Briber-In-Chief
The Spark Within
Last week, this woman made waves at the Iowa State Fair for heckling Mike Pence, of Hang Mike Pence fame1. It was this interview that stood out for me. In a week in which the former President was indicted for the 4th! time, the cult around him only grows. As the legal system closes in, they deify him even more. Turning a human into a God isn’t ever a good thing, not now and certainly not in our history.
Our Torah has a few words to say on that. It’s a fitting portion to turn to this week as learn about the various rules set for establishing a just legal system. After opening with the command to create judges and officers to adjudicate the law, we read the following from Deuteronomy 16:19:
לֹא־תַטֶּ֣ה מִשְׁפָּ֔ט לֹ֥א תַכִּ֖יר פָּנִ֑ים וְלֹא־תִקַּ֣ח שֹׁ֔חַד כִּ֣י הַשֹּׁ֗חַד יְעַוֵּר֙ עֵינֵ֣י חֲכָמִ֔ים וִֽיסַלֵּ֖ף דִּבְרֵ֥י צַדִּיקִֽם׃
You shall not judge unfairly: you shall show no partiality; you shall not take bribes, for bribes blind the eyes of the discerning and upset the plea of the just.
The image is vivid. Eyes are blinded and that which is righteous is made unjust. But it’s also repetitive because back in Exodus 23:8. we read the following
וְשֹׁ֖חַד לֹ֣א תִקָּ֑ח כִּ֤י הַשֹּׁ֙חַד֙ יְעַוֵּ֣ר פִּקְחִ֔ים וִֽיסַלֵּ֖ף דִּבְרֵ֥י צַדִּיקִֽים׃
Do not take bribes, for bribes blind the clear-sighted and upset the pleas of those who are in the right.
So what’s the story with the repetition here? And why does it add the piece about not subverting judgement and not showing partiality?
Reb Nosson Tzvi Finkel, the Alter of Slobodka2, had the following answer:
The defect of bribery is founded on a psychological force embedded in the soul of a human being.
Don’t think that bribery, something many of us associate with a particular type of behavior is actually something more universal. Bribery is the mindset, according to Reb Nosson Tzvi, where you can never find yourself guilt of something. Sound familiar? Every person deals with it in some way.
Not just that but he goes on to describe how every person, from the lowliest to the highest level human battles bribery:
The influence of bribery…can take control of even Angels of God like the Holy Forefathers.
It’s an important reminder. Bribery strikes at the heart of every person. No matter what status you are, bribery-שוחד, is nefarious, as the Talmud notes that the word in Hebrew can be broken down into שהוא חד, the briber and the one being bribed become unified in their toxicity. One is made a god and the other a sycophantic follower.
That explains the repetition but why the language of לֹ֥א תַכִּ֖יר פָּנִ֑ים, don’t show partiality? Literally, it means don’t recognize the face. That word, panim-faces, raises interpretive alarm bells. What’s it doing there?
The Noam Elimelech3 says, hey, remember that commandment, of 10 commandments fame, לא יהיה לך אלקים אחרים על פני, don’t have other Gods beside me? That phrase “beside me” uses the same word for faces that we see here. He explains:
Since every thing has a piece of divinity that makes it present and gives it vitality, and if, God forbid, a person thinks an extraneous thought, or looks at something evil, then one turns away and distances one's face from it. And the extraneous thoughts and the evil sightings and evil passing thoughts are called "other gods.”
Acts such as bribery are part of these evil and extraneous actions. In partaking in this type of behavior, not only are you swindling a person, you’ve become an idol worshipper through the diminishing of another’s divine spark.
That gets us back to deifying humans and this cult around the former President. He has hoodwinked people. Perhaps the most prescient thing he ever said was that he could get away with shooting someone on 5th Avenue in the middle of the day. Here we have, as the video at the top attests, supporters specifically supporting him because of his malfeasance.
Bribery of the soul and mind, שוחד–שהוא חד, he and they have become one. As a result people’s vision is muddled and justice is upset. Presidentially directed or not, bribery is about so much more than just the act of clandestinely plying someone with cash. It’s an act that undermines the very purposes of being here. But we can’t become too forlorn or apathetic because right after, we’re reminded:
Justice, justice shall you pursue
Specifically because of the soul-bribery that we’re seeing, we have to double down on our efforts. We have to battle harder, shout louder, and dig deeper. Worship goodness, righteousness, and uplift. Fight like hell against those that seek to diminish others’ sparks. Be strong and courageous in doing so.
Happy Weekend and Shabbat Shalom!
A title gifted to Mike Pence by the Pod Save The World hosts
1849–1927 Lithuania
1717-1787 Poland