Introduction
We arrive at the conclusion of Psalm 82, "A Psalm of Asaph," which deals entirely with justice and judges: the greatness of a judge who renders true judgment, and the downfall of one who perverts justice. In this part, we will address the final three verses, and then bring an extensive explanation from the Kli Yakar in Parashat Yitro, who expounds this entire psalm in relation to the four virtues required of a judge.
"I Said, You Are Godly Beings" - The Stature of Israel at the Giving of the Torah
אֲנִי אָמַרְתִּי אֱלֹהִים אַתֶּם וּבְנֵי עֶלְיוֹן כֻּלְּכֶם׃ - I said, you are godly beings, and all of you are children of the Most High.
Rashi explains: "You are godly beings" - angels. When I gave you the Torah, I gave it to you on the condition that the Angel of Death would have no dominion over you. This means that the condition of the Jewish people after the giving of the Torah was a restoration to the state of Adam before the sin: they were no longer meant to die.
And so it is explicitly stated in Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer (chapter 47): All those days, until they committed that deed, they were pleasing before the Holy One, blessed be He, like the ministering angels. Note that the people of Israel reached a level even higher than angels. The Angel of Death did not rule over them, and they did not relieve themselves like ordinary mortals. In the Garden of Eden, with all due respect, there were no outhouses. The Vilna Gaon notes: The physical body of Adam before the sin was like our soul today. And what was his soul like? It is impossible to fathom or describe.
It follows, then, that after the giving of the Torah, the Jewish people had already rectified the sin of Adam. This has been explained at length in the book Mishnat HaGilgulim, in the essay "The Secret of the Egyptian Exile and the Sin of Adam," regarding the immense rectification and purification achieved at the giving of the Torah.
"Yet Like Mere Men You Shall Die" - The Fall After the Golden Calf
אָכֵן כְּאָדָם תְּמוּתוּן וּכְאַחַד הַשָּׂרִים תִּפֹּלוּ׃ - Yet like mere men you shall die, and fall like one of the princes.
And how did we end up in the state we are in today? Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer continues: Once they committed that act - the sin of the Golden Calf - the Holy One, blessed be He, grew angry with them and said to them: I thought you would be before Me like the ministering angels, as it says, "I said, you are godly beings, and all of you are children of the Most High," but now, "yet like mere men you shall die." Just as Adam corrupted his ways and fell from his stature, so too you corrupted your ways with the Golden Calf and fell from your stature, and therefore death was once again decreed upon you just as it was decreed upon Adam following his sin.
Radak: Why Judges Are Called "Elohim"
Radak explains: "I said, you are godly beings" - judges are called elohim, as mentioned, when they judge truthfully, as the verse states, "The matter of both of them shall come before the judges (elohim)." Just as the heavenly hosts are called elohim, so are they, because they fulfill the mission of the Creator. "Elohim" denotes higher powers.
And here we must understand the concept itself. What is "God of gods" (Elohei HaElohim)? Is there any god other than Him, blessed be He? Rather, all the forces of nature are called elohim. The word elohim means power, as in the phrase yesh le-el yadi ("it is in the power of my hand"), meaning I have the power. For seemingly, one might wonder: why refer to the Holy One, blessed be He, in a plural form? Do we not constantly reject duality, proclaiming that Hashem is One and His Name is One, and there is none besides Him? Rather, when we use the Name Elohim, our intention is: the Master of strength, the Omnipotent, and the Possessor of all powers. There are many forces in nature, but they are not independent forces; they all emanate from Him, blessed be He. Therefore, the heavenly hosts are called elohim - powers - and the Holy One, blessed be He, is called "God of gods" (Elohei HaElohim), the Power of all powers, Who activates them all. Likewise, He is called "Lord of lords" (Adonei HaAdonim): they are lords, but the Lord over them all is the Holy One, blessed be He.
