Introduction: A Psalm Against Those Who Pervert Justice
Psalm 82 is a very well-known psalm, presenting an opportunity to study it in depth directly from the text. The core of the psalm, as explained by Radak and the Malbim, is a sharp rebuke directed at judges who pervert justice. Radak and the Malbim assess that this psalm (as well as the one following it) was composed in the days of King Yehoshaphat. When he returned from Ramoth-Gilead and brought the Jewish people back in repentance, he appointed judges in all the cities of Judah and warned them: "Consider what you do, for you judge not for man, but for the Lord... and now, let the fear of the Lord be upon you; be careful what you do, for there is no iniquity with the Lord our God, nor respect of persons, nor taking of bribes." The very fact that he needed to warn the judges so emphatically about integrity in judgment demonstrates that a serious problem existed, which prompted all these warnings.
Verse 1: "God stands in the congregation of God"
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 renders judgment.
Rashi explains: "God stands in the congregation of God" - in the congregation of the judges. The Holy One, blessed be He, stands among their assembly to see whether they judge righteously or not.
Ibn Ezra offers a different explanation: "stands in the congregation of God" - the glory of Hashem resides together with the congregation of Israel. He does not interpret "elohim" later in the verse as judges (as in "the cause of both parties shall come before the judges [elohim]"), but rather as angels, who are also called elohim, the heavenly host. "In the midst of elohim He renders judgment" means that God judges the earth through the angels. That is to say, the entire governance of the earth is carried out through the angels: the Holy One, blessed be He, directs the world through the agency of angels, who pour forth divine bounty and channel it onward, acting as His emissaries. Ibn Ezra then adds an alternative interpretation ("and some say") along the lines of Rashi, based on the verse "You shall not curse a judge [elohim]," meaning that Hashem is present with the judges, and they must be vigilant not to render a corrupt judgment.
Radak explains that this psalm was directed at judges who judged unjustly and perverted the law, and in his view, this was likely during the days of Yehoshaphat, as mentioned earlier. "God stands in the congregation of God" - Hashem is present with you to scrutinize your actions, you who judge. As it is said, "You alone have I known of all the families of the earth; therefore I will visit upon you all your iniquities." The fact that Hashem is closely present with us demands immense care. A gentile nation, so to speak, is not subjected to such constant scrutiny; but when one is intimately close and watched closely, every slight deviation can bring an immediate rebuke. Such was Israel's condition during the Exodus from Egypt and the forty years in the wilderness: we were so intimately close to Hashem, so here "the fire of the Lord burned among them," and there "they died at the edge of the camp." When you are in the immediate presence of Hashem, any slight deviation is addressed at once. Therefore, he tells them: God stands in the congregation of God, you cannot distort justice; "in the midst of judges" - among the judges, Hashem will judge. He requires you to judge righteously, and if not, He will exact retribution from you without delay.
The Malbim also takes this direction: the psalm was composed against judges who pervert justice, established in the days of Yehoshaphat who appointed judges in every city and admonished them. "In the midst of judges He renders judgment" - inside the hearts of the judges rests the word of God, warning them and instructing them to judge righteously, and it cries out from within them: "How long will you judge unjustly?" The Malbim explains that the poetic metaphor here refers to human conscience, the moral soul, which makes demands upon a person and tells him: here you did not act honestly, here you did not behave fairly. The Holy One, blessed be He, cries out, as it were, from within you, through the moral soul He placed inside you.
Verse 2: Two Forms of Perverting Justice
עַד מָתַי תִּשְׁפְּטוּ עָוֶל וּפְנֵי רְשָׁעִים תִּשְׂאוּ סֶלָה׃ - How long will you judge unjustly, and show favor to the wicked? Selah.
The Malbim explains that perverting justice takes two forms. The first is when two litigants appear before the judge, a lender and a borrower, or a buyer and a seller, and the judge distorts the law, ruling in favor of the seller when the buyer is in the right, or in favor of the borrower when the lender is in the right. Regarding this, it is said: "How long will you judge unjustly?" The second form is the total disregard of justice: failing to prosecute oppressors, robbers, and the ruthless. Concerning this, it is said: "and show favor to the wicked? Selah" - you show deference to the wicked person and refrain from judging him when he ought to be judged, failing to open an investigation against him when necessary.
