Inclining After the Majority

“Do not follow the majority to do wrong, and do not respond to a dispute by inclining toward the majority to bend justice.” Exodus 23:2. Even though this law is specifically talking about court cases, it also applies to our daily lives. In BT, Sanhedrin 3b, the sages say that this implies that the decision of a court should go with the majority vote. If there is a tribunal of three judges, then if two of them vote “guilty,” the decision is “guilty.”

But, the Mishna encourages anyone who stands up against the majority because of what he believes is right. In Mishna, Eduyot 1:5-6, the sages point out that Jewish tradition always records the opinion of the minority. This is because the minority may be right.

This is all a little abstract, so let’s simplify. No matter how many people disagree, always stand firm by what you believe is right. In the words of Socrates, “where a man has once taken up his stand…there he is duty-bound to stay and face the danger, taking no heed of death, or anything else, before dishonor” (from Plato’s Apology). Rather than allowing the majority to shape our opinion the Torah here calls for us to stand up for what we believe is correct.

This is the sin that Pilate is guilty of, when he “washed his hands before the multitude.” (Matthew 27:24)

This verse teaches us one more, very important thing. R. Judah (ztz”l) argues that if we are commanded not to follow the majority to do wrong, the Torah implies that we should go after the majority to do good (Mishna, Sanhedrin 1:6). We shouldn’t become so wrapped up in going against the flow that we ignore the times when the majority is right. We also should be proactive and actually do good deeds, most especially when the majority is with us.