Truthful Judgment Sustaining Creation

ל"ת שוחד כו' צדק צדק תרדוף

There is a negative commandment, "Do not take a bribe," and so forth, and "Justice, justice shall you pursue" (Devarim 16:20).

The Torah commands a judge not to take a bribe and to relentlessly pursue justice.

ובמד' לא תטה משפט שהדין א' מעמודי עולם דע שאתה מזעזע עולם

And in the Midrash: "Do not pervert justice" — for judgment is one of the pillars of the world; know that you are shaking the world.

The Midrash teaches that since justice is a pillar that upholds the world, a judge who perverts it is literally shaking the foundations of the world.

דאסור ליקח שוחד אפי' לשפוט צדק כדפרש"י ז"ל

For it is forbidden to take a bribe even in order to judge justly, as Rashi explains.

Even when a bribe would not change the outcome and the judge would still rule correctly, taking it is forbidden.

והטעם כי המשפט לאלקים הוא והקב"ה נתן לנו כח המשפטים שבתורה שבזה זוכין לשפוט משפט האמת שנשפט בשמים

And the reason is that judgment belongs to Hashem, and the Holy One, Blessed is He, gave us the power of the judgments of the Torah, through which we merit to render the judgment of truth that is judged in Heaven.

Justice ultimately belongs to Hashem; He entrusted Bnei Yisrael with the Torah's laws so their rulings can mirror the true judgment rendered in Heaven.

דכתי' משפטי ה' אמת צדקו יחדיו

As it is written, "The judgments of Hashem are true, they are righteous altogether" (Tehillim 19:10).

The verse testifies that Hashem's judgments are true and entirely righteous.

פי' יחדיו כמו צדק צדק שיהי' צדק בעוה"ז וצדק בעולם העליון

The meaning of "altogether" is like "Justice, justice" — that there should be justice in this world and justice in the upper world.

The word "altogether" parallels the doubled "Justice, justice": justice must hold both in this world and in the upper world simultaneously.

שהגם שאין אנו יכולין לידע דעת עליון אבל הדן דין אמת לאמתו פי' לשמו כדי להתקשר באמת האמיתי

For although we are unable to grasp the upper knowledge, nevertheless one who renders a judgment of truth in its full truth — meaning, for His Name's sake, in order to bind himself to the true Truth.

We cannot directly perceive Hashem's higher wisdom, but a judge who rules truthfully for the sake of Heaven attaches himself to the ultimate Truth.

דכתי' וה' אלקים אמת

As it is written, "And Hashem, the Lord, is truth" (Yirmiyahu 10:10).

Scripture identifies Hashem Himself as the very essence of truth.

א"כ אין אמת בארץ רק בכח אלקותו ית"ש רק ע"י בקשת האמת בכח תורת אמת יכולין להתדבק בשורש האמת

If so, there is no truth in the earth except through the power of His Godliness, may His Name be blessed; only by means of seeking the truth, through the power of the Torah of truth, can one cleave to the root of truth.

Since all truth derives only from Hashem, the only way to reach genuine truth is to seek it through the Torah and thereby cling to its Source.

וכמו בכל יחיד בדרך שרוצה לילך מוליכין אותו

And just as with every individual, in the way that he wishes to go he is led,

Just as a person is led along the path he himself chooses to travel,

כמו כן בשופטי אמת בכלל מוליכין אותן לכוון לאמת העליון

so too with judges of truth in general, they are led to direct themselves toward the upper truth.

so too judges who sincerely pursue truth are guided from Above to align with the higher truth.

וזה פי' דין אמת לאמתו

And this is the meaning of "a judgment of truth in its full truth."

This is what "a judgment of truth in its full truth" means — a ruling rooted in and connected to the supernal truth.

אבל כשדן ע"י שוחד אפי' הוא צדק א"י להתקשר בשורש האמת ואינו לאמתו

But when one judges by means of a bribe, even if it is just, he is unable to bind himself to the root of truth, and it is not in its full truth.

A judge swayed by a bribe, even if he happens to rule correctly, cannot connect to the Source of truth, so his ruling lacks that deeper authenticity.

וזה הרמז שהדן ד"א לאמתו נעשה שותף להקב"ה במעשה בראשית

And this is the hint that one who renders a judgment of truth in its full truth becomes a partner with the Holy One, Blessed is He, in the act of Creation.

This explains why a truthful judge is called a partner with the Holy One, Blessed is He, in Creation.

כי עיקר מעשה בראשית התקשרות והתחברות תחתונים לעליונים ארץ ושמים

For the essence of the act of Creation is the binding and joining of the lower realms to the upper ones, earth and heaven.

The whole purpose of Creation is to bind the lower world to the upper world, earth to heaven.

כי עוה"ז עלמא דשיקרא ואין לו קיום רק בכח התחברות לעולם העליון ובזה מתקיים העולם

For this world is a world of falsehood, and it has no endurance except through the power of its joining to the upper world, and through this the world endures.

This world is inherently a realm of falsehood and survives only by being linked to the upper world, which sustains its existence.

ולכן נק' מטה משפט שמעכב המשפט שלא יוכל לעלות ולהתקשר במשפט אמת שלמעלה ולכן הוא מזעזע העולם:

And therefore it is called "perverting justice," for he obstructs the judgment so that it cannot ascend and bind itself to the true judgment that is above; and therefore he shakes the world.

Perverting justice is so grave because it blocks the judgment from rising and connecting to the true judgment Above, thereby severing the link that holds the world together and shaking it.

Summary: The Sfas Emes explains why bribery is forbidden even when it would not distort the verdict: judgment truly belongs to Hashem, and the Torah's laws were given to Bnei Yisrael so their rulings can reflect the true judgment rendered in Heaven. Since Hashem alone is the essence of truth, a judge can only reach genuine truth by ruling for the sake of Heaven, thereby binding himself to the supernal Source of truth — and just as a person is led along the path he chooses, such a judge is guided from Above to align with the upper truth. A bribe, even when it does not alter the outcome, severs this connection, so the ruling is no longer "truth in its full truth." This is why a truthful judge becomes a partner with the Holy One, Blessed is He, in Creation, whose very purpose is to bind the lower world to the upper world. Conversely, perverting justice obstructs the judgment from ascending and connecting Above, cutting the link that sustains this world of falsehood and thereby shaking the foundations of the world.