Both of these pervasive ills are found in our own legal system in heavy measure. On the one hand, justice is distorted: when an individual does not conform to the prevailing agenda, authorities immediately leap to open investigations, whether justified or not. On the other hand, when actual oppressors are involved, those against whom legal proceedings genuinely ought to be opened, authorities turn a blind eye, claiming there is "no public interest." Today there are quite a few individuals who should have faced investigation long ago; yet the path to the high judicial bench is not paved on their backs, but on the backs of right-wing figures and those whom the media loves to vilify, against whom cases are opened right and left.
The attorney Yaakov Weinroth, a veteran legal warrior who knew the judicial system inside and out better than anyone, once said that whenever a client wearing a yarmulke came to him - especially if he was Sephardic, and all the more so if he was chareidi - he would advise him: Do not go to court. Settle things beforehand, take a plea deal, do whatever it takes, just do not stand before a judge. A massive uproar followed his remarks, but this was a man speaking from hard facts, not theories. As the Ramban said: "In the place of justice, wickedness is there." This is our reality today.
The same applies to the requirement for a formal, orderly directive to launch an investigation. In a well-ordered state, things must be documented in official records: there must be a formal discussion over whether an investigation should be opened, there must be conclusions, and there must be written documents. An "oral agreement" means nothing. If someone came to court with a claim and asserted it was agreed upon verbally, they would reject it outright. That is how things operate in a third-world country when they want to target someone and destroy him. In such a place, do not expect justice or the rule of law.
The Chazon Ish's Advice: Do Not Waive Immunity
A story is told about Rabbi Shlomo Lorincz, who was pressured to waive his parliamentary immunity to stand trial over suspicions of buying foreign currency at a time when doing so was forbidden. They told him: "What is the problem? You claim you are innocent, so waive your immunity and prove it." He replied: "I will consult with the Chazon Ish." He went to the Chazon Ish, who told him: "Under no circumstances should you agree." When he asked why, the Chazon Ish explained: "Understand this: first they will open an investigation against you, then they will leak stories and details from the interrogations. They will accuse your own lawyers of leaking them, but it all comes from the inside, designed to generate a media frenzy where the press and the public have already convicted you as a criminal. At that stage, they will tell you that these offenses carry moral turpitude, and that it would be best for you to take a leave of absence from political life so you can manage your trial. Six years later, they will tell you: 'We investigated and found no evidence.' Even that is a malicious phrasing, implying that you are probably guilty, but no smoking gun or incriminatory proof was found. And then what will you do, after six years, when you have already been sidelined? That is precisely what they want: to bury you. Tell them: 'I am innocent, I have no intention of playing this game, and I will not waive my immunity.'" That was the Chazon Ish's instruction, and that is exactly what happened.
This is precisely the meaning of "and show favor to the wicked, Selah": those prominent figures with extensive ties to media moguls and news outlets, who negotiate back and forth over favorable coverage, are ignored. No one investigates them, and no one puts them on trial; none of it matters. Looking for justice and integrity in the legal system is practically a joke.
The Ibn Ezra's Interpretation: A Rebuke to the Angels
The Ibn Ezra explains "How long will you judge unjustly" as a rebuke to the elohim mentioned earlier, who, in his view, are the operating angels: the Holy One, blessed be He, as it were, judges them for not governing the world in an upright manner. This demands understanding: is it conceivable that these spiritual forces would fail to lead uprightly? It is puzzling to suggest that celestial ministers act without integrity. These ideas recall the arguments of Iyov, which we studied at length, who claimed that the world was handed over to foolish rulers who cause injustice, and that because of them he suffered without deserving it. According to the Ibn Ezra, here the Holy One, blessed be He, rebukes those functioning angels for acting unjustly, and "and show favor to the wicked" - favoring the wicked instead of prosecuting and judging them.
As for the classic question of how a person with free will can be held accountable for his deeds when he could do nothing without divine will, and why Pharaoh was punished, this is a vast topic that we have discussed at length in our lessons. We have an established principle that an agent of free will cannot harm anyone unless it was decreed upon that person from Above. Although there are opinions that seemingly suggest otherwise, the author of the Siftei Chaim reconciles these views and clarifies the issue in the section on "Omniscience and Free Will" at the end of his work.