The Holy One, blessed be He, therefore says: I intended for you to be elohim, to resemble the supernal beings, the angels, to be part of the forces of the Holy One, blessed be He. You judges are meant to execute justice on earth no less than the angels, and no less than the sun and the moon, all of whom are His emissaries. When you are an emissary of Hashem, you are called elohim - a master of power, a lord, and a leader by the authority of the Holy One, blessed be He.
However, Radak explains, you did not resemble the Most High. I see by your deeds that you are corrupting the stature of your soul, and therefore when you die, you will die like ordinary mortals; your soul will perish with the body and will not ascend among the supernal beings. For when a person is righteous, his soul ascends upward, but when he is wicked, his soul descends downward to the earth. "And like one of the princes you shall fall" - the princes judge and treat people with arrogance, pride, and haughtiness, despising the lowly. This is how I see you behaving; and since you follow the path of those corrupt princes, you too will fall just as they are destined to fall.
The Malbim: Justice Sustains the World
The Malbim explains that the verse comes to describe how, just as the Holy One, blessed be He, brought about the creation of the world, so too are justice and judges necessary to sustain the world. We have explained this concept several times: the creation of the world is not a one-time event; rather, the Holy One, blessed be He, continuously sustains the world, as we say, "Who in His goodness renews each day continually the work of Creation." And what sustains the world from our perspective, on the part of the earthly dwellers? Justice and judges. When we practice justice, when we champion the cause and rescue the oppressed from the oppressor, when there is justice down here, this continues to sustain the world and provides another reason for its existence.
The Malbim says: Since man is by nature a social being (termed medini by classical thinkers, which did not mean politics in the modern sense, but a creature meant for society). Man needs society. If one wanted to drive a person out of his mind, one would deprive him of all sensory input, placing him in a sensory deprivation chamber where he feels nothing, and it is not long before he begins to hallucinate. Why? Because a person needs interaction with his environment and with what is happening around him. This is why the most severe punishment is solitary confinement in a dungeon. Nowadays this is hardly the same punishment, as a prisoner often has means of communication or a media player and is not truly alone. But when a person is placed in a genuine dungeon, entirely alone, there is no harsher condition. Granted, people differ: some need people around them constantly, chattering endlessly and needing someone to listen, while others are lone wolves who are content by themselves for days, weeks, and years. Yet even such a person remains human, unable to survive without communication and connection to the outside world.
This fact, says the Malbim, inevitably leads to disputes among people, since their outlooks are not identical, resulting in quarrels, lawsuits, oppression, and injustice, which ultimately undermines civilized society. After all, the fundamental cornerstone of an orderly world is justice: when someone commits a wrong, there must be an address where one can lodge a complaint. Otherwise, I will seize from you, you will seize from someone else, and what will become of society?
We see with our own eyes what happens in a place where there is no law: the Bedouin in the Negev, an extraterritorial zone. The Israeli police do not enter there; people carry weapons freely, grow crops that need no description in open greenhouses, taking the verse "Take for yourself herbs [drugs]" quite literally. The police never set foot there. They build settlements? Do not worry, a government will eventually legalize them retroactively. Meanwhile, Jewish outposts, they say, cannot be tolerated under any circumstances, crimes must not be legitimized, and these are evacuated. But Khan al-Ahmar remains untouched; nobody is willing to deal with it. This is sheer anarchy. Just a few days ago, Bedouins nearly abducted a child. We find ourselves in an extraterritorial reality: no government, no court, each person doing whatever is right in his own eyes. This is a disastrous situation for the basic functioning of a civilized society.
This is what the Malbim is saying: human society and the habitation of the world would break down entirely. People cannot live together and cannot inhabit the world if there is no justice, no integrity, and no law. Therefore it is said, "I said, you are godlike beings (elohim)": when you judges execute justice, you are like the Creator of the world, for you sustain it. Without your justice, the world cannot endure, and it reverts to void and chaos.
