DEUT24 Being ethical does not always mean being impartial. Justice may be blind, but fairness may require taking account of someone's special situation. While the judge must be impartial and treat weak and strong alike according to the strict letter of the law, the individual is called upon to show a special forbearance toward the weak and the downtrodden, and to give them a special consideration. The commandment "Do not show favoritism in judgment; hear the small and the great alike" [this verse] applies in court of law, but in our private dealings a different standard applies: "If the [borrower] is poor, do not go to bed without returning his pledge;" [Deuteronomy 24:12]; "Do not distort the judgment of a stranger or an orphan; do not take a pledge from a widow;" [Deuteronomy 24:17]; "When you gather in your crop from the field and forget a sheaf in the field, do not go back to take it; let it be for the stranger, the widow, and the orphan." [Deuteronomy 24:19]. For while taking a pledge or taking every last sheaf is not improper in itself, we have to adopt a flexible attitude when dealing with the disadvantaged.