Difference between revisions of "Reward and Punishment/1"

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<p>&#160;פעם אחת היה יושב ושונה בבקעת גינוסר וראה אדם אחד עלה לראש הדקל ונטל אם על הבנים וירד משם בשלום למחר ראה אדם אחר שעלה לראש הדקל ונטל את הבנים ושילח את האם וירד משם והכישו נחש ומת אמר כתיב <span class="source-link">{<a class="source" title="דברים כ״ב" href="//mg.alhatorah.org/Devarim/22" target="_blank" data-book="Devarim" data-ref="22" data-mg-type="Tanakh" data-url="Devarim/22">דברים כב</a>}</span> שלח תשלח את האם ואת הבנים תקח לך למען ייטב לך והארכת ימים איכן היא טובתו של זה איכן היא אריכות ימיו של זה?</p>
 
<p>&#160;פעם אחת היה יושב ושונה בבקעת גינוסר וראה אדם אחד עלה לראש הדקל ונטל אם על הבנים וירד משם בשלום למחר ראה אדם אחר שעלה לראש הדקל ונטל את הבנים ושילח את האם וירד משם והכישו נחש ומת אמר כתיב <span class="source-link">{<a class="source" title="דברים כ״ב" href="//mg.alhatorah.org/Devarim/22" target="_blank" data-book="Devarim" data-ref="22" data-mg-type="Tanakh" data-url="Devarim/22">דברים כב</a>}</span> שלח תשלח את האם ואת הבנים תקח לך למען ייטב לך והארכת ימים איכן היא טובתו של זה איכן היא אריכות ימיו של זה?</p>
 
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<p>Elisha b. Avuyah asks, "Where is the good promised to this one?&#160; Where is his longevity?"&#160; We, too, wonder, why does it seem that Hashem promises but does not fulfill? The Gemara responds that the verses refer to rewards in the World to Come, but is that the simple sense of the text?&#160; If the Torah's blessings all refer to the spiritual world, why are the vast majority physical in nature?<fn>They speak of health and disease, rain and drought, war and peace, barrenness and abundance.</fn></p>
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<p>Elisha b. Avuyah asks, "Where is the good promised to this one?&#160; Where is his longevity?"&#160; We, too, wonder, why does it seem that Hashem promises but does not fulfill? The Gemara responds that the verses refer to rewards in the World to Come, but is that the simple sense of the text?&#160; If the Torah's blessings all refer to the spiritual world, why are the vast majority physical in nature?<fn>They speak of health and disease, rain and drought, war and peace, barrenness and abundance.</fn> If, though, they refer to this world, why are they not always evident?</p>
  
 
<h2>Collective or Individual</h2>
 
<h2>Collective or Individual</h2>
<p>At whom are Torah's blessings targeted&#160;– the individual or the collective?&#160; Some verses are formulated in the singular,<fn>See, for instance, Shemot 15:26, 20:11, Vayikra 20:1-5, Devarim 4:40, 7:11, 12:, or 28.</fn> perhaps suggesting the former, but many others are addressed in the plural.<fn>See Vayikra 26, Devarim 5:25, 29, Devarim 11:8-9, 13-25 and Devarim 32:46-47.</fn>· Other passages, such as&#160;<a href="Vayikra20-1-5" data-aht="source">Vayikra 20:1-5</a> or <a href="Devarim29-17-20" data-aht="source">Devarim 29:17-20</a>&#160; explicitly target the individual for retribution.&#160; Should these be considered the exception or the norm?&#160;&#160; On the other hand, many other verses speak of recompense such as rain, famine or war,<fn></fn> which would seem to naturally affect the collective.&#160; Are the verses suggesting that these phenomena will behave as they normally do, and thus, by definition, it is the nation rather than the individual who will suffer or be blessed? Or, might rewards and punishments be miraculous, so that a righteous individual might benefit from peace and rain, while his wicked neighbors do not?&#160;</p>
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<p>At whom are Torah's blessings targeted&#160;– the individual or the collective?&#160; Some verses are formulated in the singular,<fn>See, for instance, Shemot 15:26, 20:11, Vayikra 20:1-5, Devarim 4:40, 7:11, 12:, or 28.</fn> perhaps suggesting the former, but many others are addressed in the plural.<fn>See Vayikra 26, Devarim 5:25, 29, Devarim 11:8-9, 13-25 and Devarim 32:46-47.</fn>· A few passages, such as&#160;<a href="Vayikra20-1-5" data-aht="source">Vayikra 20:1-5</a> or <a href="Devarim29-17-20" data-aht="source">Devarim 29:17-20</a>, explicitly target the individual for retribution.&#160; Should these be considered the exception or the norm?&#160;&#160; On the other hand, many other verses speak of recompense such as rain, famine or war,<fn></fn> which would seem to naturally affect the collective.&#160; Are the verses suggesting that these phenomena will behave as they normally do, and thus, by definition, it is the nation rather than the individual who will suffer or be blessed? Or, might rewards and punishments be miraculous, so that a righteous individual might benefit from peace and rain, while his wicked neighbors do not?&#160;</p>
  
