Parashat Debarim- “Do Not Fear Any Man”
In Parashat Debarim, Moshe recalls his appointment of judges, and the instructions that he gave them at the time of their appointment. He admonished them, "Lo Taguru Mipeneh Ish" (1:17), which means, "Do not fear any man." A judge might feel intimidated by an especially wealthy, influential or dangerous litigant, and he might be tempted to rule in his favor – even if Halacha dictates otherwise – out of fear of what might happen if he rules against him. Moshe therefore warned the judges not to be afraid of any litigant, adding, "Ki Ha’mishpat L’Elokim Hu" – "because the judgment belongs to God." The judges have nothing to fear because they are not ruling based on their own intuition or logic. When the Rabbis of a Bet Din issue a ruling, they are simply expressing God’s will as reflected by the Halacha; they are not reaching their own, personal decision. They therefore have no reason to fear anybody.
A remarkable story is told of a Rabbi named Rabbi Raphael, who, at a young age, was appointed Rabbi of the German town of Hamburg. During his first day on the job, a poor man approached him and said he needed to discuss an urgent matter with him. He explained that he was recently swindled out of a large sum of money – funds that he desperately needed. As it turned out, the perpetrator was the president of the community – the man who wrote the Rabbi’s paychecks!
"Go tell the president that I want him to come here for a Din Torah [Halachic court case] immediately!" the Rabbi instructed.
A short while later, the Rabbi received the president’s defiant response: "I am not coming. I don’t need to listen to you."
The Rabbi sent a firm message back to the community president, warning that if he did not appear for a Din Torah, he would issue an order of excommunication against him.
Later that day, the president came to the Rabbi. He wasn’t angry. To the contrary, he rushed over to him, warmly embraced him, and announced, "Congratulations – now you are the Rabbi of Hamburg!" The whole story with the poor man was staged. The community leaders wanted to test the new, young Rabbi to see if he had the courage to defend the Torah’s laws and principles even in the face of pressure, even if this meant locking horns with the community’s most influential figure. The Rabbi passed the test valiantly, and thereby earned the people’s admiration and trust.
The job of the Rabbi is to uphold the Torah despite the pressures applied against him. "The judgment belongs to God." The Torah’s laws belong to God, not to the Rabbi or to any other human being. He does not have the right to modify the Halacha to make his congregants happy, no matter how much they pressure him.
This was Moshe’s message to the newly appointed judges. They are accountable to the Almighty, not to people, and they must therefore reach their conclusions truthfully, without being swayed by public opinion of by the personal interests of influential people.
