Are Children Punished for Parents' Sins/3

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Are Children Punished for Parents' Sins?

Points of Dispute

These are some of the central points of dispute (נקודות המחלוקת) between the various exegetes:

  • Are the Parents Punished for Their Own Sins?
    • Yes – Bavli Makkot, Bemidbar Rabbah, Rambam, Radak, Ralbag, R"Y Nachmiash, Ohev Ger, R. Reggio, Hoil Moshe
    • Partially (distributed punishment) – Akeidat Yitzchak
    • Only if their descendants sin – Pesikta DeRav Kahana, Mishnat R. Eliezer 2nd possibility, R. Saadia
    • Only if their descendants are righteous – R. Yisrael b. Yosef
    • No – Mekhilta DeRashbi, Ibn Ezra, R"Y Bekhor Shor, Ramban, Meiri, Seforno
  • Types of Sins
    • All – Most commentators
    • Capital crimes – Akeidat Yitzchak
    • Idolatry – Mekhilta DeRabbi Yishmael, Rashi, Rambam, Radak, R. Avraham b. HaRambam, Ramban, R"Y Nachmiash, Abarbanel
  • Nature of the Punishment
    • All – Most commentators
    • Light punishment – Shadal
    • Death – R. Astruc
    • Wiping out blood line – Pesikta DeRav Kahana, Rashbam, Ibn Ezra, R"Y Bekhor Shor, Rambam, Ramban, Seforno, HaMeamer
  • "פֹּקֵד עֲוֹן אָבוֹת" – Mercy or Vengeance?
    • Mercy – Mekhilta DeRashbi, Pesikta DeRav Kahana, Mishnat R. Eliezer, Ibn Ezra, R"Y Bekhor Shor, Shadal
    • Vengeance – Rambam, Radak, R. Yosef Nachmiash, Malbim, HaMeamer, Cassuto
    • Both – R. Saadia Gaon, Ibn Kaspi, Akeidat Yitzchak
    • Neither (Natural Order) – Ralbag, Hoil Moshe
  • Adult Progeny or Minors
    • Even innocent adult children – Avot DeRabbi Natan, Mishnat R. Eliezer 1st possibility, Rambam
    • Just innocent minors – R. Astruc
    • Guilty adults + innocent minors – Radak, R"Y Nachmiash
  • Personal Reward and Punishment
    • Even in this world – Radak, R"Y Nachmiash
    • Only in the World to Come – R. Saadia Emunot veDeiot, R. Meir Wolf, R. D"Z Hoffmann
    • After Resurrection – R. Shelomo Astruc
  • Individual or National?
    • Individual only –
    • National only – Cassuto
    • Both – Radak, Ralbag, Akeidat Yitzchak, Hoil Moshe
  • Vayikra 20:5
    • Innocent adult children – R. Meir Wolf
    • Guilty family members – Sifra, Bavli Shevuot, Targum Pseudo-Jonathan, Rashi, Ralbag, Malbim
    • Minors –
    • Non-family accomplices – Onkelos, R"Y Bekhor Shor, R. Reggio
  • Confessing Sins of Parents
    • Sins of parents only – Shadal
    • Sins of children continued their parents – Sifra, Bavli Sanhedrin, Onkelos, Targum Pseudo-Jonathan, Rashi, Ralbag
    • Sins of children only – Ohev Ger
  • Immediate Recompense in Devarim 7:10
    • Sinner rewarded so will be punished in the World to Come – Onkelos, Targum Pseudo-Jonathan, R. Saadia Gaon, Rashi
    • Sinner punished – Rashbam, Ibn Ezra, Radak and R"Y Nachmiash
    • Sinner witnesses punishment of his descendants – R. D"Z Hoffmann
  • Individual Punishment in Devarim 24:16
    • Human courts – R. Saadia, Rashbam, Ibn Ezra, Radak, R. Avraham b. HaRambam, Ralbag, Ibn Kaspi, Shadal
    • Divine punishment – Bavli, Pesikta DeRav Kahana, Bemidbar Rabbah
    • Divine punishment when children follow path of parents – R"Y Bekhor Shor
  • Nation's Claim in Yechezkel 18
    • Righteous are punished for sins of others – R"E of Beaugency 1st interpretation, Radak, Ibn Kaspi
    • No reason not to sin as sinners go unpunished – Rashi, R. Yosef Kara, R"E of Beaugency 2nd interpretation
    • No point in repenting, as it will not help – Shadal
  • Prophecy of Yirmeyahu 31 and Yechezkel 18
    • Nation will recognize their sins and the opportunity to repent – Ibn Kaspi, Hoil Moshe
    • Nation will no longer sin – Radak, Malbim
    • Individual justice in the time of redemption –
    • Individual justice in the World to Come – R. Saadia
  • "פֹּקֵד"
    • Remember – Ibn Ezra, R"Y Bekhor Shor
    • Avenge – Onkelos, Targum Pseudo-Jonathan, Ramban
    • Store up – R. Yehuda in Mekhilta DeRashbi, Mishnat R. Eliezer 2nd possibility, R. Saadia according to R"Y Nachmiash's first possibility
    • Reduce – R. Saadia according to R"Y Nachmiash's second possibility
  • "עַל בָּנִים עַל שִׁלֵּשִׁים וְעַל רִבֵּעִים"
    • Only the first is punished if all are wicked – Mishnat R. Eliezer 2nd possibility
    • Only the fourth – Mekhilta DeRashbi, Ibn Ezra, R"Y Bekhor Shor
    • Either the second, third, or fourth – Ramban, Seforno
    • All four (the duration of the sinner's lifetime) – Rambam, R"Y Nachmiash, Akeidat Yitzchak, Abarbanel, HaMeamer, R. Reggio, Hoil Moshe
    • Many generations (round number) – Ibn Kaspi
    • Forever – R. Yishmael b. Yosef
  • "לְשֹׂנְאָי"
    • Parents – Ibn Kaspi, Shadal, R. D"Z Hoffmann
    • Children – Rashi, Rashbam
    • Both – perhaps Ibn Ezra and R"Y Nachmiash
  • "וְעֹשֶׂה חֶסֶד לַאֲלָפִים לְאֹהֲבַי"
    • Even if they sin – Cassuto
    • All non-idolaters – Radak, R"Y Nachmiash
    • Only if they are also righteous – Ibn Ezra, R"Y Bekhor Shor, Radak, R"Y Nachmiash, Shadal
    • Distributed – Akeidat Yitzchak
    • To all righteous people forever (unconnected to merits of Patriarchs or ancestors) – R. Reggio