Verse 3: Justice for the Destitute, Not Mercy
שִׁפְטוּ דַל וְיָתוֹם עָנִי וָרָשׁ הַצְדִּיקוּ׃ - "Judge the destitute and the orphan; vindicate the afflicted and the impoverished."
The Ibn Ezra explains: Dispense justice for the orphan who has no one to help him, who cannot speak up, who has no backing and no parents, and likewise for the widow who has no backing and no husband. The wicked would rob and oppress them because no one was there to defend their honor; therefore, you judges must judge their cause and vindicate the poor and the destitute.
Rashi emphasizes: "Vindicate" means that if he is innocent in his judgment, do not twist the verdict against him in order to curry favor with the wicked. But do not imagine that "vindicate" means declaring him right even when he is wrong, for the Torah explicitly commands the opposite: "Neither shall you favor a poor man in his cause." One is forbidden to say: "He is poor and wretched; let us have pity on him."
Metzudat David explains: "Judge the destitute and the orphan" - with proper justice, and do not show them pity in judgment; "vindicate the poor and the impoverished" - during the trial, if he is right in his dispute. That is to say, the first clause teaches: if he deserves judgment, judge him; if he deserves punishment, punish him; if money ought to be extracted from him, extract it, even though he is destitute and an orphan. And the second clause: if he is truly in the right, vindicate the poor and impoverished person. Do not say, "I will acquit the wealthy man in court so as not to embarrass him, and afterward I will privately tell him to pay because justice is truly with the other party." It is forbidden to do this. You must declare in judgment that justice is with the poor person, without concern for the honor of the wealthy man.
The Malbim explains that all of this represents the words of God speaking through the judges. "Judge the destitute and the orphan" is directed against perverting justice between two litigants: when they stand before their adversary, judge righteous judgment. He adds: "vindicate the poor and the impoverished" - do justice (tzedek) with them, for tzedek goes beyond strict law (mishpat), as tzedek looks at the broader matter and at the individuals on trial, taking into account the situation and weighing circumstances according to the specific case and the people involved.
Verse 4: Rescue from the Hands of Oppressors
פַּלְּטוּ דַל וְאֶבְיוֹן מִיַּד רְשָׁעִים הַצִּילוּ׃ - Deliver the destitute and needy; rescue them from the hand of the wicked.
The Malbim notes that here the verse transitions to the second aspect: not two parties presenting themselves for litigation, but the duty of proactive intervention. If you see someone being wronged and robbed, step in to stop it and call the perpetrator to account. "Deliver the destitute and needy; rescue them from the hand of the wicked" - save them from the hand of robbers and ruthless oppressors.
Ibn Ezra explains: "Judge the destitute" refers to monetary matters, whereas "deliver the destitute" refers to mortal danger. What was stated earlier, "judge the destitute," addresses financial theft, where you must adjudicate for the poor person; here, "deliver the destitute" applies when someone seeks his life, in which case one must deliver his life and rescue it from those who seek it. Radak follows a similar approach, explaining "deliver the destitute" to mean preventing physical oppression, such as taking him into servitude, whereas "judge the destitute" refers to money that someone seeks to extract from him.
The Difference Between Mishpat and Tzedek
The Malbim clarifies the distinction between "judge" (shifṭu) and "vindicate" (hatzdiku), between strict judgment (mishpat) and righteousness (tzedek). Mishpat is the dry letter of the law: permitted or forbidden, innocent or liable. If you will, it is like a question posed to a computer, which answers yes or no. But when you present a matter before a Dayan, the judge says: there are several other factors here that must be weighed, several other aspects that must be considered. This is why one presents halachic questions to a Rav rather than to "Rabbi Google," for often a subtle nuance alters the entire picture, and a small detail reveals that the entire reality is different.
For this reason, one does not derive Halachah merely from what people recount about asking a great Torah sage who answered in a certain way. One cannot know precisely what was asked, which facts were presented to the Rav, and in what manner the situation was described. For example, a man who had a dispute with his wife went to consult a Rav, and the Rav told him to concede to her wishes, even though strict Halachah did not require it. Can one derive from this a definitive ruling for everyone? That particular individual may have presented a situation bordering on divorce, where the household would otherwise collapse, with young children involved, and framed it as a massive crisis; after weighing the facts, the Rav decided it was better to compromise on this matter than to destroy the home. In another person's case, it might merely be a passing desire that comes nowhere near that threshold, and there the Rav would rule that there is no room for leniency. Two situations may appear identical, in both of which a wife requested something posing a halachic difficulty, yet in one case the Rav permitted it and in the other he did not, because absolute rules cannot be applied mechanically without evaluating and weighing all the data. This is the essence of tzedek: it builds upon mishpat by taking into account the broader context and the parties involved.
