We know the broad strokes from the Torah, but the rabbinic tradition, particularly as retold in Ginzberg's Legends of the Jews, fills in some fascinating details… details that reveal a lot about human nature, then and now.

The people, fresh from the Exodus, were supposedly thrilled with Moses' plan to establish a system of judges. But were their intentions entirely pure? According to the legends, not quite. Each Israelite, Ginzberg tells us, was thinking, "Okay, Moses is about to appoint like, eighty thousand officials. If I don’t get a spot, maybe my son will! Or my grandson! And with a little… persuasion… they can look out for my interests in court." Sound familiar? Self-interest, it seems, is a timeless human trait.

Moses, of course, wasn't blind to this. He saw right through their motivations. But, ever the leader, he didn't let it deter him. He went ahead and selected the best men he could find. Now, these weren’t perfect individuals. They didn't possess all the qualities that Jethro, Moses' father-in-law, had outlined as essential for judges. (Remember Jethro's advice? A whole checklist of wisdom, integrity, and impartiality.) But Moses worked with what he had.

And how did he inaugurate these new officials? With flattery! With "kindly words," Ginzberg writes, Moses invited them to assume their offices. "Blessed are ye," he declared, "that are judged worthy of being leader of the children of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, of a people whom God called His friends, His brothers, His flock, and other titles of love." A little ego-stroking never hurts, right?

But it wasn’t just about the warm fuzzies. Moses laid down some serious ground rules. He emphasized the importance of patience, telling them they shouldn't get frustrated if a case came before them multiple times. "Heretofore," he said, "you belonged to yourselves, but from now you belong to the people; for you judge between every man, and his brother and his neighbor." Big responsibility.

And then came the really crucial part: impartiality. “If ye are to appoint judges, do so without respect of persons,” Moses warned. Don't pick someone because they're handsome, strong, a relative, or a good talker. Why? Because, Moses explained, such judges might declare the innocent guilty and the guilty innocent, not out of malice, but out of ignorance. And God, according to this legend, would hold you accountable for such a perversion of justice.

He went on to give specific scenarios. What if a rich man and a poor man come before you? Don't think, "Oh, I'll just rule in favor of the rich guy, then tell him to secretly give the poor guy what he wants." And conversely, don't rule in favor of the poor guy just because the rich guy "can afford it." As we find in Sifre Deuteronomy 16, justice must be blind.

And perhaps the most powerful warning of all: “Do not, moreover, say: 'I fear to pronounce judgement, lest that man kill my son, burn my barn, or destroy my plants,' for the judgement is God's." Don’t let fear influence your decisions. True justice, in this view, requires courage and a recognition that ultimately, you're accountable to a higher power.

So, what does this tell us? It tells us that even in the earliest days of the Israelite nation, the struggle for justice was real. It wasn't just about having laws; it was about the fallible human beings interpreting and enforcing those laws. And it reminds us that the pursuit of justice, of tzedek (צֶדֶק), is a constant, ongoing process, one that demands vigilance, integrity, and a willingness to confront our own biases. It's a lesson as relevant today as it was in the time of Moses.