distancing" for a prohibition; that fencing was the work of the Chachamim.
זולת בשקר
Except by falsehood.
Falsehood is the lone exception to that rule.
התורה עצמה אמרה תרחק
There the Torah itself said "tirchak" — "distance yourself."
Only by falsehood does the Torah itself command us to keep our distance.
להראות חומר האיסור עכ"ד
This is to demonstrate the severity of this prohibition — these are his words.
This unique wording teaches just how severe the prohibition against falsehood is.
וכמו כן מצינו כאן באמת צדק צדק תרדוף מה שלא מצינו במ"א
And just so we find here regarding truth, "Tzedek tzedek tirdof" — "Justice, justice shall you pursue" — an emphasis we do not find elsewhere.
Parallel to falsehood, truth too gets singular emphasis in the doubled "justice, justice," found nowhere else.
כי הוא יסוד הכל
For this is the foundation of everything.
The reason for this emphasis is that truth is the foundation of everything.
וכתיב תרדוף
And it is written "tirdof" — "you shall pursue."
The Torah deliberately uses the word "pursue," implying an ongoing chase rather than a one-time grasp.
והיינו כי א"א לבא לגמרי לאמיתות האמת בעלמא דשיקרא
And this is because it is impossible to arrive fully at the absolute truth in a world of falsehood.
In this world of falsehood it is simply impossible to fully reach absolute truth.
לכן לעולם יש לרדוף אחר הצדק לידע כי עדיין אינו מוצדק כראוי
Therefore one must forever pursue after justice, to recognize that one is not yet justified as is fitting.
Therefore one must keep pursuing justice endlessly, always recognizing he has not yet become fully righteous.
וכשרודפין הצדק בעוה"ז משיגין אותה בשלימות בעוה"ב
And when a person pursues justice in this world, he attains it in its completeness in Olam Haba.
Pursuing justice here in this world earns a person its complete attainment in the next world.
וז"ש למען תחי' וירשת שהוא רמז לעוה"ב עולם שכולו חיים:
And this is the meaning of "l'maan tichyeh v'yarashta" — "in order that you may live and inherit" — which is an allusion to Olam Haba, the world that is wholly life.
The verse's promise of "life" and "inheritance" hints at Olam Haba, the world that is entirely life, where that complete truth is finally attained.
Summary: On the verse "Shoftim v'shotrim titen lecha," the Sfas Emes reads the command as a promise: every Jew has the inner power to appoint over himself a judge to discern the truth and an officer to compel himself toward it. Since Hashem leads a person along whatever road he chooses, both the one who sincerely seeks truth and the one who must force himself to submit receive assistance from Above. Citing the Rav of Pshischa through his grandfather, he notes that the Torah uses the language of "distancing" by no prohibition save falsehood, and parallel to this it uses the doubled "tzedek tzedek tirdof" by no mitzvah save the pursuit of justice — because truth is the foundation of everything. Since absolute truth cannot be fully grasped in this world of falsehood, a person must forever pursue justice, never resting in the assumption that he is already righteous. One who pursues justice in this world ultimately attains it in its completeness in Olam Haba, the world that is wholly life.