<h2>Spiritual or Physical</h2>
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<h2>"עַל מְנָת לְקַבֵּל פְּרָס"</h2>
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In <multilink><a href="MishnaAvot1-3" data-aht="source">Avot 1:3</a><a href="MishnaAvot1-3" data-aht="source">Avot 1:3</a><a href="Mishna" data-aht="parshan">About the Mishna</a></multilink> Antigonus makes the well known statement, "אַל תִּהְיוּ כַעֲבָדִים הַמְשַׁמְּשִׁין אֶת הָרַב עַל מְנָת לְקַבֵּל פְּרָס", asserting that one should not serve Hashem out of hopes of reward.<fn>Cf. <multilink><a href="SifreDevarim11-22" data-aht="source">Sifre Devarim</a><a href="SifreDevarim11-22" data-aht="source">11:22</a><a href="Sifre Devarim" data-aht="parshan">About Sifre Devarim</a></multilink> and <multilink><a href="BavliNedarim62a" data-aht="source">Bavli Nedarim</a><a href="BavliNedarim62a" data-aht="source">Nedarim 62a</a><a href="Talmud Bavli" data-aht="parshan">About the Bavli</a></multilink> which similarly suggest that one should not learn Torah for glory or other reward.</fn>&#160; How, though, does this jive with the dozens of verses which promise exactly that? If the ideal is that one observe commandments regardless of retribution, why does Hashem devote so much press space to delineating blessings and curses? Might the rewards listed serve a purpose other than retribution?&#160; Or, Antigonus' words notwithstanding, is it possible that really there is nothing wrong with hoping for one's just due?<fn>See <multilink><a href="BavliPesachim8a-b" data-aht="source">Bavli Pesachim</a><a href="BavliPesachim8a-b" data-aht="source">Pesachim 8a-b</a><a href="Talmud Bavli" data-aht="parshan">About the Bavli</a></multilink> which states that someone who gives charity so that his son will live or he will be rewarded in the Next World is considered a "צדיק גמור", assuming that there is nothing wrong with performing good deeds in order to receive future blessings.</fn>
  
<h2>"עַל מְנָת לְקַבֵּל פְּרָס"</h2>
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<h2>Other Questions</h2>
In <multilink><a href="MishnaAvot1-3" data-aht="source">Avot 1:3</a><a href="MishnaAvot1-3" data-aht="source">Avot 1:3</a><a href="Mishna" data-aht="parshan">About the Mishna</a></multilink> Antigonus makes the well known statement, "אַל תִּהְיוּ כַעֲבָדִים הַמְשַׁמְּשִׁין אֶת הָרַב עַל מְנָת לְקַבֵּל פְּרָס", asserting that one should not serve Hashem out of hopes of reward.&#160; How, though, does this jive with the dozens of verses which promise just that? If the ideal is that one observe commandments regardless of retribution, why does Hashem devote so much press space to delineating blessings and curses?
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<li><b>Physical or spiritual&#160;</b>–&#160; Almost all the rewards and blessings of the Torah are physical in nature.<fn>There might be several exceptions.</fn>&#160; Why does Hashem not also promise spiritual rewards? Moreover, if the World to Come is considered the ultimate reward, why is it never explicitly mentioned in Torah?</li>
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Version as of 13:02, 5 January 2021