This is what Chazal meant when they said that a judge who renders a true judgment becomes a partner with the Holy One, blessed be He, in the work of Creation. And what does this mean? The Holy One, blessed be He, says: I created the world, but whether it continues to exist depends on you. If you render righteous judgment, the world has a right to exist; if not, the world reverts to void and chaos. Thus, a judge possesses the power to sustain the world, and this is the meaning of elohim: you are a possessor of power, in the likeness of Elohim as Creator of the world, for the Holy One, blessed be He, created it and you sustain it.
However, the Malbim continues, "Indeed, like men you shall die, and like one of the princes you shall fall": I see that in the end you turned justice into wormwood, perverting judgment. It then becomes clear that you are not elohim, but merely in the category of "sons of the Most High" (benei elyon) - like those supernal beings who took wives from whomever they chose and corrupted their ways. I thought you would be in the category of elohim, partners with the Holy One, blessed be He, in the work of Creation, but you are like those princes; and just as they fell, so too will you fall, until your downfall is so great that "like men you shall die" - neither as sons of the Most High nor as distinguished men - "and like one of the princes you shall fall."
"Arise, O God, Judge the Earth"
קוּמָה אֱלֹהִים שָׁפְטָה הָאָרֶץ כִּי אַתָּה תִנְחַל בְּכָל הַגּוֹיִם׃ - Arise, O God, judge the earth, for You shall inherit among all the nations.
Here Asaf begins to pray before the Holy One, blessed be He, that He eliminate the corrupt judges from the people of Israel: You, Hashem, are the One who inherits nations, and in Your hands lies the power to judge; therefore, You must judge the earth. Since there are crooked judges, God Himself must judge the earth in righteousness.
The Radak explains similarly: None of the judges are judges of truth, and therefore the Holy One, blessed be He, must take back the reins of justice, and You are the One who will judge the poor person and rescue him from the hand of his oppressor. "For You shall inherit among all the nations" - You will inherit the poor and the oppressed, who are Your inheritance. And why? The Radak says: The poor and the oppressed are generally humble of spirit and people of truth, whereas the wealthy are often schemers and are not humble. The poor person is downtrodden and a man of truth; therefore, they are Your inheritance and Your portion, in whatever nation they may be, among all the nations.
The Malbim explains that now the Psalmist turns to the Holy One, blessed be He, and says to Him: Master of the Universe, why do You say of these men of injustice that they should judge the earth and have a portion in the earth like divine beings? After all, nothing will remain of them; they are destined for death, and they will not judge righteously. "Arise, O God, judge the earth" - You judge the earth, for You created it; "for You shall inherit among all the nations" - it is Yours forever, and You must sustain it and establish it through justice, as it says, "A king establishes the land through justice" (Mishlei 29:4). Therefore, it is You who must judge the earth with fairness, and in this way, the earth will endure for all generations.
Supplement: The Kli Yakar on Parashat Yitro - The Four Virtues of a Judge
The Kli Yakar on Parashat Yitro (Shemot 18:21) discusses the advice Yitro gave to Moshe Rabbeinu regarding appointing judges: "And you shall discern from among all the people men of valor, God-fearing, men of truth, hating unjust gain, and appoint them over them as leaders of thousands, leaders of hundreds, leaders of fifties, and leaders of tens."
The Kli Yakar explains: For our Sages, of blessed memory, taught that the Holy One, blessed be He, causes His Shechinah to rest only upon one who is mighty, wise, wealthy, and humble, and all of these were present in Moshe. His humility is known to all; wealthy, as is known, from the sapphire shavings of the Luchot; wise, beyond doubt; mighty, for he erected the Mishkan by himself, which was five cubits high, and he struck down Og. Therefore, these four descriptions were mentioned here, for a judge needs all of them: men of valor, God-fearing, men of truth, and haters of unjust gain - and all of them were found in Moshe.
