Yechiel Michel Epstein

“ If he is in the middle of his occupation when approached with the request to be a judge he is allowed to take payment for his lost work. If he is not engaged in his occupation but insists that his desire is to find work in his field during the period in which they are requesting him to function as a judge and therefore he should be paid for his lost wages it is a detestable practice unless he is known to be involved in that field of endeavor and would reasonably be expected to have a work opportunity during that period. ”

“ Rather, the prohibition here refers to accepting a bribe even to exonerate the truly innocent or convict the truly guilty. Therefore, one must be exceedingly careful to avoid bribes. If a judge nonetheless accepted a bribe, the one who offered it can demands its return and the judge is obligated to comply, even after much time has passed, unless the offerer has forgiven his claim to recover. ”

“ The reason the Rabbis phrased their statement as ‘a poor man’ was to discredit a possible rationalization of the student, who would think “Even though according to the law I see a merit, the Rabbi must understand that the truth is with the rich man, for why would a rich man falsely claim money from a poor man” [it does not seem sensible that a rich man would bother to go through the trouble of court proceeding and risk being caught in a lie for a minor gain.] ”

“ This practice is seen when a community needs to appoint a leader to oversee any area of public policy, often requiring the government’s acquiescence, and people struggle to seek the appointment of their friends or relatives, or prevent those they dislike from securing the position, simply because of their interests, though they know that their candidate is not fitting for the position. ”

“ Section 12 There is a practice that society treats as permitted and is actually a great prohibition, which in its commission includes accepting bribes, putting a stumbling block in front of the masses, creating controversies between people and profaning G-d’s name, which has no measure to its punishment. ”

“ They further complicate matters by aggressively promoting their candidate, multiplying arguments and misleading the public about their qualities and character. In the final analysis, this behavior is recognized by He to whom all secrets are revealed, and He is aware of their personal motivations, and as well as how their actions damage the community-at-large. Many are those who have fallen victim to this practice and therefore one is required to be exceedingly careful to avoid this behavior. ”