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Bribery inside and outside the Bet Din
By Dayan Yosef Greenwald, Bet HaVa’ad, Yerushalayim
Bribery in its most obvious form is when a person offers a judge money so that he will decide the case in his favor. However, there are many other – more subtle – ways in which bribes can be offered, and in many cases these bribes are also included in the prohibition of Shohad (bribery). In this article we will explore the various types of forbidden bribery.
Bribery Given by Both Litigants
The Halacha is that a judge may not take bribes from both parties in a Din Torah, even though this would seemingly not affect the judge’s verdict.[1] Various reasons are given for this law.[2] The Maharal explains that a Jewish judge must operate as a “sechel hanivdal” – an “independent mind”. This means that a judge by definition must be entirely removed from the case; he cannot have any personal connection to any of the parties. A judge who accepts bribes from both parties, though, is connected to the involved parties, and cannot be considered a true “judge.”[3] Therefore, doing so is also considered Shohad.
Bribing People in Positions of Public Power
The Pilpula Harifta[4] rules that the prohibition of Shohad is not limited to a judge. Rather, anybody who is in a position of public trust or deals with public funds may not accept a bribe.[5] For example, if a Jew serves in the municipality, and somebody needs a permit or some type of authorization from the municipality, he may not give the municipal worker “hush money” in order to get the permit or speed up the process. Similarly, if a principal of a school makes a decision that is not in the best interests of the school but is for his own personal gain, or accepts money or a favor from the people involved in the decision, he has violated the Issur of Shohad.
Bribes to a Non-Jew
Although the Issur of Shohad applies only to Jews, it is forbidden to give bribes even to non-Jewish judges. Besides for the Hillul Hashem[6] that such actions would lead to, most Poskim rule that bribing a non-Jew is a violation of the seven Mitzvot Bene Noah[7], in which also non-Jews are obligated. Since one of these Mitzvot is to establish a justice system, and a justice system cannot function properly if bribes are given, thus, the non-Jewish judge may not accept a bribe. A Jew may also not give the judge a bribe, because it is forbidden for a Jew to cause a non-Jew to violate one of his seven Mitzvot.
A Bribing Party
The Pithe Teshuva[8] writes that giving a bribe is forbidden even after one’s opponent has already given a bribe. Although it is likely that he will lose the case if he does not do so, the Issur of Shohad still stands.
Nevertheless, it seems from the Pithe Teshuva elsewhere[9], that if the judge is not Jewish one may give a bribe in such a case. The distinction between a Jewish and non-Jewish judge can be explained based on the idea of the Maharal mentioned earlier. A Jewish judge is compared to Hashem.[10] Just as Hashem has a completely objective view of the world, so too a Jewish Dayan cannot have any connection to the litigants. Therefore, even if the other party has already given a bribe, one may not give a second bribe because this will add to the judge’s connection to the case.
However, with regard to non-Jews, the purpose of the court system is merely to maintain law and order, and the problem with bribery is that it causes the judge to rule incorrectly. In our case the bribe does not corrupt the judgment; to the contrary, it neutralizes the first bribe and promotes justice. Accordingly, it would be permitted, and may even be encouraged, to give such a bribe.
Doing Teshuva for Giving Shohad
If someone transgressed the Issur of Shohad and accepted bribes, he is obligated to return it to the person who gave the bribe, even though the person gave it willingly.[11] Furthermore, many Poskim rule that even if the person who gave the bribe is forgives this obligation, he still must return the bribes, since the Torah does not want a person to keep any Shohad.[12]
Paying a Judge
Another prohibition involving a judge getting money is that a judge cannot be paid for his services.[13] This is because a Jew must act like Hashem, and Hashem judges the world without being paid. The only way it is permitted to pay a judge is to give the money as “S’char Batala”. This means that the money is given to provide for the judge’s needs so that he can be free from pursuing his livelihood to serve as a judge, but not as payment for the judging itself.
“Bribes” in a Person’s Avodat Hashem
In conclusion, it is interesting to note that Parashat Shofetim – in which the Issur of Shohad appears – always comes out around the beginning of Elul. Perhaps this is to teach us a lesson about Elul: During this month, we conduct a spiritual audit of our lives, and see where we have fallen short in our Avodat Hashem. In order to do this, we must be able to detach ourselves from our sense of self, and look at our deeds objectively. This is because a person finds it difficult to face his failings; he would rather ignore them or at least minimize them. If a person does this, he is in effect being “bribed” by his desire to take the easy way out instead of working on changing himself.
We hope that this year, we reach the true objectivity needed to properly gauge our ways and make the necessary changes to better our lives, our service of Hashem, and our dealings with others.
Sources:
[1] גמ’ כתובות דף ק”ה ע”א, שו”ע חו”מ סי’ ט’ ס”א.
[2] עיין בדרישה סי’ ט’ ובפנ”י בכתובות שם שכתבו שהוא כעין לא פלוג דאו’, וע”ע במאירי ובהפלאה בכתובות שם שביארו דהטעם משום דשמא משום השוחד ישתדל הדיין לעשות פשרה באופן שאינו נכון לעשות פשרה, כגון היכא שהדין ברור.
[3] וע”ע בנתיבות סי’ ט שכ’ שהודאת בע”ד ל”מ לפני דיין שקיבל שוחד מב’ הבעלי דברים משום שנחשב כהודאה חוץ לב”ד.
[4] על הרא”ש בסנהדרין פ”ג אות ש’.
[5] מקורו של הפלפולא חריפתא הוא מקושיית הרא”ש על הגמ’ שם דף כ”ז ע”א – ע”ב, שאי’ שם בגמ’ שהיה דין כנגד בר חמא שעשה עוולה וצריך להענש ע”ז מהמלך, ור’ פפי מצא דרך לפסול העדים שהעידו כנגדו, ובר חמא שהיה קרוב למלכות פטרוהו מהמס בעבור מה שעשה ר”פ בשבילו, והק’ הרא”ש שם דאיך היה מותר לר”פ לעשות כן והלא הוא שוחד, והעיר הפ”ח שבאמת לא היה ר”פ דיין בדין זה, ומ”מ נקט הרא”ש ששייך אצלו האיסור שוחד כיון שהיה ממונה על הציבור.
[6] עיין בתומים.
[7] כן פסקו הדגול מרבבה והחת”ס. ומקורם מדברי הרמב”ן בפ’ וישלח, שכ’ שכיון שב”נ מחוייבים בדינים, א”כ אסורים לקבל שוחד משום שאז לא יהא דינם אמת.
[8] סי’ ט’, בשם הברכי יוסף.
[9] שם בפסקי הלכות של דיני שוחד בשם החת”ס.
[10] וכמו שמצינו בתורה שנקרא דיין “אלוקים”.
[11] וכמו שמצינו בענין איסור ריבית, עיין בקצות סי’ ט’.
[12] וכשיטת הגאונים לענין ריבית.
[13] עיין בגמ’ סוף פ”ב דקידושין, וכן נפסק בשו”ע, שהנוטל שכר לדון דיניו בטילין.