"Therefore it is said, 'And you shall discern [ve'atah techezeh],' through the Ruach HaKodesh upon you, for from it shall be taken to emanate upon the elders who sit in judgment, and they must resemble you in all your qualities, for between the emanator and the recipient of emanation there must be resemblance and affinity." "Techezeh" is related to vision and Ruach HaKodesh, as in "who sees the vision of the Almighty" (Bamidbar 24:4), seeing divine visions. Moshe Rabbeinu, through the Ruach HaKodesh within him, would ignite and bestow influence upon the recipients, in the sense of "a candle for one is a candle for a hundred," and from him it would be taken to emanate upon those he had to appoint. And they had to resemble him in all traits - to be men of valor, haters of unjust gain, and men of truth - because when the emanator comes to influence the recipient, there must be a common affinity and resemblance between them. If there is no resemblance between them, that emanation and influence cannot properly take effect.
Incidentally, the expression "le'ha'atzil" (to emanate or delegate) appears frequently in early sources, and from it also derives the name "Olam HaAtzilut" (the World of Emanation). Some think this comes from "atzil," a title of nobility, but that is not its meaning. Rather, the World of Atzilut is the world that emanates from Him, blessed be He, the highest of the four worlds: Atzilut, Beriah, Yetzirah, and Asiyah. The "ne'etzal" is the recipient that absorbs this divine influence.
Men of Valor: Strength in Judgment
"Men of valor - these are mighty men who have the power to break the exalted arms of those who say, 'Our hand is high,' for any judge whose strength is depleted will likely violate 'You shall not fear anyone.'" Men of valor, possessing great inner strength, are needed to break the haughty arm of aggressive, domineering individuals, for unless a judge stands firm against them, they will dominate the courts. A judge must possess fortitude so as not to violate "You shall not fear any man" (Devarim 1:17). The phrase "lo taguru" carries two meanings: either from the language of fear, as in "terror all around" (magor misaviv), or from the language of hoarding or holding back (le'egor), as Chazal explained that one must not hold back his words out of fear of someone, withholding them inside instead of speaking out.
It is told of one of the great Torah leaders that when he arrived to serve with distinction as the rabbi of a certain city, the first din Torah that came before him involved a widow suing one of the wealthiest men in town. The rabbi said to her: We must also summon the litigant. He sent his messenger to summon him, and he noticed that the messenger was hesitant and afraid. He asked him: What is the matter? The messenger replied: He is the town's most powerful magnate, a very domineering man; half the property here belongs to him, and it is not advisable for the Rav to tangle with him immediately upon arriving, as this could end badly. The rabbi told him: Go and summon him. The messenger went, delivered the summons, returned, and remained silent. The rabbi asked him: Why are you silent? He replied: He was somewhat insolent, saying that the Rav is still new here and had better not get involved before learning how things work here. The rabbi said to him: Go tell him that I am summoning him right now, and if he does not come, I will issue a decree of excommunication against him. The messenger hesitated, so the rabbi said: If you will not go, I will send someone else. He went and summoned him. The powerful man arrived, shook the rabbi's hand, and said: Kavod HaRav, yasher koach! There is no din Torah, no widow, and nothing of the sort. In this town there are very aggressive, overbearing men, and I was deeply worried that they had brought someone here who would be like a doormat in their hands. We wanted to see whether there is someone here capable of standing up to them. We tested you, and we saw that the Rav passed the test. Now the Rav is truly worthy of being called the rabbi of this town.
We see that a person who stands firmly upon the foundations of Torah never loses out, even if others attack and persecute him. Anyone familiar with Rav Ovadia Yosef's life knows that his life was threatened in Egypt. The shochet who operated there, a man devoid of the slightest drop of fear of Heaven who behaved like a gentile, slaughtered in an appalling manner. The Rav took a stand against him and declared his shechitah invalid. People warned him, "It is not wise to tangle with him; he is a violent man surrounded by dangerous people." The Rav remained fearless. That man even came to the Rav's home armed with a knife, intending to murder him. Later, when the man immigrated to Eretz Yisrael, the Rav instructed the Chief Rabbinate under no circumstances to certify him, warning that he was notorious and wicked. The man pursued the Rav and threw a bucket of acid, but miraculously for the Rav - and tragically for another rabbi - he missed. He had been certain it was Rav Ovadia exiting the building, but Providence had delayed the Rav in the synagogue, and another rabbi emerged instead and was hospitalized for roughly six months. It is difficult to fathom the kinds of figures one had to confront in those days. Today we are in paradise compared to the characters of that era.
