Reward and Punishment/2
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Reward and Punishment
Exegetical Approaches
Individual Recompense in Both Worlds
Individuals are compensated for their actions both in this world and the next world.
Total or partial compensation?
Individual Reward only in Next World
Individuals do not receive full retribution in this world, getting their just desserts only in the next world. The rewards of this world are meted out only to the collective.
Collective nature of Biblical blessings – According to this approach, the Torah's promises of physical, this worldly retribution apply only on the national level. As the vast majority of these blessings and curses, such as war/peace, rain/drought, prosperity/famine,1 are indeed collective in nature, this would seem to be the simple sense of the text. Some verses even explicitly mention the nation,2 while others foretell how outsiders will view the fate of the country when the blessings / curses come to fruition,3 further supporting the idea that Biblical rewards are aimed at the group rather than the individual.4
Rewards for individual observance – Certain verses speak of rewards for individual observance of specific mitzvot, such as honoring parents or sending away the mother bird. At first glance, and in contrast to this approach, these seem to imply that there is individual reward in this world as well. This position can explain such verses in one of two ways:
- Collective reward – Ibn Ezra, Ralbag, Shadal and Hoil Moshe all suggest that the blessing for honoring one's parents, "לְמַעַן יַאֲרִכוּן יָמֶיךָ עַל הָאֲדָמָה אֲשֶׁר י״י אֱלֹהֶיךָ נֹתֵן לָךְ" is a national one. Ralbag notes that a society in which people revere their parents is one in which people have respect for their elders, which in turn leads to general Torah observance, meriting them to live in Israel and not be exiled.5
- Reward in next world – R. Yaakov. instead
"וְשַׂמְתִּי אֲנִי אֶת פָּנַי בָּאִישׁ הַהוּא"
Physical Blessings
Why not reward the individual in this world?
Philosophical motivations
Nature of עולם הבא
Why isn't עולם הבא mentioned in the Torah?
Purpose of rewards / punishments
Is it problematic to hope for reward?
Changing Rewards
Hashem's modes of providence have changed over time. As the nation gradually moved from a miraculous to natural existence, Hashem's overt providence became covert. Immediate reward and punishment, thus, slowly disappeared over the First Temple period.
"עַל הָאֲדָמָה אֲשֶׁר י״י אֱלֹהֶיךָ נֹתֵן לָךְ"
No Rewards
The blessings promised in the Torah should be viewed as enablers or natural consequences rather than rewards.