EXOD728 He used to say: Do not go judging alone [by yourself], for none may judge alone except One [God]; and do not say [to the judges on the bench with you], "accept my opinion," for they are permitted, but not you. (Pirkei Avot, Perek IV, mishnah 10) ... Even among a panel of judges, it is possible that one will try to dominate the others, through an imposing personality, a dazzling display of scholarship, or the intensity of his convictions. Hence he [R. Ishmael b. R. Yose] cautions, "Do not say, Accept my opinion." For should you so assert yourself, you negate any good that can come from having several minds sit in judgment together. When you have a point, and opinion, or an argument, let it go forward only by its own currency and soundness of reason. Do not "push" it. To impose an opinion on someone who does not arrive at it by himself – this is the privilege of the majority, not of an individual in a group, no matter how gifted or brilliant he is. Alternatively, we can interpret our text to mean: Do not judge one of the parties in a lawsuit alone, when only he is before you. You must hear both sides of the argument from the principals themselves, before you can make any attempt to judge correctly. The only One who can make a decision after hearing only one side, is the Almighty Himself, as it is written: "When he [a poor man] cries out to me, I will hear, for I am compassionate" [this verse]. The Creator can respond as soon as He hears a cry of complaint, since He is omniscient; nothing is hidden from Him. But you are a human being, bounded in time and space, able to gather knowledge only through five senses. For the facts in the case before you, you have no other source but the testimony of the people involved. The least you must do is to hear both sides before judging.