A rabbi was once appointed to a certain community, and they asked him, "Did you study Shulchan Aruch, all four sections?" He replied, "Yes." They asked, "And did you study the fifth section of Shulchan Aruch?" He answered, "Yes, I managed to study that as well." What is the "fifth section" of Shulchan Aruch? Knowing how to deal with human beings. They asked him, "And did you study the sixth section?" He replied, "I have never heard of a sixth section." They told him, "The fifth section teaches how to deal with human beings, and the sixth section teaches how to deal with wild beasts of men, and that, too, must be learned." Rav Ovadia Yosef not only studied it, he was tested on it. May Hashem have mercy. Thus we learn that a dayan must fear no man; he must be prepared to uphold the religion firmly and even battle on its behalf. This is the meaning of "men of valor" (*anshei chayil*).
Those Who Fear God: Humility
"Those who fear God - these are the humble, for humility leads to fear of Heaven, as it is stated, 'The reward of humility is the fear of Hashem'; therefore it says, 'He guides the humble in justice.'" In order to serve as a judge, one must possess humility, which leads to reverence for Hashem, because arrogance banishes reverence. Concerning anyone who is haughty, the Holy One, blessed be He, says, "He and I cannot dwell together in the world." If the Shechinah departs from him, how can he possibly judge? After all, "God stands in the congregation of God," and so long as the Shechinah is with him, he renders true justice to its utmost truth, for the Shechinah hovers over him and ratifies his rulings. But if he is arrogant, the Shechinah departs from him, and he cannot render a true judgment, lacking Divine assistance, "for the judgment is God's." Through humility one attains reverence, whereas "whoever is brazen in rendering halachic decisions is a fool, wicked, and haughty of spirit."
Why is it that an arrogant person cannot possess fear of Heaven? The difference between love and fear was once explained: fear represents an inward contraction, which is why its root lies in *Gevurah*, for *Gevurah* is contraction. A person gripped by fear shrinks inward. The essence of reverence is that a person nullifies himself, contracting inward and bowing before the majesty of Hashem's splendor. If someone is arrogant, he cannot revere, for he considers himself above everyone else; whom should he fear? By contrast, one who is truly humble possesses the attribute of reverence, standing in awe before the majesty and splendor of the Creator, blessed be He. This is the meaning of "He guides the humble in justice," for this virtue is likewise essential for adjudication.
Men of Truth: Wisdom
"Men of truth - these are the wise, who know how to distinguish between truth and falsehood so as to judge true justice to its utmost truth, for 'a simpleton believes anything,' and whoever is simple will fail to distinguish between truth and falsehood; without doubt he will neither know nor understand, walking in darkness." Ostensibly, a "man of truth" need not necessarily be a sage, but the Kli Yakar explains that men of truth are indeed the wise. Who can truly distinguish between truth and falsehood? A naive person, lacking wisdom and discernment, is easily deceived; people spin tales and sell him stories, and he buys into it all. It requires wisdom and astuteness to discern where deceit lies and where a litigant is acting cunningly. Only the wise person gets to the bottom of the truth.
Men Who Hate Ill-Gotten Gain: Wealth
"Men who hate ill-gotten gain - these are the wealthy who have everything, and therefore take no unjust gain." Who can truly hate ill-gotten gain? A person who lacks for nothing. Someone who lives his entire life in poverty, constantly chasing after every coin, finds it exceedingly difficult to hate gain, for he can be bought with every small inducement. He is in desperate need of money, enduring the hardships of poverty at home, and if a lucrative offer is presented to him, he is liable to be tempted.
