Philosophy:Collective Punishment/2

Collective Punishment

Exegetical Approaches

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Only the Sinners are Punished

Hashem only punishes the deserving and does not collectively punish anyone for someone else's crime.

Sources:Bavli SanhedrinSanhedrin 108aAbout the Bavli, Bereshit Rabbah28:8About Bereshit Rabbah, TanchumaNoach 5Korach 7About the Tanchuma, Tanchuma (Buber)Noach 18About the Tanchuma, RashiBereshit 6:7Bereshit 6:12Bereshit 19:4Shemot 12:29Shemot 32:35Bemidbar 16:22About R. Shelomo Yitzchaki, R Yosef Bekhor ShorBereshit 6:9,12-13Bemidbar 14:29Bemidbar 16:19, 22About R. Yosef Bekhor Shor

Divine justice? This position is motivated by the understanding that justice demands that each person be punished for their own crime and not that of another.

Individual providence? This approach must maintain that Hashem watches over every being individually, and knows each of their actions so He can reward and punish each according to their deeds.

Biblical Cases of Collective Punishment

• The flood – These sources assert that the entire world was destroyed in the flood because, with the exception of Noach, everyone, animals included, had sinned.¹
• Sedom – Rashi points out that the verse specifies that "כָּל הָעָם מִקָּצֶה" surrounded Lot's house, proving that there was not even one righteous man amongst them.² R"Y Bekhor Shor asserts that had there been, Hashem would have saved them individually.³

Sedom

Plague of first-borns

Sin of golden calf and spies

Ir Nidachat

Achan and death of the 37

Plague in time of David

What about babies?

Slightly Guilty also Punished

When Hashem inflicts punishment, those who are totally innocent are never included.  However, individuals who are guilty by association, or culpable to even a small degree, might be included in the punishment of a worse sinner.

Sources:Bavli ShabbatShabbat 54b-55aAbout the Bavli, Radak, Rif on Yehoshua, Abarbanel on Korach

Even the Innocent Punished

Sometimes Hashem collectively punishes the entire group and the innocent suffer together with the guilty.

Sources:R. Saadia Gaon, Ralbag, Abarbanel, Malbim, Netziv

Why is this justified?

Individual providence?

Majority vs. minority of sinners?

Collective salvation?

Can humans also collectively punish?

¹ R"Y Bekhor Shor agrees that Noach was the only individual who walked uprightly, but explains the destruction of the world and animals differently.  Their demise was not due to their guilt but because their only purpose in creation was to serve man; thus, when mankind was destroyed so were they.  See Bereshit Rabbah28:6About Bereshit Rabbah.

² See similalry Ibn Ezra who understands Hashem's words "וְאֶרְאֶה הַכְּצַעֲקָתָהּ הַבָּאָה אֵלַי עָשׂוּ כָּלָה" to mean that Hashem was to check if all of Sedom's inhabitants had done evil.

³ Hashem was not willing to save the wicked if there were fewer than ten righteous in the city, but He would have still saved the righteous themselves.