Psalms · Psalm 82

"God stands in the congregation of God" — to see whether they [the judges] judge fairly, and you judges, how long will you judge unjustly?

'A Psalm of Asaph. God' — the sense of 'stands in the congregation of God' is [that it refers to] the Glory, who is with the congregation of Israel. 'In the midst of the judges (elohim)' — these are the angels, who are [themselves] called 'elohim' — [as in the terms] 'the host of heaven' [and] 'the sons of God' — for it is through the angels that all of God's judgment is carried out on earth. And some say that 'in the midst of the judges (elohim)' is like [the usage in] 'you shall not curse the judges' (Exodus 22:27); and the sense is that He is in their midst, and they must be careful not to render an unjust judgment.

"A psalm" — This psalm was said concerning the judges who were judging unjustly. Perhaps it was in the days of Jehoshaphat, for we find that he appointed judges of the land in all the cities of Judah and warned them strongly about this, for they had been judging unjustly before this. It says: "God stands in the congregation of God" — meaning: His glory is with them, to watch over them more closely than other judges, to hold them accountable for their deeds, as it is written, 'You alone have I known of all the families of the earth; therefore I will hold you accountable for all your iniquities' (Amos 3:2). "In the midst of the judges" — in the midst of the judges, [He is there] to judge Israel as He commanded them; and if they do not do so, He knows it and holds them accountable for their sins.

"In the congregation of God" — Among the judges who sit in judgment, to see whether they render true justice. "In the midst" — He sits in the midst of the judges, as if He were judging together with them; and the matter is repeated for emphasis.

"A Psalm of Asaph" — it was composed against judges who pervert justice. And according to the order of the psalms, it appears that this song too (like the song that follows it) was instituted in the days of Jehoshaphat, who appointed judges in every city and warned them: "Know what you are doing, for you judge not for man but for Hashem, and He is with you in the matter of judgment; now let the fear of Hashem be upon you" (2 Chronicles 19:6-7). "God stands in the congregation of God" — God stands among the litigants and the witnesses who come to judgment, who are required to stand; God stands with them. And also, "in the midst of the judges He judges" — He is also found among the judges, and judges together with them. And it is depicted that He judges in the midst of the judges — meaning that within the heart of the judges is found the word of God, warning them, saying to them: "How long will you judge unjustly?" It is depicted that Hashem cries this out among the congregation of the litigants, warning the judges together with them, and also speaks thus within the judges themselves (the figure being that their moral soul testifies to them in their heart, in the name of Hashem, that they are not doing right). Now the perversion of justice occurs in two ways: (1) In judgment between two litigants who come to judgment — lender and borrower, buyer and seller, and the like — of this it says, "How long will you judge unjustly?" (2) In turning a blind eye to executing justice against oppressors, extortioners, and men of violence — of this it says, "How long will you show favor to the wicked? Selah" — the conclusion of the matter.

'How long' — now He rebukes the judges, who are [called] 'elohim': 'how long will you judge unjustly?' — for the power of Hashem [operates] through the angels, in [their] deeds. 'And show favor to the wicked' — the opposite of 'your countenance fell' (Genesis 4:6); therefore, right after it, [it is written]: 'If you do well, shall it not be lifted up?' (Genesis 4:7).

"And respect the persons of the wicked" — Because they are strong, great, and wealthy, you show them favor and fail to exact justice for the poor from their hand.

"How long" — Since this is so, how long will you judge unjustly, and continually show favor to the wicked, flattering them in the matter of judgment?

'Will you show favor' — an expression of flattery, as in 'to show partiality to the wicked' (Proverbs 18:5).

"justify" — If he [the poor man] is right in his cause, do not reverse the verdict to condemn him in order to favor the wicked.

'Judge' — render justice for the orphan, who has no helper and cannot speak [for himself]; and vindicate the widow, who has no husband — for the wicked do them violence, and you show favor to them.