Reward and Punishment

Introduction

This topic has not yet undergone editorial review

A Plethora of Blessings and Curses

Torah is replete with promises of both rewards for obedience and punishment for transgression. These are perhaps most evident in Vayikra 26 and Devarim 28 which each contain a full list of blessings and curses, but many other individual verses,1 too, similarly promise recompense, including health, rain, peace, longevity, prosperity and more. In the vast majority of cases, retribution is promised in the context of general observance,2 but in other instances, specific mitzvot are singled out as meriting reward or punishment.3

"?היכן טובתו של זה"

Despite the plethora of promises, however, experience suggests that not all who observe Hashem's commands reap the benefits described.  The problem is raised in Yerushalmi Chagiga 2:1Chagigah 2:1About the Yerushalmi4 through the mouth of Elisha b. Avuyah.  He witnesses an individual fulfilling the directive to send away the mother bird, a commandment whose stated reward is longevity, and yet finds that the man dies upon descent:

 פעם אחת היה יושב ושונה בבקעת גינוסר וראה אדם אחד עלה לראש הדקל ונטל אם על הבנים וירד משם בשלום למחר ראה אדם אחר שעלה לראש הדקל ונטל את הבנים ושילח את האם וירד משם והכישו נחש ומת אמר כתיב {דברים כב} שלח תשלח את האם ואת הבנים תקח לך למען ייטב לך והארכת ימים איכן היא טובתו של זה איכן היא אריכות ימיו של זה?

Elisha b. Avuyah asks, "Where is the good promised to this one?  Where is his longevity?"  We, too, wonder, why does it seem that Hashem promises but does not fulfill? The Gemara responds that the verses refer to rewards in the World to Come, but is that the simple sense of the text?  If the Torah's blessings all refer to the spiritual world, why are the vast majority physical in nature?5 If, though, they refer to this world, why are they not always evident?

Collective or Individual

At whom are Torah's blessings targeted – the individual or the collective?  Some verses are formulated in the singular,6 perhaps suggesting the former, but many others are addressed in the plural.7· A few passages, such as Vayikra 20:1-5 or Devarim 29:17-20, explicitly target the individual for retribution.  Should these be considered the exception or the norm?   On the other hand, many other verses speak of recompense such as rain, famine or war,8 which would seem to naturally affect the collective.  Are the verses suggesting that these phenomena will behave as they normally do, and thus, by definition, it is the nation rather than the individual who will suffer or be blessed? Or, might rewards and punishments be miraculous, so that a righteous individual might benefit from peace and rain, while his wicked neighbors do not? 

"עַל מְנָת לְקַבֵּל פְּרָס"

In Avot 1:3Avot 1:3About the Mishna Antigonus makes the well known statement, "אַל תִּהְיוּ כַעֲבָדִים הַמְשַׁמְּשִׁין אֶת הָרַב עַל מְנָת לְקַבֵּל פְּרָס", asserting that one should not serve Hashem out of hopes of reward.9  How, though, does this jive with the dozens of verses which promise exactly that? If the ideal is that one observe commandments regardless of retribution, why does Hashem devote so much press space to delineating blessings and curses? Might the rewards listed serve a purpose other than retribution?  Or, Antigonus' words notwithstanding, is it possible that really there is nothing wrong with hoping for one's just due?10

Other Questions

  • Physical or spiritual –  Almost all the rewards and blessings of the Torah are physical in nature.11  Why does Hashem not also promise spiritual rewards? Moreover, if the World to Come is considered the ultimate reward, why is it never explicitly mentioned in Torah?