Philosophy:Collective Punishment/1/he
ענישה קולקטיבית
הקדמה
Questioning Hashem's Justice
בשני סיפורים בתורה, מנהיגים פונים לה' ומטילים ספק בצדקתו בהענשת חפים מפשע. אחרי שהוא שומע על החורבן סדום הממשמש ובא, אברהם זועק לה' "הַאַף תִּסְפֶּה צַדִּיק עִם רָשָׁע" (בראשית י"ח:כ"ג). באופן דומה, במהלך מרד קורח כאשר ה' אומר למשה "הִבָּדְלוּ מִתּוֹךְ הָעֵדָה הַזֹּאת וַאֲכַלֶּה אֹתָם כְּרָגַע", משה מגיב בשאלת: "הָאִישׁ אֶחָד יֶחֱטָא וְעַל כׇּל הָעֵדָה תִּקְצֹף" (במדבר ט"ז:כ"ב).
נראה כי גם אברהם וגם משה מוטרדים מהאפשרות שה' עלול להעניש החפים מפשע יחד עם האשמים. עם זאת, בשני הסיפורים לא ברור אם אפילו ה' באמת התכוון לעשות זאת, או אם הוא התחרט בסופו של דבר.1 האם ה' מסכים שעונש קולקטיבי הוא בעייתי מבחינה מוסרית, או שעונש כזה הוא למעשה חלק בלתי נפרד הצדק הא-לוהי?
מקרים של עונש קולקטיבי
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 would appear that innocents often suffer with the wicked:
- Divine punishments of Israel – At times, after part of the nation sins, Hashem seems to mete out undiscriminating punishments to the entire people. For instance, 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 (במדבר י"ד:ל"ה).
- Divine punishment of Gentiles – Hashem seems to do the same for non-Jewish nations, as evidenced by the killing of all the firstborns in Egypt, even though Paroh, and not they, was the one who enslaved the Israelites (שמות י"ב:כ"ט-ל').2
- Punishment via nature – Sometimes, Hashem punishes the people by bringing some form of natural catastrophe, כמו הרעב בימי דוד (שמואל ב' כ"א:א'-ב'), או המגפות לאחר חטא העגל (שמות ל"ב:ל"ה) וחטא בעל פעור (במדבר כ"ה:ט'). In such cases, it would seem that even righteous people suffered.
- Divine commands to punish – There are several places in the Torah where Hashem commands the people to enact collective punishments on others. These include the law to kill all inhabitants of a city of idolaters (עיר נדחת) (דברים י"ג:ט"ז) and the decrees to annihilate Amalek (דברים כ"ה:י"ט) and the Seven Nations (דברים כ':ט"ז).
- Vicarious punishment – Perhaps the most troubling of cases is when the sinner himself is not punished while others suffer in his stead. This was the case when Akhan took from the prohibited spoils of Yericho and thirty-six others died in the battle with Ai (יהושע ז':ה'),3 or when Hashem brought plague on Israel when David wrongfully counted the nation (שמואל ב' כ"ד:ט"ו).
- 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 טבח העיר שכם על ידי שמעון ולוי (בראשית ל"ד:כ"ה).4
All these cases beg the question: Is Hashem really not bothered when innocents suffer for the sins of others? Why is collective punishment justified? And if it is not, how are we to understand these stories?
שיקולים פילוסופיים
The concept of collective punishment and reward is intricately related to several other philosophical issues:
- צדיק ורע לו – The question of why bad things happen to good people lies at the core of the problematic nature of collective punishment.5
- השגחת ה' – How does Hashem's providence work? Does He watch every individual and their specific actions or only over the collective? Which side of the debate one takes should naturally affect how ones views collective punishment.
- שכר ועונש – Do individuals get their just desserts in this world or only in the World to Come? Is there a difference between national and individual retribution? Is suffering in this world compensated for after death?
- תשועה קולקטיבית? Do the same rules apply for both reward and punishment? If an innocent person can share in the punishment of the wicked, can the wicked share in the good fortune of the righteous? [ראו תפילת אברהם עבור סדום for discussion of the justice or lack thereof in collective salvation, and how it compares to collective punishment.]
נסיבות מיוחדות
The above examples raise questions not only about the validity of collective punishment but also about its implementation:
- אחוזי החוטאים – What percentage of the group needs to be culpable for collective punishment to be enacted? Does it matter whether the guilty party comprises the majority or minority of the group?
- איזה עוונות? Are there specific sins which call for collective punishment while others call for individual retribution?
- הקב"ה מול בשר ודם – Is there a distinction between Divine and human inflicting of punishment?
- Direct vs. natural disaster – Is there a difference between cases in which the group suffers due to the bringing of a natural disaster and those in which Hashem actively targets the collective?
