[Avodah] bribes

[Micha Berger]

Didn't the topic shift from the permissability of bribing secular
officials to that of bribing dayanim?

I would agree with Zev that if the goal is to insure the right thing
is done, bribing a misguided or immoral gov't functionary is the right
thing to do.

Bribery is a violation of either "tzedeq tzedeq tirdof", which requires
not only pursuit of just ends, but using just means. (Thus the keifel
lashon, according to R' Elya Meir Bloch, the RY of Telzh.)

In addition to lifnei iver of "lo siqach shochad", which includes
even accepting a perutah to give the just and proper verdict you would
have anyway. I doubt the lifnei iver on batei din for Benei Noach
goes that far, though.

However, there are cases where it could be dechuyah, just like any other
mitzvah aside from "the big three". R' Chaim Brisker's famous case of
collecting money on Yom Kippur for pidon shevuyim for a Bundist who was
actually "guilty" of the charge of being a communist agitator.

I just objected to his use of "pure wickedness to prosecute someone
for paying a bribe, as the civil law does, since the payer often has no
choice in the matter" WRT describing a dechuyah. It's like calling it
"pure wickedness" to prosecute theft, since a poor person who is stealing
money for food has no choice in the matter.

:-)BBii!
-Micha

-- 
Micha Berger                 Time flies...
micha at aishdas.org                    ... but you're the pilot.
http://www.aishdas.org                       - R' Zelig Pliskin
Fax: (270) 514-1507