Dal, Evyon, Ani, and Rash
The Malbim also distinguishes among the designations themselves. An evyon (needy person) is worse off than a dal (destitute person): the evyon longs for everything, from the root avah, which shares the conceptual root with ivah, to crave and desire everything. Therefore it says "judge the destitute (dal) and the orphan" on the one hand, and "deliver the destitute (dal) and needy (evyon)" on the other: a dal who is juxtaposed with an evyon has become completely impoverished, reaching a state where he craves everything and possesses nothing. He has no legal claim to bring in court; rather, one must simply deliver him and rescue him from the hand of the wicked.
There is likewise a difference between a dal and a rash: "rash" describes someone who previously possessed wealth and became impoverished - his situation had been good, and he lost what he had. The opposite of yarash (to inherit or possess) is rash: one person had nothing and inherited (yarash) an estate, while another person had wealth, lost it, and is now impoverished (rash). An "ani" (poor person), on the other hand, generally describes one who is submissive and humble, a person in a state of lowliness of spirit. This is why King David frequently refers to himself as an ani; after all, there is no poverty in a place of royalty and wealth, and a king is not poor financially, but the term conveys humility, and this expression is commonly applied to tzaddikim. Therefore, regarding the ani who comes to court over what was seized from his inheritance, thereby impoverishing him, the verse states, "vindicate the poor (ani) and the impoverished (rash)": a person who is humble and has become impoverished because he was dispossessed of his inheritance, judge him with righteous judgment, even beyond the strict letter of the law (lifnim mishurat hadin), for the essence of tzedek is to consider his circumstance and not merely the dry law. And as for the dal and the evyon, "deliver" them - rescue them from the hand of the wicked who come to oppress them.
A Claim of a Perutah Is Treated Like a Claim of a Hundred
In its time, there was a dispute that gripped the entire Jewish world: the litigation between the owners of the Slavita printing press and the Romm Widow and Brothers regarding the printing of Shas. The former had received an exclusive printing right for ten years, but they covered their expenses far earlier, and then the others sought the opportunity to print the Shas anew. There was a major Din Torah over enormous sums of money, and all the greatest Torah leaders of Israel were involved in it; the matter even reached Rabbi Akiva Eiger. We have already recounted in detail everything that happened there, the slander spoken against Rabbi Akiva Eiger, and the hand of divine justice that struck them.
Rabbi Yisrael Salanter pained over this matter greatly and asked: Why is it that specifically here, concerning the Slavita press, Torah luminaries across the globe dispatched letters and responsa, whereas regarding a monetary claim of mere pennies, no one occupies themselves in this way? After all, according to the Torah, a claim of a perutah is treated like a claim of a hundred! One must attend to a minor claim between one person and another just as to a lawsuit involving hundreds of thousands of rubles hanging in the balance. There is a negative message here: when large sums of money are involved, everyone gets involved, but when it is a petty claim, they say, 'Do not bother us.' Yet one must know that with every single matter and every single law, before the Holy One, Blessed is He, there is no difference. One can be reincarnated into this world over a million dollars just as over a single shekel; there is no difference at all.
Verse 5: Darkness and the Collapse of the Foundations of the Earth
לֹא יָדְעוּ וְלֹא יָבִינוּ בַּחֲשֵׁכָה יִתְהַלָּכוּ יִמּוֹטוּ כָּל מוֹסְדֵי אָרֶץ׃ - They do not know, neither do they understand; they walk about in darkness; all the foundations of the earth collapse.
The Radak explains: Those who judge corruptly act as though they do not know and do not understand the matter of justice, as if they cannot see that their deeds are unjust. "They walk about in darkness" - why does he walk in darkness? Because of bribery, for bribery blinds the eyes of the wise. It seems to him that what he is doing is just, but in truth he walks in darkness because the bribe blinds him. "All the foundations of the earth collapse" - on account of their actions, all the foundations of the earth deserved to crumble and the world be destroyed, for the Flood came upon the world because of robbery and lawlessness (chamas), because of a lack of justice and righteousness.
