Rambam - Sefer HaMitzvos: Negative Mitzvah 291: Negative Mitzvah 291

Negative Mitzvah 291: A witness must not serve as judge
Numbers 35:30 "But one witness shall not testify against a person causing him to die"

A judge must be willing to consider all sides of a case and make very sure that an innocent man is not punished.

If a person saw a man commit murder or a theft, do you think that he would be willing to think of ways to declare that man not guilty?

Therefore, this Negative Mitzvah forbids a witness from also serving as a judge. He may only give testimony.

He also cannot add other information to his testimony that might influence the verdict.

Belief is not enough -- you need Trust. A believer can be a thief and a murderer. Trust in G-d changes the way you live.

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There are some who are afraid of a new age. They wonder, "What will happen to my career? My whole lifestyle will have to change! What about all the acquaintances and connections I've spent a lifetime building? And what about all my worldly possessions, my retirement plan, my investments? Will they take my car away?" Even these people have nothing to fear. The Age of Moshiach is not something separate from our times. It is pieced together from everything we do now, and all that we know of shall remain. Only the negativity will vanish, and the G-dliness within each thing will be obvious for us to see.

From: Bringing Heaven Down to Earth by Tzvi Freeman - tzvif@aol.com