Shnayim Yomi - Mishpatim - R'vi'i - #4 - Rabbi Akiva Zweig - Real Judges Depend on Hashem

The first P in the fourth aliyah says Elohim lo Elohim do not curse. Rashi tells us that this is actually a double intended prohibition in the Torah. One is a prohibition against cursing Hashem, cursing God, and the other is a prohibition against cursing a judge. And the question is, why should the same puk which talks about cursing a judge be the same phrase in the Torah that teaches us not to curse God? These seems to be two very different gravity of transgressions. I'd like to suggest that part of the prohibition against cursing Hashem is not only rejecting his goodness or that his existence is meaningful and purposeful, but it's also rejecting his authority. And what we have to know is that the concept of justice and any judge is built on the fact that there is Hashem. That's the only way that truth has absolute value. And that therefore justice is an absolute value. And so the Torah is telling us that the same prohibition that there is to curse God is to curse a judge and vice versa. Why? Because when we curse a judge, we are questioning or challenging the authority of Hashem's justice in the world. And when we curse Hashem, we're challenging Hashem's authority and any other justice systems authority. Because the truth of justice depends on the truth of the existence of Hashem and his purpose in the world to impart rules that are good for the world. And rejecting either one of them is a rejection of the other one of them. It's very important to understand that true justice can only be built on the truth of Hashem's existence.