The verse we're looking at is from (Deuteronomy 1:11): "May the Lord, God of your fathers, add to you one thousand times as you are, and He will bless you, as He spoke to you." Sounds great. But it leads to a crucial question: Is it okay for a single judge to preside over the community?
Our Rabbis teach us: Absolutely not. "Do not judge alone," they said, "as there is only One who judges alone." And who is that One? As (Job 23:13) puts it, "He is One, who can respond to Him?” Reish Lakish explains that the Holy One, blessed be He, judges and issues rulings all by Himself.
So, what’s the seal of the Holy One, blessed be He? Rabbi Reuven tells us it's emet, truth. Why emet? Because the Hebrew word emet (אמת) is spelled with an alef, the first letter; a mem, the middle letter; and a tav, the last letter of the Hebrew alphabet. It's a subtle hint to (Isaiah 44:6): "I am first and I am last and besides Me there is no God."
Okay, so we need more than one judge. Moses himself recognized this. He tells the people in (Deuteronomy 1:13), "Provide for yourselves men who are wise, understanding, and known to your tribes, and I will place them at your head." He's saying, "I can't handle this alone. You need to find judges."
Rabbi Berekhya, quoting Rabbi Ḥanina, spells out the ideal qualities for a judge. Seven, to be exact. We need people who are "wise, understanding, and known to your tribes." And as (Exodus 18:21) adds, they should also be "accomplished men, fearers of God, men of truth, haters of ill-gotten gain." That's a tall order.
But what if you can't find people with all seven qualities? The Rabbis have an answer for that too. If you can't find seven, find four. If you can't find four, find three. And if you can't find three, find one. As (Proverbs 31:10) asks, "An accomplished woman who can find?" Even finding one person with just one of these key characteristics is a challenge, so if you find them, appoint them!
Now, here's a fascinating twist. The verse says, "And I will place them [vaasimem] at your head." But vaasimem is written without a yod, a Hebrew letter. Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi points out that this allows us to read it as vaashamam, meaning "their guilt." Moses is essentially saying, "If you don't listen to these judges, the guilt will be on your own heads!"
He illustrates this with a striking parable: Imagine a serpent whose tail demands to lead. The head reluctantly agrees. What happens? The tail leads the serpent into a water hole, a fire, and a thicket of thorns. Ouch! The moral? When the lowly lead the great, disaster follows. But when the great lead the lowly, they can even influence God's decrees! They can pray and abolish negative outcomes.
Rabbi Hoshaya offers another powerful analogy. A bride standing under her wedding canopy gets her hands dirty. If she wipes them on the wall or the floor mosaic, she'll just make those dirty too. But if she wipes them on her hair, her hair will be beautified, and her hands will be cleaned. Similarly, when Israel listens to its leaders, but those leaders fail to attend to their needs, the leaders bear the guilt.
Rabbi Yitzḥak adds that when leaders fail their people, "The Lord will enter into judgment with the elders of His people and its princes" (Isaiah 3:14). It all comes back to the overwhelming burden of leadership. No single person can carry it alone. Even Moses, the greatest of prophets, couldn't do it!
Moses himself says, "I am unable to bear you alone" (Deuteronomy 1:9). Rabbi Yoḥanan connects this to the time of Yitro's visit, when Yitro observed Moses exhausting himself by judging every case (Exodus 18:18). Rabbi Ḥiyya, however, links it to the time the people complained (Numbers 11:14).
Rabbi Berekhya, quoting Rabbi Levi, imagines Moses saying to God, "Master of the universe, You said, 'Who have been borne [by Me] from birth, [who are carried from the womb]' (Isaiah 46:3) – it is appropriate for You to bear them."
Moses even declares that he could handle ten times the population of Israel. So why couldn't he handle them? Because, as (Deuteronomy 1:10) says, "The Lord your God has multiplied you." They had become too numerous, too blessed, and perhaps too entitled for one person to manage fairly.
So, what's the takeaway? Leadership is a shared responsibility. No one person, no matter how wise or powerful, can bear the burden alone. We need a community of leaders, each with their own strengths, working together to guide and serve the people. And we, as the people, have a responsibility to choose those leaders wisely and to hold them accountable. It's a delicate balance, but one that's essential for a just and thriving society.
