Submitting every deed to Hashem's judgment

במדרש סמוך ללא תעלה במעלות כו' וכי ערותן של כהנים מגולה כו' כשם שלא יפסיעו פסיעה גסה כן בדיינים כו'.

In the Midrash: [the parsha of Mishpatim] is placed next to "Do not ascend by steps [upon My altar]" (Shemos 20:23)… "And is the nakedness of the Kohanim exposed?…" Just as [the Kohanim] are not to take a wide stride [upon the altar], so too with the judges (dayanim)…

The Midrash links the laws of the judges to the warning against ascending the mizbeach by steps, which would cause one to take wide, immodest strides. The lesson: judges, like Kohanim approaching the altar, must move with measured restraint.

פי' שלא תעלה במעלות מצד כח גוף האדם שהוא העולה על מזבח השי"ת רק שמקיים מצות הקב"ה

The explanation: "Do not ascend by steps" means one should not ascend by the power of his own body — for it is the person himself who ascends upon the mizbeach of Hashem — but rather [he ascends] by fulfilling the command of the Holy One.

A person's avodah is itself an "ascent upon the altar." He must rise not through his own physical assertiveness or ego, but solely through the act of obeying Hashem's mitzvah.

וז"ש שלא תגלה ערותך שכל שמשתתף כח עצמו מגרע כנ"ל.

This is the meaning of "so that your nakedness not be exposed" (Shemos 20:23) — for whenever a person mixes in his own power, he detracts, as above.

"Exposing one's nakedness" symbolizes the flaw of injecting personal ego into avodah. The moment self-interest intrudes, the service is diminished.

וכן במשפטים דכתיב אשר תשים לפניהם.

And so too regarding the mishpatim (laws), where it is written: "which you shall place before them" (Shemos 21:1).

The same idea applies to the laws given to the judges, introduced with the phrase "which you shall place before them."

פשוט י"ל שלפני הרגשות האדם ומעשה קטן או גדול.

Simply, one can say that "before" a person's feelings and every deed, small or large,

The Sefas Emes reads "place before them" as: before every one of a person's emotions and actions — whether minor or major —

אף מחשבה ותנועה קלה.

even a thought or a slight movement,

and even one's passing thoughts and smallest gestures,

צריך להיות במשפט.

must be subject to judgment.

Everything a person does should first be weighed and "judged" against the standard of Hashem's will.

אם הוא רצונו ית'.

[That is, to weigh] whether it is His will.

The criterion of this inner "judgment" is whether the act accords with ratzon Hashem.

שיהי' המשפטים שהם תורת השי"ת לפניהם ממש כנ"ל [כעין זה בס' קול שמחה]

That the mishpatim — which are the Torah of Hashem — should be literally "before them," as above. [Something similar appears in the sefer Kol Simchah.]

A person should keep the Torah's standards constantly in front of him as the measure for all he does. The Sefas Emes notes a parallel idea in the Kol Simchah (his grandfather, the Chiddushei HaRim).

וכשעושה כן נקרא אינו פוסע פסיעה גסה.

And when one does so, he is considered one who does not take a wide stride.

Measuring each act against ratzon Hashem is the very meaning of not "taking a wide stride" — moving with humble deliberation rather than brash self-assertion.

וז"ש הוו מתונים בדין ממש להיות נמסר כל האדם בדין כנ"ל:

And this is the meaning of "Be deliberate in judgment" (Avos 1:1) — literally, that the entire person be given over to judgment, as above.

"Be deliberate in judgment" is not only advice for courtroom dayanim; it means a person should submit his whole self — every thought and deed — to the measured judgment of Hashem's will.

Summary: Drawing on the Midrash that links the judges to the prohibition against ascending the mizbeach by steps, the Sefas Emes teaches that every act of avodah is an ascent upon Hashem's altar. One must not "stride wide" through ego and self-assertion, for mixing in one's own power detracts from the service. Instead, a person should place the Torah's standard before his every thought and deed, judging whether it accords with ratzon Hashem — submitting his whole self to that "deliberate judgment."