Chapter 4, Mishnah 9 - and in some versions it is the seventh Mishnah. Here we learn the words of Rabbi Yishmael, the son of Rabbi Yose ben Chalafta. It is worth noting: the name "Rabbi Yishmael ben" already appeared two or three mishnayos earlier (in Mishnah 6 or 5, depending on the version), and there we pointed out that according to the Tosefta the word "ben" was omitted from the text, and it may well be that this is the very same Rabbi Yishmael. Here, in any case, it is stated explicitly that he is the son of Rabbi Yose ben Chalafta.
"HaChosech atzmo min hadin" - one who holds himself back from judgment:
The commentators differ as to what this means:
According to the Bartenura: one who avoids and evades serving as a judge.
According to Rashi: one who refrains from litigating and going to a Torah court in order to quarrel and press his claims.
"Porek mimenu eivah v'gezel ushvuas shav" - he casts off from himself enmity, robbery and a vain oath:
This means that he removes three things from himself:
Enmity: convening a Torah court sets the two sides against each other as opponents, and the losing party becomes angry and bears a grudge - according to the Bartenura, against the judge, and according to Rashi, against the opposing litigant.
Robbery: at times a judge may rule mistakenly, and he then has a share in causing a person to lose what he should not have lost. That is a form of robbery and theft.
A vain oath: understood simply - that he brought people to take an oath that was unnecessary. Others explain, like Rashi, that the reference is to a false oath: that he brought them to swear falsely, and it is called a vain oath because it was uttered in vain.
What exactly is this holding back from judgment?
Deferring the role to others: he says, "There are others here who can do this, what do you want from me?", and he passes the role of judge on to other judges.
Proposing a compromise: even though he himself is capable of judging, he offers the parties mediation and compromise - reaching an agreed middle point, instead of litigation in which there is a clear winner and a clear loser.
It should be emphasized, and this point is very important: despite all of the above, one of the mitzvos of the Torah is to serve as a judge and to render a true judgment. Therefore, a person who is fit for the role, when there is no one else to whom the matter can be handed over and relied upon, and the litigating parties will not agree to compromise - he is commanded by the Torah to sit in judgment.
"V'hagas libo b'hora'ah" - and one whose heart is coarse in rendering rulings:
A person who is arrogant and excessively sure of himself in his role as a judge, and issues his ruling from the hip, without thinking the matter through to the end. Such behavior stands in complete opposition to the first Mishnah in the tractate - "Hevu mesunim badin" - be deliberate in judgment. This person does the opposite: he decides easily and quickly, out of a feeling that his intuition serves him well, that he knows better than anyone, and that he need not study the matter and delve into it. Of him the Mishnah says: "Shoteh rasha v'gas ruach" - a fool, a wicked person, and coarse of spirit.
"Shoteh": He is a fool, because he brings all this animosity upon himself and causes people to do wrong. And furthermore: who is so wise? After all, every story has two sides.
"Rasha": He has caused people to lose money - and that is the element of theft in the matter. He has no fear of Heaven, and he does not care that a person will suffer a loss because of a hasty, impulsive ruling that turns out to have been mistaken.
"Gas ruach": He is an arrogant man. Who does he think he is? Many great men came before him and studied questions of this sort more than he has and in far greater depth, while what he mainly wants is to be recognized as the important figure who has the power to decide. This pretension, and the notion that he is so wise, reflect his failure as a man full of pride - and for this Rabbi Yishmael the son of Rabbi Yose denounces him.
In summary: In this Mishnah we learned the praise of one who holds himself back from judgment - whether as a judge or as a litigant - thereby ridding himself of animosity, theft and a false oath, along with the limits of this teaching: when there is no one else fit to judge and the parties will not agree to a compromise, it is a mitzvah from the Torah to sit in judgment and render a true ruling. By contrast, one who decides matters of law with a coarse heart and in haste, against "hevu mesunim badin", is called a fool, a wicked man and an arrogant person.