Are Children Punished for Parents' Sins/1/he
האם ה' פֹּקֵד עֲוֹן אָבֹת עַל בָּנִים?
הקדמה
נושאים מוסריים מטרידים
שני קטעים מפורסמים מעשרת הדברים1 ומשלוש עשרה מידות של רחמים2 use virtually identical language to describe Hashem's methods of administering justice:3
| עשרת הדברות (שמות כ':ה'-ו') | שלוש עשרה מידות (שמות ל"ד:ו'-ז') |
| לֹא תִשְׁתַּחֲוֶה לָהֶם וְלֹא תָעָבְדֵם כִּי אָנֹכִי ה' אֱ-לֹהֶיךָ אֵ-ל קַנָּא פֹּקֵד עֲוֹן אָבֹת עַל בָּנִים עַל שִׁלֵּשִׁים וְעַל רִבֵּעִים לְשֹׂנְאָי. וְעֹשֶׂה חֶסֶד לַאֲלָפִים לְאֹהֲבַי וּלְשֹׁמְרֵי מִצְוֹתָי. | וַיַּעֲבֹר ה' עַל פָּנָיו וַיִּקְרָא ה' ה' אֵ-ל רַחוּם וְחַנּוּן אֶרֶךְ אַפַּיִם וְרַב חֶסֶד וֶאֱמֶת. נֹצֵר חֶסֶד לָאֲלָפִים נֹשֵׂא עָוֹן וָפֶשַׁע וְחַטָּאָה וְנַקֵּה לֹא יְנַקֶּה פֹּקֵד עֲוֹן אָבוֹת עַל בָּנִים וְעַל בְּנֵי בָנִים עַל שִׁלֵּשִׁים וְעַל רִבֵּעִים. |
Both of these verses describe how the sin of parents is ultimately followed by the punishment of their descendants. As they give no explicit indication that the children sinned4 or that the parents receive any punishment,5 these texts ostensibly lead one to the conclusion that Hashem defers the dispensation of justice and punishes innocent generations of the sinner's descendants in place of the sinner himself. This understanding, while supported by various other Biblical passages,6 raises several troubling theological questions:7
- עונש קולקטיבי של המשפחה – Do these verses advocate a form of collective punishment in which innocent children suffer for sins which they didn't commit?8
- עונש קולקטיבי בין דורי – While collective punishment generally expands the scope of the punishment horizontally to include others alive at the time of the infraction,9 these passages extend it vertically to subsequent generations. But why should later generations pay the price for crimes that they might not have even been alive to witness?10
- Vicarious punishment – Even collective punishment only widens the circle of those punished, but does not absolve the sinner. Yet, in the above verses the Torah seems to imply that the sinner himself will escape personal harm11 and will be punished only vicariously through his descendants. How does this manifest Divine justice?
פסוקים סותרים
The principles of deferred, collective, and vicarious punishment implied by the above passages appear to place them in direct conflict with several other Biblical texts:
- דברים ז׳:י׳ states that Hashem immediately metes out justice to the sinner himself.12
- דברים כ"ד:ט"ז commands that children are not to be put to death for the sins of parents, but rather each person should be held responsible for their own actions.13
- ירמיהו ל"א:כ"ח-כ"ט prophesies how when Hashem redeems the Children of Israel, it will no longer be said that children are penalized for the sins of parents.
- יחזקאל י"ח describes in unequivocal terms the system of Divine justice, according to which only the sinner is punished, and no son is held liable for the wickedness of his father.14
What is the relationship between the two texts from Shemot15 and these four other Biblical texts? Can all of these passages be harmonized? Must any of them be reinterpreted? Does Hashem employ contrasting principles of justice in different situations? Is there a distinction between the Divine and human judicial systems? Is it possible that Hashem's doctrine of justice changed at some point in history, and if so, why?
התיעוד ההיסטורי
There are many cases in Tanakh which reflect the fulfillment of various facets of the principle of "פֹּקֵד עֲוֹן אָבוֹת עַל בָּנִים":
- Deferred punishment of the sinner – במקרים של עגל הזהב16 ודור המרגלים,17 punishment was postponed but ultimately meted out to the sinners themselves.
- עונש קולקטיבי של המשפחה18 – בסיפורים של דתן ואבירם ואמציה כהן בית אל, it appears that Hashem punished their children along with them.19 במקרים של עכן20 ויבש גלעד, the Israelites seemingly kill children along with the guilty parents.21
- עונש קולקטיבי בין דורי – במקרים של עלי וגיחזי,22 Hashem ostensibly punishes them and all of their future descendants.23
- Immediate vicarious punishment – בדוגמאות של דוד ובת-שבע וחיאל בית האלי,24 Hashem kills the children instead of the parents.25
- Intergenerational vicarious punishment – במקרים של ירבעם, אחאב,26 חזקיהו, ומנשה,27 the Divine punishment for their actions is realized only during future generations.28 The same is true in the story of צאצאי שאול והגבעונים, in which punishment is exacted from Shaul's descendants after his death.
One of the challenges is to explain why the principle is implemented in so many different ways. When is the punishment delayed and when is it exacted immediately? Why in some cases is just the sinner himself penalized, in others only his descendants pay the price, and in additional ones both the sinner and his offspring are punished? And what determines whether the punishment will be visited upon the second generation, the fourth generation, or upon all future generations for eternity?