“May the Lord, God of your fathers, add to you one thousand times as you are, and He will bless you, as He spoke to you” (Deuteronomy 1:11). “The Lord, God of your fathers” – halakha: Is it permitted for a man of Israel who was appointed as Sage or judge over the congregation to sit in judgment by himself? So taught our Rabbis: Do not judge alone, as there is only One who judges alone, as it is stated: “He is One, who can respond to Him?” (Job 23:13). What is “He is One”? Reish Lakish said: It is that the Holy One blessed be He judges and issues the ruling by Himself. Rabbi Reuven said: What is the seal of the Holy One blessed be He? It is truth. Why is it truth [emet]? Emet has three letters: Alef – the first of the letters; mem – the middle one; tav – the last of them, saying: “I am first and I am last and besides Me there is no God” (Isaiah 44:6). “Provide for yourselves men who are wise, understanding, and known to your tribes, and I will place them at your head” (Deuteronomy 1:13). The Rabbis said: Come and see, when Moses was appointed over them, he said to them: ‘I am unable to bear your burden by myself; instead, appoint judges for yourselves, so that they will judge you,’ as it is stated: “Provide for yourselves men…” Rabbi Berekhya said in the name of Rabbi Ḥanina: Judges must have seven attributes, and they are: “Wise, understanding, and known to your tribes,” and four [additional attributes], as it is written elsewhere: “You shall identify from all the people [accomplished men, fearers of God, men of truth, haters of ill-gotten gain]” (Exodus 18:21). Why were the seven not written at once? It is [to indicate] that if [individuals] with the seven [attributes] are not found, one brings [individuals] who have four. If [individuals] with four are not found, one brings [individuals] who have three. If [individuals] with three are not found, one brings [individuals] with one, as so it is written: “An accomplished woman who can find?” (Proverbs 31:10).17This indicates that it is difficult to find even one individual who is accomplished, and being acccomplished is but one of the seven attributes that one should look for in a judge; if one finds one with this characteristic, one should appoint him (see Etz Yosef; Anaf Yosef). “And I will place them [vaasimem] at your head” – vaasimem is written without a yod.18Thus, it can be read vaashamam, their guilt. Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi said: Moses said to them: ‘If you do not heed them, the guilt will be on your heads.’ To what is the matter comparable? To a serpent whose tail said to the head: ‘Until when will you go first? Let me go first.’ [The head] said to it: ‘Go.’ It went and encountered a water hole and cast [the head] into it. It went and encountered fire, and cast [the head] into the fire. It encountered thorns, and cast [the head] into them. What caused this? It is because the head followed the tail. So, when the lowly heed the great, [the great individuals] decree before the Omnipresent and He performs [their will].19They can pray and abolish any negative decrees that may have been decreed upon the people (Maharzu). But when the great follow the lowly, they fall [due to] those they are following. Another matter, Rabbi Hoshaya said: To what is the matter comparable? To a bride who was standing under her wedding canopy and her hands became sooty. If she wipes them on the wall, the wall will become sooty and her hands will not be cleaned; if [she wipes them] on the floor mosaic, the floor mosaic will become sooty and her hands will not be cleaned. But if she wipes them on her hair, her hair will be beautified and her hands will be cleaned. So, when Israel heed their great ones, and their great ones do not attend to their needs,20If they do not provide proper leadership. the guilt is on the head of the great ones, but if not, [the guilt] will be on their own heads. Rabbi Yitzḥak said: When Israel heed their great ones and their great ones do not attend to their needs, at that moment: “The Lord will enter into judgment with the elders of His people and its princes” (Isaiah 3:14). Why to that extent?21This question refers back to what was stated at the beginning of this passage (Devarim Rabba 1:10), that one should not judge alone (Maharzu). Because the burden of the congregation is very difficult, and no one person is capable of bearing the burden of the congregation by himself. Know that this is so, as Moses, master of all the prophets, was unable to bear the burden of the congregation by himself. From where is it derived? “I spoke to you at that time [saying: I am unable to bear you alone]” (Deuteronomy 1:9). At what time? Rabbi Yoḥanan said: At the time of Yitro’s [visit]. From where is this derived? As it is written: “As the matter is too arduous for you; you cannot do it by yourself” (Exodus 18:18). Rabbi Ḥiyya said: At the time of the complainers, as it is stated: “I cannot bear this entire people alone, because it is too heavy for me” (Numbers 11:14). “Did I conceive [this entire people; did I give birth to it?]” (Numbers 11:12) – Rabbi Berekhya said in the name of Rabbi Levi: [Moses] said before Him: ‘Master of the universe, you said: “Who have been borne [by Me] from birth, [who are carried from the womb]” (Isaiah 46:3) – it is appropriate for You to bear them.’ Moses said to Israel: ‘As you live, I am capable of bearing ten like you. Why, then, am I not capable of bearing you? It is because the Lord your God has multiplied you beyond the capability of your judges.’22Moses was capable of judging a nation ten times as large as Israel, but God bestowed upon them such blessing that they became haughty and could not bear to see another benefit at their expense, and therefore they would be quick to run to the judges to press their claims (Etz Yosef). From where is it derived? It is from what we read regarding the matter: “The Lord your God has multiplied you” (Deuteronomy 1:10).
