"Let my judgment come forth from Your presence." "Rabbi Levi said: the Holy One, blessed be He, said to David, 'Have you set up a Sanhedrin to no purpose? Let them try you.' David answered Him: 'Master of the universe, You have written down in Your Torah (Exod. 23.8), 'You shall take no bribe,' They (the Sanhedrin) would be afraid to be guilty of accepting bribes when they try me. But You permit Yourself to be bribed, as it is said (Prov. 7.23), 'He shall accept a bribe from the bosom of the wicked.' And what is the bribe?--repentance, which the Holy One blessed be He receives from the evil-doers in this world, and also good deeds." The Holy One, blessed be He, said to Israel: My sons! Repent, while the gates of repentance are still open, for I shall accept bribes offered in this world, but not when I shall sit in judgment in the world to come, of which it is said (Prov. 6.35), 'He will not favor the offerer of bribes.' " (1)

It seems strange at first sight. What connection can there be between repentance and good deeds on the one hand and bribery on the other? If repentance should, by right, be ineffective in the world to come, what has this to do with bribery? Is not God the God of truth? The answer is that there are two factors by which God controls the world from above: the attributes of justice, and of kindness and compassion. Now, it is known that man's rewards and punishments in the world to come will be determined by the balance of his mitzvahs against the sins he had committed, as our sages have asserted: "If the majority of a man's deeds are righteous, he belongs in the category of righteous; if iniquitous, he belongs in the category of wicked'."

Every intelligent person understands that once God takes His seat on the throne of justice during a trial, then even a man whose merits were exceedingly numerous would leave the Heavenly court condemned (unless he had strained with all his might to fulfill all the mitzvahs in all their details). Every one of his mitzvahs would be subjected to meticulous scrutiny to determine whether it had conformed to every requirement of the law. Even what is normally hidden from view (the nature of his mental attitude at the time) would also be most carefully examined for the proper love, awe and joy at its performance, and the other factors required in every mitzvah, as it is written (2): "For God shall bring every work into the judgment concerning what is hidden..." Certainly He would find many mitzvahs the requirements of which were not completely fulfilled, and these would be excluded from the account. Then, consequently, the person's iniquities would outnumber his good deeds and he would, God forbid, be designated as wicked, in heaven. Even had he repented of certain sins, his repentance would be found, under scrutiny, to have been inadequate.

However, if the Holy One, blessed be He, then decided to deal with man in accordance with His attribute of kindness and compassion--although it would, certainly, make a great difference whether all the dictates of the mitzvah were obeyed or whether some details were overlooked--nevertheless, some redeeming feature would be found for his improper performance, and his merits would not be rejected. It is even conceivable that a person's iniquities might outnumber his meritorious acts. Yet, if God were to exercise the full measure of His compassion, the sins would be reduced in number. Assuredly, many of them could be termed unintentional or ascribed to some extenuating circumstance. Then, if these would be deducted from the iniquities, the person's merits would outweigh his faults and the name righteous would be assigned to him. Certainly, if he had repented of several of his misdeeds, his repentance would be accepted, imperfect as it may have been.

Of course, every person would like God to treat him with the attributesof kindness and compassion. Yet these divine attributes themselves are so exercised that they accord with the principles of justice. In so far as man's conduct in this world exemplifies these characteristics, so does he attract the corresponding attributes towards himself from the Heavenly sources. If, in his dealings with others, he is accustomed to act according to these attributes, he calls forth the Divine attributes of mercy, and then God has compassion on the world for his sake. Of necessity, man's soul is fed by the fruits of his conduct. Hence he deserves that God extend the same consideration to him when he stands in need of compassion. As our sages have declared (3): "Everyone who has compassion on his fellow creatures is himself granted compassion by Heaven."

So the holy Zohar expressed it: "The act below stimulates a corresponding activity above. If a man performs a worthy act on earth, he awakens the corresponding power above. Thus, if a man does kindness on earth, he awakens kindness above, and it rests on that day which is crowned therewith through him. Similarly, if he performs a deed of mercy, he crowns that day with mercy, and it becomes his protector in the hour of need . . . giving him measure for measure. Happy is the man who exhibits the proper conduct below, since all depends on his act to awaken the corresponding activity above."

If during his lifetime a person was in the habit of not foregoing anything of his own for another, of not having pity on others, he reinforces the attribute of Heavenly justice. So afterwards, when he is in need of such benefits, he is paid back with his own attitude. God deals with him with that attribute. This is the idea expressed in Isaiah (3.10): "Say of the righteous that it will be well with him; for they shall eat the fruit of their doings. Woe unto the wicked! It shall be ill with him, for the work of his hands shall be done to him."

Here then is what our sages intended to convey by declaring that the Holy One, blessed be He, accepts repentance and good deeds and bribes. "Good deeds" refer to the charity and kindness which one dispenses in this world. These acts cause one's repentance to be accepted in Heaven, even if it is inadequate from the point of view of pure justice. By his good deeds, while still alive, the person has drawn the Divine attributes of kindness and compassion towards himself. And so the very attribute of justice itself will be inclined to treat him with kindness--to give him full credit in the end for his repentance and all his mitzvahs.

Now we can appreciate why, throughout the Torah, God, may He be blessed, pressed man to embody this trait, for as is well known that (4) "God desires loving-kindness." God's desire is that his people be vindicated in their trials in the time to come and not, God forbid, be declared guilty. Therefore, many times over in the Torah, He commanded them to follow in all His ways, the paths of goodness and kindness, so that He will be able, in the end, to conduct himself towards them in accordance with this attribute.

FOOTNOTES:

(1) Yalkut on verse in Psalm 17
(2) Eccl. 12.14
(3) Shabbath 151b
(4) Micah 7.18