Derasha 2 on Devarim 1:17

Complete Passuk (key clause)

לֹ֤א תָג֙וּרוּ֙ מִפְּנֵי־אִ֔ישׁ כִּ֥י הַמִּשְׁפָּ֖ט לֵאלֹהִ֣ים ה֑וּא

Source Citation

TT points to the baraita in Sanhedrin on “lo saguru” (verified via earlier TT extracts).

Core Text

לא תגורו מפני איש — תניא: שנים שבאו לדין, אחד רך ואחד קשה, ושמעת דבריהם ואתה יודע להיכן הדין נוטה, מניין שאי אתה יכול לומר להם איני נזקק לכם? תלמוד לומר לא תגורו מפני איש.

Lo saguru mipenei ish — tanya: shenayim sheba’u ledin, echad rach ve’echad kasheh, veshamata divreihem ve’atah yodea leheichan hadin noteh, minayin she’ein atah yachol lomar lahem “eini nizkak lachem”? Talmud lomar “lo saguru mipenei ish.”

“You shall not fear any man” — it was taught: If two come to judgment, one soft and one hard, and you have heard their words and know where the judgment leans, whence do you learn that you may not say to them “I will not deal with you”? From the verse “You shall not fear any man.”

On the daf / in context

Once the judge has heard the parties and formed a clear view of the law, he is forbidden to withdraw out of fear of the stronger litigant. The baraita limits the prohibition to the stage after the judge already knows the direction of the verdict.

Type of Learning

Custom — procedural timing of the prohibition against fear.

What Is Learned

After a judge has heard the parties and knows where the law leans, he may not refuse to decide out of fear of either litigant.