In his time, Ben-Gurion wished to establish a Sanhedrin. He had established the state rabbinate, and people asked him, "What do you have to do with a rabbinate? You wanted to do away with rabbis in barracks, and now you set up a rabbinate and even put them on the payroll?" He replied, "When they receive a salary from me, they will know how to rule. I prefer to pay them so that they remain dependent on me." Incidentally, for this very reason, the Brisker Rav and the leading Torah authorities of the generation opposed Heichal Shlomo and refused to set foot there, knowing that the entire purpose of Heichal Shlomo and the Chief Rabbinate was to exert control over the rabbis.
It is told that he approached Rav Herzog with the proposal to establish a Sanhedrin, a supreme council of dayanim. How could Rav Herzog explain to him the intricate halachic issues of authentic ordination (*semichah*) and the dispute between the Beis Yosef and the leading sages over whether it can be renewed? What did he understand of such matters? So Rav Herzog told him, "There are strict criteria, and it is very difficult to find men who meet them." Ben-Gurion asked, "What are the criteria?" He answered, "The Torah explicitly requires that they be 'men who hate ill-gotten gain' - people who despise monetary interests in judgment - and it is quite difficult to find such men." Ben-Gurion replied, "What is the problem? Believe me, experience has shown me that everything is a function of money. Add a little more money to the offer, and you will find men who hate ill-gotten gain as well!" Such is the mindset of secular leaders. In any event, "men who hate ill-gotten gain" means individuals of independent wealth whom financial interests cannot sway, so that such a person can truly judge with genuine truth.
The Kli Yakar Expounds the Psalm Corresponding to the Four Virtues
מִזְמוֹר לְאָסָף אֱלֹהִים נִצָּב בַּעֲדַת אֵל בְּקֶרֶב אֱלֹהִים יִשְׁפֹּט׃ - A psalm of Asaph: God stands in the congregation of God; in the midst of judges He will judge.
"And concerning these four groups, the psalmist said: *A psalm of Asaph: God stands in the congregation of God; in the midst of judges He will judge.*" The Holy One, blessed be He, stands to judge the judges of Israel, and this is the meaning of "stands." And over whom does He stand? "In the congregation of God" - among the judges. Hashem judges the judges of Israel for the injustice committed in their midst, as it says, "in the midst of judges" - that is, the dayanim, whom He will judge and call to account.
עַד מָתַי תִּשְׁפְּטוּ עָוֶל וּפְנֵי רְשָׁעִים תִּשְׂאוּ סֶלָה׃ - How long will you judge unjustly, and show partiality to the wicked? Selah.
This corresponds to the lack of fear of Heaven. When a dayan does not fear God and is haughty - and haughtiness is always an expression of pride - he shows favor to the wicked all the more, so that the wicked person will also honor and elevate him, stemming from the haughty heart of the judge who seeks self-aggrandizement. When a judge is arrogant, he shows partiality to a person of stature. Why? "When I show you favor, and you are a person of high office and official standing, I count on the fact that in the future you will remember which side your bread is buttered on, and look out for my interests: an appointment, a recommendation, or whatever else; you will know that I am one of those who took care of you." Thus, the arrogant judge favors the wicked so that he will grant him an appointment and a position, out of his own pride and ambition for prominence.
שִׁפְטוּ דַל וְיָתוֹם עָנִי וָרָשׁ הַצְדִּיקוּ׃ - Judge the poor and the orphan; vindicate the afflicted and the destitute.
"An indication that they were not wealthy and would take bribes; therefore, no poor person or orphan ever emerged victorious in his lawsuit, for he had nothing to offer the judge as a bribe." This corresponds to the trait of wealth. Since the judges were not wealthy, they constantly sought bribes, and so a poor person or an orphan never emerged vindicated in their court, as they had no means to pay. Instead, the wealthy, moneyed individual from whom a bribe could be taken always won. Therefore, he tells them: "Judge the poor and the orphan" - render true justice for them; "vindicate the afflicted and the destitute" - if they are in the right, vindicate them, and do not vindicate the wicked in order to receive a bribe from them.
