Philosophy:Collective Punishment/1/en
Collective Punishment
Introduction
Questioning Hashem's Justice
On two memorable occasions leaders turn to Hashem to question his justice in punishing the innocent. After being told of the impending destruction of Sedom, Avraham cries out to Hashem, "הַאַף תִּסְפֶּה צַדִּיק עִם רָשָׁע" (will you kill the righteous together with the wicked)? Similarly, during the rebellion of Korach, when Hashem tells Moshe to separate from the congregation, "and I will wipe them out", Moshe responds by asking, "הָאִישׁ אֶחָד יֶחֱטָא וְעַל כׇּל הָעֵדָה תִּקְצֹף"?
Both Avraham and Moshe seem to be bothered by the possibility that Hashem might collectively punish the innocent together with the guilty. It is not clear from either story, though, if this is what Hashem was really intending, nor if He changed His mind in the end. Does Hashem agree with them that collective punishment is wrong or is it part of His mode of justice?
Biblical Cases of Collective Punishment
The above cases are by no means the only stories in Tanakh in which there seems to be collective punishment. From the flood in the time of Noach to the present day exile it seems that innocents often suffer with the wicked:
- Divine punishments of Israel – After a part of the nation sins, Hashem often seems to mete out general, undiscriminating punishments. Thus, after the spies' report everyone aged twenty and up was decreed to die in the wilderness, apparently regardless of whether they individually joined in the murmurings.
- Divine punishment of Gentiles – Hashem seems to do the same for non Jewish nations, as evidenced by the killing all of the first borns in Egypt1 even though Paroh,and not they, was the one who decreed slavery.
- Punishment via nature – Sometimes, Hashem punishes the people by bringing some sort of natural catastrophe such as the famine in the time of David, or plague after the Sins of the Golden Calf and Baal Peor. In such cases, unless Hashem miraculously ensured that there be a distinction between innocent and guilty, it would seem inevitable that some righteous people suffered as well.
- Divine commands to punish – At times, rather than punishing by himself, Hashem commands the nation to enact collective punishments on others, such as the law to kill all members of a city of idolaters (עיר נדחת) or the decree to annihilate Amalek and the Seven Nations.
- Vicarious punishment – Perhaps the most troubling of cases is when the sinner himself is left unharmed while others suffer in his stead, as was the case when Achan took from the prohibited spoils of Yericho and 36 men from the nation died, or when Hashem brought plague on Israel when David wrongfully counted the nation.
- Human actions – In addition to the above examples where Hashem plays some role, there are also cases in Tanakh where humans act on their own to punish collectively. Most notable of these is the massacre of the city of Shechem by Shimon and Levi.
How are all these cases to be understood? Is Hashem really not bothered when innocents suffer for the sins of others?
More Questions
In what circumstances, if any, is collective punishment justified?
- Percentage of guilty – What percentage of the group need be culpable for collective punishment to be enacted? Does it matter whether the guilty party comprises the majority or minority of the group?
- Which sins? Are there specific sins which call for collective punishment while others call for individual retribution?
- Hashem vs. Man – Is there a distinction between Divine and human inflicting of punishment?
- Direct vs. Natural Disaster – Should one distinguish cases in which the group suffers due to the bringing of a natural disaster and those in which Hashem actively targets the collective?
- Collective salvation? Do the same rules apply for both reward and punishment? If suffering can be brought upon innocents within a group, can benefits be brought upon the nondeserving?
Philosophical Considerations
The question of collective punishment and reward is related to several other philosophical issues:
