לא תעשו עול במשפט במדה במשקל ובמשורה
ויקרא פרק יט:לה
You shall do no unrighteousness in judgment, in meteyard, in weight or in measure. (Leviticus 19:35)
רש”י
לא תעשו עול במשפט – אם לדין, הרי כבר נאמר לא תעשו עול במשפט (פסוק טו), ומהו משפט השנוי כאן? הוא המדה והמשקל והמשורה. מלמד שהמודד נקרא דיין, שאם שיקר במדה הרי הוא כמקלקל את הדין וקרוי עול, שנאוי, ומשוקץ, חרם ותועבה. וגורם לחמשה דברים האמורים בדיין :מטמא את הארץ, ומחלל את השם, ומסלק את השכינה, ומפיל את ישראל בחרב, ומגלה אותם מארצם, במדה – זו מדת הארץ, במשקל – כמשמעו, ובמשורה – היא מדת הלח והיבש:
“You shall do no unrighteousness in judgment“. Rashi comments: if this verse refers to a lawsuit, it has already been been stated in verse 15, “Ye shall do no unrighteousness in judgment.” What then is the “judgment” that is taught here? It is the “meteyard, weight, and measure.” This teaches that he who measures is called a judge, for if he deals falsely in measuring, he is as one who corrupts justice, and is called unrighteous, hated, and abominable, accursed, and a detestation, and causes the five things which are stated regarding a judge: He defiles the land, and he profanes the Name of G-d, and he causes the Divine Presence to be removed, and he casts the people of Israel to the sword, and he exiles them from their land (Sifra). “in meteyard’, this a land measure, “in weight,” to be understood in its usual meaning, “or in measure”, this is the liquid and dry measure. (Rashi)
GP: All of government agency law and rulings come under the category of judge and judgment according to Torah Law. This is the crucial connection in evaluating the functioning of good government according to Torah guidelines.