"Judge" — Exact justice for them from those who rob them of their money. "Do justice" — When they are in the right, vindicate them, and do not fear the oppressors, nor show favor to them.

"Judge" — Do not act thus, but rather judge the poor and the orphan with the judgment that is proper, and do not show them [undue] pity in judgment. "Do justice" — At the time of judgment, if he [the poor man] is in the right in his dispute, [judge him so] — and do not say, "I will acquit the rich party to his case, so as not to embarrass him, and only afterward will I inform him that the judgment is with his opponent."

"Judge" — all this is from the words of God. Against the perversion of judgment between two litigants, it says, "Judge the poor and fatherless," and adds, saying, "do justice to the afflicted and destitute" — that they should judge with righteous judgment (mishpat tzedek), for righteousness (tzedek) is more than [mere] judgment (mishpat), in that it looks according to the matter and the parties being judged.

'Rescue' — 'judge' [applies to] the one poor in money, and 'rescue' [applies to] the one poor in life.

"Rescue" — meaning, so that they not be oppressed physically.

"Rescue" — From the hand of one who comes to oppress them.

'Deliver' — an expression of rescue.

"Rescue" — and regarding doing justice for those who are oppressed and robbed by the hand of the powerful, it says, "Rescue the poor and needy, and deliver" him "[out of] the hand of the wicked" who come to oppress him.

"They did not know" — The judges who pervert justice. "and they do not understand" — that because of this iniquity, they will walk in the dark (on the order of [Exod. 23:8]: “for bribery blinds, etc.”), and all the foundations of the earth will totter because of it.

'They do not [know]' — these are the words of the psalmist, who rebuked them: 'they neither knew nor understood.' Or, its sense is that they kept silent, as though they did not know. And the sense of 'they walk about in darkness' is that bribery blinds the eyes of the clear-sighted. And the sense of 'are moved' is: the foundations of the earth deserve to be shaken on account of the perversion of justice. Or, the judges do not care if all the foundations of the earth are shaken.

"They know not, neither do they understand" — The judges are as if they do not know and do not understand the matter of justice, and they walk about in it in darkness, because bribery blinds. "All the foundations of the earth are moved" — Because of their deeds, all the foundations of the earth are shaken and it will destroy the world, for the Flood came upon the world because of violence.

"They know not" — The judges do not set their heart to know and understand the severity of the sin, and behold they are like one walking in darkness who does not know on what he will stumble. "Are moved" — Is it not on account of the corruption of justice that the foundations of the earth are moved, and it draws close to falling? For the world stands upon three things, and justice is one of them, so said our Rabbis, of blessed memory.

'Are shaken' — from the language of tilting.

"They know not" — regarding the oppression, they act as though they do not know of the oppression being done; and regarding the judgment that comes before them from the two litigants, "neither do they understand" how to judge a true judgment truly. And because of this, "they go about in darkness" — this indicates that justice is the light of the world and is the foundations of the world (mosdot teivel); and through the absence of justice they go about in darkness, and "all the foundations of the earth are moved." This means that justice sustains the settlement of the earth in two ways: (1) from the side of divine recompense — that if there is no judgment below, it withholds its light and influence from above, and they go about in darkness; (2) from the side of nature — for then each man would swallow his fellow alive, and it would be impossible for the political order to endure. Therefore it says, "all the foundations of the earth are moved."

"You are angelic creatures" — Angels. When I gave you the Torah, I gave it to you on the condition that the Angel of Death should not rule over you.

'I' — you have sat in the seat of godlike beings (elohim). 'And sons of the Most High' — like the angels.

"I said: You are godlike beings" — For judges are called "godlike beings" (elohim) when they are true judges. I said that you should truly be godlike, and resemble the sons of the Most High — who are also called "godlike beings," that is, the angels — and that you should judge.

"I said" — He speaks in the name of Hashem: Behold, when I commanded you concerning the laws of justice, I said then that on account of them you would be like angels, and death would not rule over you. "And all of you sons of the Most High" — The matter is repeated in different words.