Here too, the Malbim divides the verse corresponding to the two evils: against oppression, where they feign ignorance of the extortion taking place, it says, "They do not know" - I did not hear, no one told me that someone oppressed his fellow. And against the case brought before them by two litigants, which requires righteous judgment, it says, "Neither do they understand" - to render a true verdict. Through this, they walk in darkness, for justice is the light of the world and the bedrock of civilization, as it says, "A king establishes the land through justice" (Mishlei 29:4); and in the absence of justice, they walk in darkness and all the foundations of the earth collapse.
The meaning is as follows: When there is corruption in matters between man and God, the world can still endure. When does the Holy One, Blessed is He, overturn civilization? When there is corruption in the administration of justice in the world. When was Sodom overturned? When they enacted corrupt laws governing interpersonal conduct. When did the Flood come? When there was rampant robbery and lawlessness between man and his fellow. When people act wickedly in spiritual matters, the world can still tolerate them; but when there is no justice, the world collapses and is overturned. This is why this standard is demanded of Gentiles as well: Nineveh was about to be overturned, yet they were not held accountable there for idolatry. To this day nations practice idolatry, and certainly they are held accountable for it, but that is not a cause for overturning the foundations of the earth. "A king establishes the land through justice," and when there is no justice, the Holy One, Blessed is He, returns the world to chaos and void.
This is the fundamental principle demanded of the nations as well, which is why the Descendants of Noah were commanded to establish courts of law. The Holy One, Blessed is He, says: I am not exacting about the specific legal framework you use, for Israel has divine statutes, whereas the Gentile may judge according to rational laws. And do not argue that Sodom had laws as well, for those were laws of malice and injustice. The laws of civilized nations today, generally speaking, are rational laws, and that is sufficient for the world to operate with integrity. But when there is no law, there is anarchy, and when anarchy reigns, the Holy One, Blessed is He, says: Here the world must be returned to chaos and void - "all the foundations of the earth collapse."
The Malbim explains that justice sustains human civilization in two ways. First, from the perspective of divine retribution: if there is no justice below, the Holy One, Blessed is He, withholds His bounty from Above, and there is no divine spiritual abundance. This is akin to what we find in the Midrash regarding King Katzya, who asked how judgments were conducted, and they told him, "We execute this one and execute that one, and confiscate their property." He asked them: "Does the sun shine in your land? Does rain fall?" They replied, "Yes." He said to them, "It is not on your account, but for the sake of the animals." In other words, the foundations of the world teeter when injustice prevails; if there is no justice down below, man has no merit to receive this reward, and Hashem withholds His light and His bounty from on high. It is regarding this that it says, "They walk about in darkness."
And the second way is natural: when there is no law and justice, men swallow each other alive, and civil society cannot endure. Thereby, "all the foundations of the earth collapse" - the world's foundations crumble. As we have often noted, look at what happened in Iraq, Syria, and all the places where governance disintegrated. The ruler who was there was undoubtedly thoroughly corrupt, yet looking at the situation today, one sees that a corrupt ruler is preferable to anarchy. When anarchy takes over, men swallow each other alive: every two days a car bomb explodes, brother turns his sword against brother, and rival militias run rampant. We take no pleasure in their misfortune, but one certainly sees that this causes a reality where the foundations of the earth collapse.
In Summary:
This psalm is a rebuke to judges who pervert justice, and according to Radak and the Malbim, it was established in the days of Yehoshaphat, who appointed judges and admonished them. "God stands in the congregation of God" - the Holy One, blessed be He, stands with the judges and oversees them, and His voice cries out from the conscience He placed within them: "How long will you judge unjustly?" There are two forms of perversion here: corrupting the judgment between two litigants, and turning a blind eye to bringing oppressors and men of violence to justice. Therefore, "Judge the destitute and the orphan" with strict justice and not out of misplaced pity; "vindicate the poor and the impoverished" through righteous judgment that considers the full reality of the matter and the parties involved, rather than just dry legal technicalities; and "rescue the destitute and the needy" - actively deliver the oppressed from the hand of the wicked. But when the judges pretend not to know and not to understand, they walk in darkness, for justice is the light of the world and the foundation of civilization, and without it, heavenly bounty is withheld from Above and human society is ruined below, until "all the foundations of the earth totter."