How to “twist the words of the righteous” – Parshat Shoftim

לֹא־תַטֶּ֣ה מִשְׁפָּ֔ט לֹ֥א תַכִּ֖יר פָּנִ֑ים וְלֹא־תִקַּ֣ח שֹׁ֔חַד
 כִּ֣י הַשֹּׁ֗חַד יְעַוֵּר֙ עֵינֵ֣י חֲכָמִ֔ים וִֽיסַלֵּ֖ף דִּבְרֵ֥י צַדִּיקִֽם׃

You shall not judge unfairly: you shall show no partiality;
you shall not take bribes, for the bribe blinds the eyes of the wise
and will twist the words of the righteous.

Devarim/Deuteronomy 16:19

It is fortuitous, yet highly appropriate, that Parshat Shoftim is read at the start of Elul, under the zodiac of מאזניים  (Libra/scales), as this parsha urges us to designate honest judges and to abjure bribery for “bribery blinds the eyes of the wise and will twist the words of the righteous”

Evidently the Torah is making a distinction  between the wise  (חכם) and righteous (צדיק), making it clear that one can be wise without necessarily being righteous, and vice versa. Specifically, that righteousness is not necessary, and certainly not sufficient, to qualify one to be a judge.

But the real question is why the Torah added the second part of this verse. Yes, we understand that even a wise judge is blinded by bribery.  But what connection does this have with ‘tzadikim’, the righteous?  Indeed, in what context is a tzaddik bribed altogether? Wouldn’t that render him non-righteous ipso facto?

A wise (but not necessarily righteous) judge who is bribed in a particular case becomes blind for that particular case only. In other words, having been corrupted in case A does not necessarily mean his judgment will be impaired when adjudicating case B in which he is not bribed. After all, in litigating torts, a judge’s job is to objectively determine the facts and consult the statutes.

Now, with regard to how bribing a judge “twists the words of the righteous,” the Torah is referring here to a single lawsuit, and demonstrating cause and effect.  In other words, when a judge is bribed, the judge then reaches a false verdict by then twisting the words of a (righteous) witness.

After all, a judge cannot declare a party innocent or guilty simply by fiat. He must base his verdict on something.  And here is where a corrupted judge can arrive at his crooked ruling. Because it is very easy for someone, a clever judge especially, to hear what he wants to hear in a witness’s testimony. It is so easy to deliberately misconstrue what someone says in court, especially the often garbled, nervous, or semi-articulate testimony of an inexperienced witness, or by the manner in which a judge poses a question to such a witness.

Having said this, I believe there is another subtext to the phrase “and will twist the words of the tzaddikim”.  The Torah is referring here to the numerous professional tzaddikim, those rebbes, rosh yeshivas and rabbinic luminaries whose judgment is so easily compromised by hefty gifts from wealthy, superstitious acolytes.

I am reminded of the fairly recent, and hardly atypical, case of one of the more revered hasidic tzaddikim in Bnei Brak. Desiring his own indoor stadium, the rebbe turned to a wealthy hasid in New York to defray the $2 million cost of its construction.

Shortly after the funds were transferred, that philanthropist was arrested and indicted on charges of having embezzled the money from his employees’ medical fund.

One would imagine that a genuine tzaddik would have immediately returned the money and demanded that restitution be made to the factory workers. But, no. This rebbe called his mass of hasidim together for days of fasting and prayer on behalf of the donor.  This was followed by an organized flood of amicus curiae briefs in order to influence the judge to acquit the perpetrator or, at least, let him off with a slap on the wrist.

None of the prayers, fasting, or purple prose about the perpetrator worked, and the crook was duly sentenced to do serious time in prison.

Hardly the end of the story.  Instead of slinking back to his stadium, this ‘tzaddik’ decided to demonstrate his love of, and solidarity with, the criminal by flying off to America – first class of course – to visit his hasid in the hoosegow.   His way to the airport turned into a festive parade of hundreds of young, unemployed, military-age draft evaders, singing and dancing around their rebbe. Presumably, jail or no jail, the culprit still had plenty of money yet to give.

Kind of lends special meaning to “bribery … twisting the words of the ‘tzaddikim’.