Justice As Divine Gift

במדרש אני ה' אוהב משפט משל למלך שהי' לו פרדס שאוהב אותו נתנו לבנו שאוהב אותו ע"ש

In the Midrash: "I am Hashem, Who loves justice" (Yeshayahu 61:8) — this is compared to a king who had an orchard that he loved, and he gave it to his son whom he loved; see there.

The Sfas Emes opens with a Midrash that likens Hashem's love of justice to a king who entrusts his beloved orchard to his beloved son.

פי' מה שנותן מצות מניות שופטים לבנ"י הוא מתנה מאת השי"ת כי אין המשפט ע"פ שכל אנושי רק שבנ"י המה כלים שהקב"ה משפיע להם דעת ורוח הקודש לעשות משפט

The meaning is that what Hashem gives — the mitzvah of appointing judges to Bnei Yisrael — is a gift from Hashem Yisbarach, for true justice does not proceed from human intellect alone; rather, Bnei Yisrael are vessels into which the Holy One, Blessed is He, pours wisdom and ruach hakodesh so that they can render judgment.

He explains that the mitzvah of appointing judges is itself a gift from Hashem, because authentic justice flows not from human reasoning but from the divine wisdom and ruach hakodesh that Hashem pours into Bnei Yisrael.

וכתי' בכל שעריך אשר ה"א נותן לך

And it is written, "in all your gates that Hashem your God gives you" (Devarim 16:18).

He brings the verse that ties the appointment of judges to the gates of the land that Hashem gives.

כמו שמצינו בגשמיות יש ארץ מגדלת אוכלוסין כו' כן בפנימיות ארץ ישראל המקום גורם ונק' ערי קודש כדכתיב ערי קדשיך היו מדבר

Just as we find in the physical realm that there is a land that raises up great populations, and so forth, so too in the inner dimension Eretz Yisrael is a place that brings this about, and its cities are called "cities of holiness," as it is written, "the cities of Your holiness have become a wilderness" (Yeshayahu 64:9).

Just as certain physical lands produce great populations, Eretz Yisrael spiritually generates holiness, and its cities are literally called cities of holiness.

וכל עיר הי' ענין ושער מיוחד והי' מגדלת דעת ושופט כדכתי' רבתי עם דרשו חז"ל רבתי בדיעות

And every city had its own particular matter and unique gateway, and it would raise up wisdom and a judge, as it is written, "great with people" (Eichah 1:1) — which Chazal expounded as "great in knowledge."

Each city carried its own unique spiritual gateway and produced its own measure of wisdom and its own judge, which is why Yerushalayim is called "great with people" — meaning great in knowledge.

וזהו לשבטיך ששורש י"ב שבטים הם שמרים מיוחדים ואח"כ מתפשטין אותן השערים לפרטים

And this is the meaning of "for your tribes" (Devarim 16:18), for the root of the twelve tribes are unique founts, and afterward those gateways spread out into particular details.

The phrase "for your tribes" alludes to the twelve tribes as unique spiritual founts from which these gateways branch out into all the particulars.

ולא לחנם משבח הקב"ה את א"י והיא הפרדס שנתן לאוהבו ואברהם אע"ה א"ל הקב"ה לך לך כו' אשר אראך

And it is not for naught that the Holy One, Blessed is He, praises Eretz Yisrael, for it is the orchard that He gave to the one He loves; and to Avraham Avinu the Holy One, Blessed is He, said, "Go for yourself ... to the land that I will show you" (Bereishis 12:1).

Eretz Yisrael is the beloved orchard, and this is why Hashem directed Avraham specifically to the land He would show him.

וע"ש בזוה"ק כי לא הי' יכול להשיג דעת שלימה ואמתית עד שגילה הקב"ה אליו סודו בארץ ישראל ע"ש פ' לך לך

And see there in the Zohar HaKadosh, for Avraham was not able to attain complete and true knowledge until the Holy One, Blessed is He, revealed His secret to him in Eretz Yisrael; see there in Parashas Lech Lecha.

He cites the Zohar that Avraham could only attain complete, true knowledge once Hashem revealed His secret to him within Eretz Yisrael itself.

ולכן כתי' למען תחי' וירשת כו' פרש"י כדאי מינוי הדיינים כו' שזה הי' כל המכוון בנתינת הארץ כדכתי' מלך במשפט יע' ארץ

Therefore it is written, "so that you shall live and inherit" (Devarim 16:20), which Rashi explains: the appointing of judges is worthy [to keep Israel alive], and so forth — for this was the entire intent in the giving of the land, as it is written, "a king through justice establishes the land" (Mishlei 29:4).

The verse "so that you shall live and inherit" and Rashi's comment show that the appointing of judges is the very purpose of receiving the land — justice is what establishes and sustains it.

וכתי' על עזבם את תורתי ולא הלכו בה פרשנו ג"כ שהי' צריך להיות הנהגת א"י ע"פ התורה שהיא ענין תושבע"פ

And it is written, "because they forsook My Torah and did not walk in it" (Yirmiyahu 9:12), which we likewise explained to mean that the conduct of Eretz Yisrael needed to be in accordance with the Torah, which is the matter of Torah she-be'al peh, the Oral Torah.

He explains that the rebuke for forsaking the Torah teaches that life in Eretz Yisrael was meant to be conducted entirely according to the Torah, specifically the Oral Torah.

ועמ"ש בפ' דברים מזה

And see what is written on this in Parashas Devarim.

He refers the reader to his fuller treatment of this theme in Parashas Devarim.

וכשנשכח מאתנו עיקר המכוון ונעשה כמתנה גשמיות חלב ודבש

And when the essential intent becomes forgotten from us, and it becomes like a physical gift of milk and honey,

When we lose sight of this essential purpose and relate to the land merely as a physical gift of milk and honey,

ניטל מאתנו המתנה:

the gift is taken away from us.

we forfeit the gift altogether.

Summary: The Sfas Emes teaches that the mitzvah of appointing judges is a precious gift from Hashem, for true justice does not arise from human intellect but from the divine wisdom and ruach hakodesh that Hashem pours into Bnei Yisrael. Eretz Yisrael is the beloved orchard that Hashem gave to those He loves, a land whose very cities are holy and whose tribal roots serve as unique spiritual founts that produce wisdom and righteous judges. This is why Hashem led Avraham Avinu specifically to this land, where alone he could attain complete and true knowledge, and why the appointing of judges is bound up with the inheritance of the land itself. The whole purpose of the land is that it be governed by Torah, the Oral Torah, since "a king through justice establishes the land." When we forget this essential intent and treat Eretz Yisrael as a merely physical gift of milk and honey, the gift itself is taken from us.