The idea of empathy as an important element in judgment is perhaps most aptly captured in Maimonides’ code of law, the Mishnah Torah.
In a section describing the qualities of judges, Maimonides rules that “One may not appoint to the Sanhedrin [the supreme rabbinic court] one who has no children — in order to ensure that he will be compassionate” (Mishnah Torah, Laws of Sanhedrin 2:3). Though the requirement may not seem politically correct today, Maimonides believed a judge must have a parental nature. Indeed, this very empathic parental instinct seems to be critical for the execution of justice itself.
