Pursuing Justice Opens Eyes

בפסוק ול"ת שוחד כה"ש יעור כו'

On the verse, "And you shall not take a bribe, for the bribe blinds the eyes of the wise" (Devarim 16:19), etc.

The Sfas Emes opens with the Torah's warning that a bribe blinds even a wise man's eyes, since a personal stake distorts one's clear vision of the truth.

יש ללמוד ק"ו מדה טובה המרובה שע"י עזיבות הנגיעות

We can learn a kal vachomer, for the measure of good is greater: through the abandoning of personal biases,

He applies the rule that the measure of reward outweighs the measure of punishment: just as bias blinds, so removing one's personal bias must, all the more so, bring clarity.

והמייגעים עצמם כדי לרדוף הצדק ומתרחקים מן התענוגים

and those who exert themselves in order to pursue justice and distance themselves from physical pleasures

Those who toil to chase after justice, and who hold themselves back from chasing after physical pleasures, are the ones who clear away the very biases that blind a person.

זוכין לפקיחת עינים

merit an opening of the eyes,

Their reward is that their eyes are opened, granting them true sight and clear perception.

כי אם השוחד יעור

for if the bribe blinds,

If a small thing like a bribe carries the power to blind the eyes of even the wise,

רדיפת הצדק מפקח עיני עורים:

the pursuit of justice opens the eyes of the blind.

then the far greater measure of good means that pursuing justice carries the power to restore sight and open the eyes of those who were blind.

Summary: The Sfas Emes builds on the verse warning that a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise. He reasons by way of a kal vachomer, grounded in the principle that the measure of good is greater than the measure of punishment: if a bribe, which represents a personal bias or nuggiah, has the power to blind even a wise man, then the opposite avodah must accomplish far more. One who abandons his personal biases, exerts himself to pursue justice, and distances himself from physical pleasures is removing the very things that cloud a person's vision. Therefore such a person merits a genuine opening of the eyes, so that the pursuit of justice itself becomes the means by which the eyes of the blind are opened.