Parashat Yitro

A Truly Correct Judgement – Your Clothes or Mine!

From HaGaon Rav Zevadia HaCohen Shlit”a, The Head of the Batei Din in Tel Aviv(translated by our dear friend Rav Daniel Levy Shlit”a, Leeds, United Kingdom)

Parashat Yitro

This Shabbat we shall read about Yitro, Moshe Rabbenu’s father-in-law, who saw his son-in-law, Moshe Rabbenu, adjudicating the people’s cases from morning until evening. He advised him how best to manage the judicial process for the people. In the Torah’s words, “The next day, Moshe sat to judge the people. They stood around Moshe from morning to evening” (Shemot 18:13).

Rashi z”l quotes the Gemara (Shabbat 10a), And do you really think that Moshe Rabbenu was sitting and judging all day? When did he study Torah himself? So from here we are taught that any Dayan who judges a truly correct judgement, even if just momentarily, the Torah considers it as if he is toiling in Torah all day long and he becomes a partner with Hashem in Creation.

Much has been written about the concept of a “truly correct judgement”, but why the repetition [truly and correct], it would have sufficed to simply state “ a correct judgement” and what therefore is the meaning of a “truly correct judgement”? Moreover, is there such a thing as a correct judgement that is not true?

In the commentary known as the Derisha (Rav Yehoshua ben Alexander HaCohen Falk  z”l 1555-1614) on the Tur (Choshen Mishpat 1:2), he explains that every law of the Torah is true, but it can transpire that depending on the time and place, one is not required to adjudicate according to Torah law, but rather beyond the letter of the law and according to the Dayan’s wisdom based on the case presented to him. This is the concept of a “truly correct judgement”, that in certain circumstances the judgement is true, not just the law of the Torah itself, but also administering a righteous ruling as the Dayan sees fit. Appropriate to those before him, in order to bring the two plaintiffs to accept the ruling with love and affection.

Maran the Rishon Letzion Rabbenu Ovadia Yosef ztvk”l (in his work Anaf Etz Avot) quotes a story about the Gaon Rav Eliyahu Chaim Meisel z”l [1821-1912, he was the Rav of various major Jewish communities, Horodok 1840-1843, Drazin 1843-1861, Prozan 1861-1867, Lomza 1867-1879, and he was Chief Rabbi of Lodz from 1873 until his passing]. Rav Meisel was the Av Bet Din in his city and he adjudicated the Jewish people with great wisdom and understanding. One day, two female plaintiffs approached him for a Din Torah, and this is what transpired.

Two ladies laundered white shirts for their families. They hung them in the courtyard on two washing lines to dry in the sun. Thieves passed by and stole the white shirts that were on one of the washing lines, whilst leaving the garments on the other line. Each one argued that the other lady’s garments were stolen whilst hers remained.

The Rav heard their claims and knew that one wasn’t telling the truth, and smiled in his mind with a plan to expose the truth.

Immediately, the rav ordered that the ladies bring him the white garments that remained, which hadn’t been stolen, and then he requested that the ladies leave the room. After they left, he called his rebbetzin and requested that she bring his white shirts that were in the home. He mixed them in with the shirts that the ladies brought, which weren’t stolen from the washing line.

Then he requested that one of the ladies return and he asked her, “Do you recognise with absolute certainty which garments are yours?” “Yes,” she replied, “I recognise with certainty which garments are mine!” The rav warned her, “Look carefully, perhaps you may make be mistaken?” “I am not mistaken!” Retorted the lady. “I recognise with certainty my garments very well! If you will place them before me, I will be able to determine straightaway.” They placed them before her and she said, “This is mine! This is mine! This isn’t mine, and also this isn’t mine.” And so, she chose very carefully her garments, separating the rav’s clothes from her garments.

The rav told her to wait outside. He called the second lady whom the rav also asked, “Do you recognise with absolute certainty which are your garments?” “Yes,” replied the second lady, “I recognise my garments very well.” And immediately she began to sort the garments that were before her and she said, “This is mine, this is mine, and this is also mine.” And so it was for all the garments before her, including he rav’s personal garments that she also claimed as hers.

The rav was cross with her and said, “You are not telling the truth! How can it be that also my garments are yours?” And with this the rav exposed the truth when the two ladies came for a Din Torah, they tangibly saw who was speaking the truth and who wasn’t. [Rav Meisel’s judgement is compared by some to the judgement of Shlomoh HaMelech a”h, when the two women came before him disputing to whom the living baby belonged to, see Melachim I, 3:16-28.]

This is a Dayan who really knows to judge a “truly correct judgement”.

Shabbat Shalom!

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