LEV431 "Do not favor the poor nor show deference to the rich" [this verse]. "You shall neither side with mighty to do wrong nor shall you show deference to a poor man in his dispute" (Exodus 23:2-3). The many Jewish laws commanding the compassionate treatment of the poor (see, for example, chapters 12, 13, and 18), are applicable outside, but not inside, the courtroom. In a judicial setting, there must be one standard of justice for poor and rich alike. Thus, a judge should not reason to himself: "Since this man is poor and both I and this rich man are obliged to support him, I shall decide the case in his favor so that he will receive support in a clean [and non-embarrassing] manner" (Sifra on this verse). The Talmud holds up King David as a model of someone who showed both justice and charity. In the courtroom, he judged strictly on the basis of law, acquitting the innocent and condemning the guilty. But after pronouncing a ruling in which he sentenced a poor man to pay damages, he would help the man out of his own pocket, thereby fulfilling the demands of both justice and kindness, justice to the injured party by ensuring him that he received what was due him, and kindness to the poor man by enabling him to pay his debt (Sanhedrin 6b). (This Talmudic teaching is offered in explanation of the biblical verse: [King] David administered justice and kindness to all of his people" (II Samuel 8:15).

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LEV437 Humility will occasion a sense of justice in all things. It will teach a man to be scrupulously honest in all he does and not to take any unfair advantage of the ignorance or trust of another. It will instill in him the determination to loathe any usurious transaction and abhor exploitation in business and all other kinds of fraudulent dealing. Few vices come more under the lash than the abuse of the confidence placed in us by a trusting fellow-man [this verse, Leviticus xxv. 14; Deut. xvi. 19; xxv. 16; Isa. xxxii. 7; Jer. xxii. 15; Zech. vii. 9-10; Hab. ii. 6-11; Prov. xxi. 21; xiv. 34; xxviii. 8; Job xxxi. 7; Ps. xv; Talmud: Sanhed. 25a; Kidd. 56b; Hull. 94a). To be impartial is only the passive side of justice and is not enough. Justice has an active side also; this is to right wrong and to vindicate the cause of the oppressed. Isaiah is fond of describing the justice of God side-by-side with His Holiness (xxvi.9)

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LEV436 Greater is Torah than the cohen's realm and than royalty: for royalty is acquired with thirty attainments, and the cohen's realm with twenty-four, while the Torah is acquired by forty-eight things. And they are: [38] judges him favorably Pirkei Avot, Perek VI, mishnah 6. In its literal meaning, the Hebrew refers to the image of the scales of justice, with its two pans evenly balanced, one on either side. When someone is to be judged for something he has done, we imagine that every possible accusation against him is put on one pan, and every element in his favor on the other pan; then we see which pan goes lower, indicating it is heavier – – and accordingly we declare the person innocent or guilty, good or bad. Now suppose you have seen a neighbor doing something which, from one point of view is a misdeed, but in another respect may be a good act. In the figurative scales of justice that measure the deed, says our text, the scholar of Torah will see that pan bending lower which declares his neighbor innocent and worthy. "For him he makes the pan of merit weigh the more." He gives his fellow, fully and readily, the benefit of the doubt (in keeping with the teaching of R. Joshua b. P'rahyah in the first perek, mishnah 6). In fact, Scripture admonishes, "with righteousness shall you judge your neighbor"--which the Sages understand in this very sense. [this verse, Midrash Sifra ad loc. T.B. Shebu'oth 30a).

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LEV434 .. In line with the biblical law "In justice shall you judge your fellow" [this verse], we should force ourselves to construct one or two positive scenarios that can account for why the person acted as he did. If we recall the person's good deeds and try to put a more positive "spin" on why he has now acted inappropriately, we might choose not to break off a relationship over a relatively insignificant issue.

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LEV435 Gossips also violate [this verse]. Jewish tradition understands this law as requiring us to judge others fairly, and to incline toward the more favorable assessment of their behavior when two views are possible. Yet those who speak lashon hara tend to attribute bad or selfish motives to those they are talking about (for a more comprehensive discussion of judging others fairly, see chapters five and six [of this volume]).

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LEV438 "He will minister judgment to the peoples with equity." Psalm 9:9. Justice, by its very definition, must treat all people with equal impartiality, rich and poor, powerful and humble. The Bible explicitly prohibits favoring the poor or giving preference to the rich [this verse]. Yet equality before the law does not always meet the ends of justice. The loss of a small financial claim will not significantly affect a rich person but it may destroy a man in need. Universality of law precludes the kind of flexibility which allows for wide judicial discretion. This renders the law helpless to prevent occasional miscarriages of justice. To remedy the situation, courts of equity came into existence in medieval England. Equity judges gave liberal interpretations to the letter of the law in order to arrive at equitable decisions. However, even courts of equity were bound by legal principles which did not permit judges to entirely ignore the letter of the law. The layman's interpretation of equity, as it is widely understood in modern times, is not constrained by technicalities, as was the case when equity was part of the national juridical system. In common parlance equity is synonymous with fairness. The determining factor of fairness is ethics, not law. The burden of equity is the responsibility of all individuals in every walk of life. The standard of behavior of equitable people must be measured on the scale of fairness rather than legality. (Continued at [[DEUT584]] Deuteronomy 12:28 good BLOCH 113-4)

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LEV439 It is a negative commandment to show no honor to an eminent man in a court judgment as Scripture says, nor shall you favor the person of the mighty [this verse]. This means that if people come before him [a justice] in a lawsuit, one great and one small [in importance, etc.] he is not to honor the great one and is not to treat him cordially. He is not to greet that one in any greater extent than the other one.

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LEV440 See [[EXOD790]] Exodus 23:3 favor COHON 197-8

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LEV441 See [[EXOD827]] Exodus 23:6 rights DORFFWITO 238-41

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LEV442 See [[LEV462]] Leviticus 19:15 rich HIRSH 34-5 ft. 7

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