Votto
Diamond Member
- Oct 31, 2012
- 55,752
- 55,893
- 3,605
I was reading some law from the Torah today. In Deuteronomy 1:16 is says,
16 "I charged your magistrates at that time as follows, "Hear out your fellow man, and decide justly between any man and a fellow Israelite or a stranger.
This is commentary from Dennis Prager on the verse:
A "stranger was a non-Israelite residing among Israelites. Moses instructed that there was to be no double standard of justice- one for fellow Israelites and another for outsiders. This was a radical and unprecedented revolution in the human understanding of the humanity, let alone the rights, or the outsider. Justice in society begins in the courtroom. For example, in the 19th century America, justice was routinely denied to Chinese immigrants; in some states, they were not allowed to testify in court. This behavior exactly what the Torah outlawed. There is another moral innovation here. The verse underscores that non-Israelites who lived among the Israelites were allowed to remain as they were: they did not have to become Jews.
17 "You shall not be partial in judgement: hear out low and high alike"
Literally translated, the words "you shall not be partial in judgment" mean "do not recognize the face of anyone in judgement." A judge is not allowed to rule in a case in which personally knows one of the parties. The judge must either recuse himself, or, if no other judges are available, make sure to judge as if he does now know the person.
It also means that a judge may not give preferential treatment to a famous or wealthy person. The words translated "hear out low and high alike" literally read, "listen to the small person as you listen to the great person" By definition, justice means equal justice for everyone and that all people have an equal right to be heard. Even the poorest and seemingly unimportant person must have access to the judicial system. The same hold true in the other direction; a judge may not favor a poor man, no matter how wealthy his litigation opponent happens to be.
I like how Dennis says, "Justice in society begins in the courtroom." It is interesting that the demise of Israel began after their justice system began to become corrupted as we read in the book of Judges. The people then sought out a king to help replace the corrupt judges in Israel as we read in 1 Samuel 8. For you see, judges were all they originally had and no king in order to keep civility and peace within society. God admonished them against a king citing all the abuses they would endure under them, more so than the corrupt judges, but they would not listen and insisted on a king, so God gave them king Saul. After 2 kings after Saul the entire nation was split in two as both the north and south kingdoms of Israel went into a tailspin of self-destruction.
Dennis wrote the commentary before the Trump and Hunter trials. Seeing how the Left has abused these standards, having judges and prosecutors say they will destroy Trump long before any charges were brought against him, is it no wonder why the Left hates the Bible and wishes to destroy the Zionist state?
16 "I charged your magistrates at that time as follows, "Hear out your fellow man, and decide justly between any man and a fellow Israelite or a stranger.
This is commentary from Dennis Prager on the verse:
A "stranger was a non-Israelite residing among Israelites. Moses instructed that there was to be no double standard of justice- one for fellow Israelites and another for outsiders. This was a radical and unprecedented revolution in the human understanding of the humanity, let alone the rights, or the outsider. Justice in society begins in the courtroom. For example, in the 19th century America, justice was routinely denied to Chinese immigrants; in some states, they were not allowed to testify in court. This behavior exactly what the Torah outlawed. There is another moral innovation here. The verse underscores that non-Israelites who lived among the Israelites were allowed to remain as they were: they did not have to become Jews.
17 "You shall not be partial in judgement: hear out low and high alike"
Literally translated, the words "you shall not be partial in judgment" mean "do not recognize the face of anyone in judgement." A judge is not allowed to rule in a case in which personally knows one of the parties. The judge must either recuse himself, or, if no other judges are available, make sure to judge as if he does now know the person.
It also means that a judge may not give preferential treatment to a famous or wealthy person. The words translated "hear out low and high alike" literally read, "listen to the small person as you listen to the great person" By definition, justice means equal justice for everyone and that all people have an equal right to be heard. Even the poorest and seemingly unimportant person must have access to the judicial system. The same hold true in the other direction; a judge may not favor a poor man, no matter how wealthy his litigation opponent happens to be.
I like how Dennis says, "Justice in society begins in the courtroom." It is interesting that the demise of Israel began after their justice system began to become corrupted as we read in the book of Judges. The people then sought out a king to help replace the corrupt judges in Israel as we read in 1 Samuel 8. For you see, judges were all they originally had and no king in order to keep civility and peace within society. God admonished them against a king citing all the abuses they would endure under them, more so than the corrupt judges, but they would not listen and insisted on a king, so God gave them king Saul. After 2 kings after Saul the entire nation was split in two as both the north and south kingdoms of Israel went into a tailspin of self-destruction.
Dennis wrote the commentary before the Trump and Hunter trials. Seeing how the Left has abused these standards, having judges and prosecutors say they will destroy Trump long before any charges were brought against him, is it no wonder why the Left hates the Bible and wishes to destroy the Zionist state?
Last edited:
