Reward and Punishment/1

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

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· Other 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 1:3, 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.  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 spend so much time delineating blessings and curses?

¹ See, for example, Shemot 15:26, Shemot 23:23-27, Devarim 4:40, Devarim 7:11-16. Devarim 11:8-9, 13-25 and many more.

² See, for example, Vayikra 26, Devarim 5:25, Devarim 6:1-3, Devarim 7:11-16, Devarim 11:13-25 and Devarim 28. . Most of these verses are prefaced with a statement to the effect of "וְהָיָה אִם שָׁמוֹעַ תִּשְׁמַע בְּקוֹל י״י" or "אִם בְּחֻקֹּתַי תֵּלֵכוּ", mentioning keeping Hashem's laws as a whole, but not specifying any one commandment.

³ See, for instance, rewards of longevity for honoring parents (Shemot 20:11), sending away the mother bird (Devarim 22:6-7), or for using proper weights in business (Devarim 25:15), Hashem's promise to punish one who sleeps with his uncle (Vayikra 20:20) or worships the Molekh (Vayikra 20:1-5), or blessings of prosperity for one who gives the tithe of the poor (Devarim 14:28-29) or loans to the disadvantaged (Devarim 15:7-10).

⁴ See also the parallels in Bavli KiddushinKiddushin 39bAbout the Bavli and Bavli ChulinChulin 142aAbout the Bavli.  In these versions the problem is even more acute, as the child goes to take the hatchlings at the request of his father, which should have earned him double reward  longevity and good life for both respecting his parent and for sending the mother bird away!

⁵ They speak of health and disease, rain and drought, war and peace, barrenness and abundance.

⁶ See, for instance, Shemot 15:26, 20:11, Vayikra 20:1-5, Devarim 4:40, 7:11, 12:, or 28.

⁷ See Vayikra 26, Devarim 5:25, 29, Devarim 11:8-9, 13-25 and Devarim 32:46-47.

⁸