BAIS HAVAAD ON THE PARSHA 5772 ~ PARSHAS YISRO ~The Criteria of a Dayan

This week's parsha discusses Yisro's visit to Bnei Yisroel in the desert. During this visit Yisro noticed that Moshe Rabbeinu was acting as the sole judge and arbitrator of monetary disputes, and he advised Moshe to appoint more judges to serve Bnei Yisroel. He also suggested what the criteria for choosing the judges should be.He advised choosing "G-d-fearing men, men of truth, and people who despise money." From here, along with a verse in Parshas Devarim, the Rambam (Hilchos Sanhedrin 2:7) derives a total of seven qualities that one must have in order to serve as a judge. Thus, the Shulchan Aruch (CM 7:11) rules that when choosing a Dayan to serve on a Beis Din, one must take care to appoint a person who possesses these seven attributes.