GEN557 [I]f Jewish judges meet the standards set by the Torah, they will not only benefit both parties, by returning the victim’s property and saving the exploiter from the serious sin of stealing, but will also instill feelings of justice and equity in the hearts of the Jewish people.  Moreover, the civil laws of the Torah reflect an incomparable concern for the effect of one’s actions on his fellow man.  For the Torah’s command Deuteronomy 6:8 to “do what is fair and good in the eyes of God,” demands more of us in this regard than do the laws of any other nation, as we learn in Tractate Baba Metzia 108a with respect to the “Laws of Bar Metzra” [adjoining property owner]. Thus, when proper judges enforce these laws, they will naturally being about a Kiddush Hashem [sanctification of God’s name].  However, if Jewish dayanim [judges] are ch”v unworthy, and they rule in favor of the exploiter because of a lust for money, it is the judges themselves who openly commit robber, as the Ramban [this verse] writes regarding the Dor HaMabul (Generation of the Flood): “The dayanim, whose task it was to do justice, committed open robbery themselves – and no one stopped them.” And as the Ramban’s statement implies, the punishment deserved by these judges is more severe than that of ordinary people who commit robbery, since others will learn from their actions and do likewise.  People will say: If the judges, whose job it is to execute justice, are committing robbery in broad daylight and no one restrains them, then everything has become permissible. “If a blaze has broken out amongst the great cedars, what can be expected of the meager moss that grows upon the walls?” [An expression found in Tractate Mo’ed Katan 25b] EYES 338