פַּלְּטוּ דַל וְאֶבְיוֹן מִיַּד רְשָׁעִים הַצִּילוּ׃ - Rescue the poor and the needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked.
"For they would appoint weak judges who lacked the power to rescue and deliver the poor from one stronger than he." This corresponds to the trait of courage: "You shall not fear any man." When a judge is weak, he cannot be assertive and stand up against the wicked, and therefore he does not rescue the poor and the needy. Here the prophet demands that they be courageous in their judgment and deliver the poor and needy from the hand of the wicked, and for that, one must be strong.
Even here in the country, there are places where the police do not enter and do not get involved. People tell the officer: "Sir, do you know what is going on here?" He knows, but he does not get involved. Why? Because he is afraid; it might not end well, and why walk into a hornet's nest? That is in the best case. In the less fortunate case, many are well-padded - usually the higher-ups - receiving perks not of thousands of shekels, but tens and hundreds of thousands; consequently, they prefer not to touch various hornets' nests, saying, "Don't get involved there, it's dangerous." Thus, when a judge lacks courage, wickedness spreads, because the judge is not courageous enough to fight against it.
לֹא יָדְעוּ וְלֹא יָבִינוּ בַּחֲשֵׁכָה יִתְהַלָּכוּ יִמּוֹטוּ כָּל מוֹסְדֵי אָרֶץ׃ - They do not know, nor do they understand; they walk about in darkness; all the foundations of the earth collapse.
"For they would appoint a judge who was neither learned nor possessed of sound reasoning (*d'lo gmir v'lo savir*), devoid of wisdom; therefore they did not know between right and left, nor understand between truth and falsehood. Therefore all the foundations of the earth collapse, for upon justice the world stands, and when the foundation is corrupted, the building upon it also falls." *D'lo gmir v'lo savir* means one who has not studied and lacks analytical reasoning (*sevara*). Study depends on two things: first, learning what is written, and second, understanding the underlying reasoning. Why? Because not every case that comes before you is written explicitly in the Shulchan Aruch, and a dayan must know how to draw analogies (*ledamot milta lemilta*) and reach a conclusion. Incidentally, *savir* in the language of Chazal does not mean "reasonable" in the modern sense - as in "evidently unreasonable" - but rather a person possessed of analytical insight, just as *gmir* means someone who has acquired Torah knowledge. This corresponds to the fourth required quality: that he be wise.
A judge once rendered a ruling, and they asked him: "On what basis did you say this? Do you have sources?" He replied: "It was decided in a Beth Din of three." They asked him: "And who were the three?" He said: "Myself, the Gemara, and the Shulchan Aruch." They told him: "If so, you should be familiar with another teaching of Chazal: that the pure-minded of Jerusalem would not sit in judgment unless they knew who was sitting with them. You would do well to know who is sitting with you, and only then go and render halachic rulings. The Gemara and the Shulchan Aruch are the two judges sitting with you; first know them, and only then sit in judgment." In his case, it was pure haughtiness, pride. In any event, we learn that a person must be both learned and capable of sound reasoning (*gmir v'savir*) to go and render rulings. Because they lacked wisdom, they did not know between right and left nor understand between truth and falsehood, and therefore, "all the foundations of the earth collapse," for upon justice the world stands. The expression "when the foundation falls, the building falls" was common among the early scholars: when a person lays a foundation and builds explanations and commentaries upon it, sometimes you do not need to refute every single explanation; it is enough to refute the foundation. So too here: the world stands upon true justice, and when false judgment is rendered, the foundation crumbles, and consequently the world collapses.
