Measuring Motivations: Morality, Misdeeds, and the Month of Elul

The prohibition against accepting a bribe is not one of the Torah’s laws that anyone accuses of irrelevance. This week, the WSJ reported that since rising to power in 2012, Chinese paramount leader and president Xi Jinping has disciplined more than 7 million politicians, officials, and others for taking bribes and other offenses.[1] Since it prohibits a judge from accepting a bribe, the Torah appears to address only the receiver, not the giver, who would not transgress this prohibition. Rabbi Yosef Dov Soloveitchik (1820–1892), the Rabbi of Brisk and author known as the Beis Halevi, suggested that the basis is psychological. In a legal system that prohibits giving and taking bribes, an unscrupulous judge need not fear that his acceptance of bribes will be discovered, since the bribe supplier will maintain his confidentiality for fear of punishment himself. According to Halacha, however, no judge will be willing to accept a bribe and risk the disgrace of being exposed by a repentant briber [who need not fear repercussions].[2]

If you have strong enough willpower not to break your diet, that’s great. If not, remove the cookies from your house. A judge’s fear of exposure highlights the balance between cultivating internal motivations that prevent us from lapsing into sin and recognizing their limitations. Ideally, a judge will reject a bribe because of his ethical and halachic integrity. If that deterrent fails, there is a failsafe. The potential disgrace of public exposure serves as a safeguard to prevent his transgression. Similarly, as committed Jews, the more we maintain our religious, ethical, and moral compliance through internal motivations, willpower, and integrity rather than external pressure and deterrents, the better. But if they fail, do we have a backup plan, some safeguard to prevent total failure? As we approach the Days of Awe, the month of Elul can serve as a pit stop to assess what truly motivates us, whether we have a plan B in place for when motivation wanes, and how we can recalibrate before we soon hear the sound of the Shofar before the true Judge, the Judge who accepts no bribes.

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[1] Wong, Chun Han. “‘Moles’ Leak Official Secrets for Profit, Defying Beijing’s Corruption Crackdown.” The Wall Street Journal, 11 Aug. 2026, p. A7.

[2] Baker, Menachem. Parperaot Latora, Vol. V. Jerusalem, Omen, 1986. Pg. 141.