By Rabbi Berach Steinfeld
In Devarim 17:18 the passuk tells us that there should be Judges in every city. In the end of Parshas Reeh the passuk says that one should give tzedakah like the Bracha that Hashem shared with you. The Baal HaTurim says that from the fact the Torah has these pesukim next to each other, we learn that Judges are required to give tzedakah to a poor person. The question arises, the passuk in Shmos 23:3 says that a poor person should not be shown preference in a Din Torah as Rashi explains that one should not try to get the poor person to be innocent, thereby winning the case, but rather the case is judged on it’s merits. If so, how can we say the Judges are required to show preference for a poor person?
The first answer could be is that there is a special mitzvah on Bais Din to enforce that the communities should give tzedakah!
The second tirutz is based on Gemara in Bava Metziya 24b and it is also paskened in Shulchan Aruch Choshen Mishpat 259:5 that if one finds a lost object in a place where most of the people living there are non-Jews, one can keep the aveida for himself. As there is yiush even if a Jew gives simanim nevertheless, he knows the majority of people there are not Jewish so he is meyaesh. But the Shulchan Aruch says that it is good and proper to do lifnim mishuras HaDin to return it to the Jew who gives a siman. The Rema adds that this applies only where the one who lost the object is poor. But in the case where the one who lost it is rich and the finder is poor, he would not be required to do lifnim mishuras HaDin. This would explain the Baal HaTurim that the rules would vary if the finder or the loser is poor.
A third answer could be, if one finds two lost objects and they are both the same value. But he can only return one of them. One belongs to a poor person, and one belongs to a rich person. It would be obvious he should return the one belonging to the poor person! This would only apply if both lost objects were of the same value. But in the case where the rich man’s lost object is worth more than the poor man’s object, he should return the rich man’s object because there is a separate mitzva for each pruta of the aveida!
The fourth and final answer is that one who is ameil baTorah his learning serves as a gemilas chessed for all of klal Yisroel. Bais Din by meting out the laws of the Torah are in effect helping all the poor Yidden who are not as learned as them. Thereby being gomlei chessed with all Yidden.
May we all be zocheh to keep the Mitzvos of Tzedaka and Chessed!