"I said: You are godlike beings" according to the Kli Yakar
"I said: You are godlike beings, for one who judges a case with absolute truth is considered as though he has become a partner with the Holy One, blessed be He, to be like Elokim. But indeed, like Adam you shall die, for he too brought ruin to the world just as you have." One who judges truthfully is like a partner to God in the work of Creation, and this is the meaning of "you are godlike beings." It is both fascinating and beautiful that this is hinted at specifically through the name Elokim, for throughout the narrative of Creation Scripture states, "And God (Elokim) said," "And God (Elokim) saw" - everything is under the Name Elokim. This fits perfectly: "I said: You are elohim," meaning I said that you are My partners in the Creation of the world, where the Name Elokim consistently appears.
"Yet like Adam you shall die" - why? Because Adam HaRishon also brought ruin upon the world, just like you. Through his misdeeds, by eating from the Tree of Knowledge, he brought the world down from its level, and he himself was cast down from his stature: Adam HaRishon originally spanned from earth to heaven and from one end of the world to the other, but afterward, "and You placed Your hand (kapecha) upon me" - the letter kaf equals one hundred in gematria - He reduced him to one hundred cubits, establishing him at the stature of the ten Sefirot, where ten is always ten times ten. In any case, the Holy One, blessed be He, diminished him. And just as Adam HaRishon brought death to the world through his actions, so too with you: "like Adam you shall die," because he too brought ruin upon the world, just as you have done.
"Arise, O God" - When there is no judgment below, there is judgment Above
"Arise, O God, judge the earth, for when there is no judgment below, there is judgment Above." Why, immediately following this, do we ask Hashem to judge the earth? Because if there were justice here below, there would be no strict judgment Above. But when there is no justice here, strict judgments are aroused in Heaven. And when is the time of judgment during the week? Monday and Thursday. And what do we do on Mondays and Thursdays? We recite special Tachanun prayers, because it is a time of strict judgment. And when did the courts in the towns sit in session? On Mondays and Thursdays, because the moment you render judgment down here, you silence the judgment Above. When there is judgment below, there is no judgment Above; and when there is no judgment below, and "one swallows his fellow alive" - meaning there is perversion and corruption here - judgments are aroused against them from Above. Therefore, since there is corruption in the world, "Arise, O God, judge the earth" - Hashem must arise and execute judgment.
"For judgment belongs to God: whatever the judge wrongfully takes from one party, the Holy One, blessed be He, restores and bequeaths from His own." And the Midrash says: The Holy One, blessed be He, said, "I hate thieves because they trouble Me." What does this mean? If Reuven steals from Shimon something that is not rightfully his, the Holy One, blessed be He, says to him: "I hate you, because you burden Me, for now I must orchestrate numerous turns and events so that you lose that money and it ultimately returns to Shimon, who was robbed unjustly." You trouble the Holy One, blessed be He, to go and return what you stole. And this is what is meant by "for You shall inherit among all the nations" - it falls upon You to apportion their inheritance, and therefore judgment belongs to God. Had there been justice on earth, the judgment would have been ours; but since there is no justice on earth, the Holy One, blessed be He, must execute judgment, and thereby restore and bequeath to each person what he rightfully deserves.
In summary:
The conclusion of the psalm teaches us both the immense greatness of the judge and his fall: "I said: You are godlike beings" - one who renders a judgment of absolute truth becomes a partner with the Holy One, blessed be He, in the work of Creation, sustaining the world through his ruling; but when he perverts justice, "Yet like Adam you shall die, and fall like one of the princes," bringing ruin upon the world just as Adam HaRishon did. The Kli Yakar demonstrates that the entire psalm is structured around the four essential qualities of a judge: capable men, God-fearing men, men of truth, and those who hate illicit gain, corresponding to their absence: showing favoritism to the wicked out of pride, failing to vindicate the destitute out of bribery, weakness in the face of the wicked, and a lack of wisdom that shakes the foundations of the earth. Finally, Asaph prays: "Arise, O God, judge the earth" - for when there is no judgment below, there is judgment Above, and in His hands, blessed be He, lies the power to restore to each person what belongs to him, "for You shall inherit among all the nations."