Tuesday, May 15, 2018

Ponderings of the Perkei Avot 4:8

RaYBaSH’s Ponderings of the Perkei Avot
Chapter 4:8
By: Yehudah ben Shomeyr


4:8. He would also say: Do not judge on your own, for there is none qualified to judge alone, only the One.


Exd. 18:13-23 And it came to pass on the morrow, that Moses sat to judge the people: and the people stood by Moses from the morning unto the evening. And when Moses' father in law saw all that he did to the people, he said, What [is] this thing that thou doest to the people? why sittest thou thyself alone, and all the people stand by thee from morning unto even? And Moses said unto his father in law, Because the people come unto me to enquire of God: When they have a matter, they come unto me; and I judge between one and another, and I do make [them] know the statutes of God, and his laws. And Moses' father in law said unto him, The thing that thou doest [is] not good. Thou wilt surely wear away, both thou, and this people that [is] with thee: for this thing [is] too heavy for thee; thou art not able to perform it thyself alone. Hearken now unto my voice, I will give thee counsel, and God shall be with thee: Be thou for the people to God-ward, that thou mayest bring the causes unto God: And thou shalt teach them ordinances and laws, and shalt shew them the way wherein they must walk, and the work that they must doMoreover thou shalt provide out of all the people able men, such as fear God, men of truth, hating covetousness; and place [such] over them, [to be] rulers of thousands, [and] rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tensAnd let them judge the people at all seasons: and it shall be, [that] every great matter they shall bring unto thee, but every small matter they shall judge: so shall it be easier for thyself, and they shall bear [the burden] with thee. If thou shalt do this thing, and God command thee [so], then thou shalt be able to endure, and all this people shall also go to their place in peace.


Deut. 1:9-18 And I spake unto you at that time, saying, I am not able to bear you myself alone: The LORD your God hath multiplied you, and, behold, ye [are] this day as the stars of heaven for multitude. (The LORD God of your fathers make you a thousand times so many more as ye [are], and bless you, as he hath promised you!) How can I myself alone bear your cumbrance, and your burden, and your strife? Take you wise men, and understanding, and known among your tribes, and I will make them rulers over you. And ye answered me, and said, The thing which thou hast spoken [is] good [for us] to do. So I took the chief of your tribes, wise men, and known, and made them heads over you, captains over thousands, and captains over hundreds, and captains over fifties, and captains over tens, and officers among your tribes. And I charged your judges at that time, saying, Hear [the causes] between your brethren, and judge righteously between [every] man and his brother, and the stranger [that is] with him. Ye shall not respect persons in judgment; [but] ye shall hear the small as well as the great; ye shall not be afraid of the face of man; for the judgment [is] God's: and the cause that is too hard for you, bring [it] unto me, and I will hear it. And I commanded you at that time all the things which ye should do.

Matt. 7:1-2 Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.

 

Matt. 16:19 And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.


Matt. 18:18 Verily I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.



Yeshua Ha Moshiach was refereeing to the passages in the Torah quoted above, and he was telling his Talmidim that they are to rule and make judgments based on the Torah and that not just one man can make a halakhic (the way one should walk) ruling for the people but it must be a decision agreed upon by a panel of at least 2 or 3 elders. Halakah is almost like a Church or organizations bylaws. It is to address tradition or issues not specifically spelled out in the Torah Itself.


This issue of binding and loosing has been grossly misinterpreted in the Christian realm to mean loosing and binding things in the spirit, such as binding demons and loosing angels etc. This is NOT what the passage is referring to, but it is referring to the elders making halachic rulings for a person and or community and that their decisions stand as long as they have a solid foundation in Torah.


You need the perspective and insight of others. This is why in Judaism there is not just one person on the Beyt Din but many elders.


Shalom,
-- Yehudah ben Shomeyr