"I said" — [the psalmist] depicts that just as the act of God and His deed were necessary for the creation of man and the world, so too are judgment and judges necessary for establishing man and the world and sustaining them. For since man is by nature a political being, it is impossible that quarrels, disputes, oppression, and violence should not arise among them — which would nullify the gathering and settlement of the world in general — were there not found among them law, judgment, and judges. And from this perspective, [the psalmist] likens them to gods, creators of the world, for they are partners with Him in this: He created the world, and they are the ones who sustain it. As it is said, "Every judge who judges a true judgment truly becomes a partner with the Holy One, blessed be He, in the work of creation." And so he reckoned them "sons of the Most High," for the primary foundation of justice derives from the principle of universal reason, which is divine — as the philosophers have said.

"Indeed, as man, you will die" — Indeed, as Adam, you will die since you corrupted your deeds as he did. "and as one of the princes" — the first [princes], who died, so will you fall. The Midrash Aggadah (Mid. Ps. 82:3) [explains]: As one of the celestial princes, for it is said (Isa. 24:21): “the Lord will visit punishment upon the host of heaven on high.”

'Nevertheless' — you are but as man: you shall die. And the sense is: your soul is like the soul of the angels, but behold, you are nothing but bodies: you shall die. 'And like one of the princes' — those who overpower [others] and commit violence; and such is the way of princes and all the judges of the earth.

"Nevertheless" — I see from your deeds that you corrupt the rank of your soul, and when you die you will die like any [ordinary] person, and your soul will die together with the body, which is [merely] man, and it will not ascend with the sons of the Most High. "And fall like one of the princes" — who judge and lead people according to their pride and greatness, and demean the lowly among people and oppress them — so too will you fall when you die.

"Nevertheless" — In truth, since you are not careful with it [justice], you shall die, just as the first man died for not being careful with My commandment.

"Nevertheless" I have seen, that "you shall die like men" — after you have turned justice into wormwood, only in this will you resemble the sons of the Most High: that "like one of the" heavenly "princes you shall fall" — meaning it will seem as though you fell from heaven to earth, from on high down below, so that the fall is as great as the rank from which one fell. Until here is the word of Hashem to the judges.

"Arise, O God" — Asaph commences to pray that He rise and cut off from Israel those corrupt judges. "for You" — are the One Who inherits the nations, and everyone is in Your hands to judge.

"Arise" — this is the poet's own prayer, or he speaks in the language of those crying out about violence, or by way of prophecy. And the bet in "among all the nations" is extra, like [the bet] in "come, eat of my bread" — and so the verb becomes transitive, in the manner of "ve-nachaltanu" [and He shall take us as a possession] — "and Hashem shall take Judah as His portion." Rabbi Judah HaLevi said: You will be a possession for those crying out, among all the nations.

"Arise" — Since the judges do not judge truly, You Yourself must judge the earth, and exact justice for the poor from those who oppress them. "For You shall possess all the nations" — You shall take possession of the poor and oppressed of whatever nation they may be, meaning: they are Your people and Your inheritance, for most of the poor and oppressed are of humble spirit and men of truth.

"Judge the earth" — You Yourself judge the case of the poor and needy. "For You shall possess, etc." — Is it not so that even among all the nations of the earth You love the poor, the crushed in spirit, and have made them Your own inheritance? Therefore judge their case.

"Arise" — now the psalmist turns his face to Hashem, who has spoken these words, and says to Him: why do You speak to these sons of iniquity, who [think they] shall judge the earth and have a portion in the earth like gods? They shall not inherit the earth, for they are destined to die, and they do not judge it with righteousness. "Arise, O God," and You "judge the earth," for You created it; "for You shall possess all the nations," for it is Yours forever, and it is upon You to sustain it and establish it through justice — therefore You [must] judge the earth.