Reward and Punishment/2

Reward and Punishment

Exegetical Approaches

This topic has not yet undergone editorial review

Individuals Rewarded in this World

Individuals are compensated for their actions already in this world, and not only in the next world.

Sources:perhaps Ibn Ezra, perhaps Rambam in his Commentary on Mishna PeahCommentary on the Mishna Peah 1:1About R. Moshe b. Maimon, ?kuzari ?ibn Kaspi, Sefer HaIkkarim4:104:114:294:304:33About R. Yosef Albo, NetzivVayikra 26:3Devarim 5:29Devarim 6:24Devarim 22:7About R. Naftali Tzvi Yehuda Berlin, R. David Zvi HoffmannShemot 20:11Devarim 6:25About R. David Zvi Hoffmann

Total or partial compensation?

Individuals Not Rewarded in this World

Individuals do not receive true retribution in this world, getting their just desserts only in the next world.

Sources:R. Yaakov in Bavli KiddushinKiddushin 39bKiddushin 40bAbout the Bavli and Bavli ChulinChulin 142aAbout the Bavli, ?R. Saadia GaonCommentary Bereshit 6:7HaEmunot VeHaDeiot 6:5HaEmunot VeHaDeiot 8:2HaEmunot VeHaDeiot 9:1About R. Saadia Gaon¹, RambamCommentary on the Mishna Peah 1:1Commentary on the Mishna Sanhedrin 10:1Commentary on the Mishna Avot 1:3Hilkhot Teshuvah 8:1-3Hilkhot Teshuvah 8:5-8Hilkhot Teshuvah 9Hilkhot Teshuvah 10:1-2Hilkhot Teshuvah 10:4-5Moreh Nevukhim 3:18Moreh Nevukhim 3:27Moreh Nevukhim 3:28Moreh Nevukhim 3:51About R. Moshe b. Maimon, R. YonahAvot 4:2About R. Yonah b. Avraham Gerondi, ?R. BachyaVayikra 26:9About R. Bachya b. Asher, RalbagVayikra 26:4-5Devarim 5:29Devarim 6:24-25Devarim 22:7Shemot Beur HaParashah 20:11Shemot Toalot 23:25Vayikra Toalot 26:3Devarim Toalot 6:24Milchamot Hashem 4:4Milchamot Hashem 4:6About R. Levi b. Gershom, RanDerashot HaRan 8About R. Nissim Gerondi, R. Chasdai CrescasOr Hashem 2:2:4About R. Chasdai Crescas, AbarbanelShemot 20:11Vayikra 26:3Devarim 4:15Devarim 22:6Devarim 32 IntroductionNachalat Avot Mishna Avot 1:3About R. Yitzchak Abarbanel

Ultimate reward: physical or spiritual? The Rambam opines that true reward can only be spiritual in nature, for physical rewards are meaningless to the soul and pale in comparison. As such, it is impossible to be fully rewarded in this life; retribution must of necessity come only in the next world where the righteous merit to commune with Hashem (נֶהֱנִין מִזִּיו הַשְּׁכִינָה) and the sinners are cut off.²  This understanding of the primacy of spiritual reward might be one of the main philosophical motivations for the Rambam.

Other philosophical motivations – Several other philosophical assumptions and issues might further influence this reading of reward and punishment:

• Hashem's providence – According to many of these sources,³ though there is individual Divine providence, not all merit it to the same degree,⁴ and in general, the world is run via natural law rather than such providence. In such a world, it is difficult to reward an individual for his personal deeds, as this will often necessitate intervening in nature.  For example, if one deserves rain, but his neighbors do not,⁵ making the individual's crops grow while the neighbors' suffer drought requires a miracle.
• Reality that appears to contradict the Torah – These sources might also be motivated by their perceptions of reality, in which often individuals do not appear to receive the rewards promised by Torah despite mitzvah observance.⁶  Positing that the Torah does not promise individual retribution in this world resolves the seeming contradiction.⁷

Is not deferred retribution unjust? One might question the justice of deferred retribution.  If a person sins or acts righteously in this world, should he not get his due in this world as well?  Is it fair that one needs to wait for one's reward?  Rambam appears unperturbed by the question, assuming that the magnitude of the good of the next world renders all rewards of this world negligible.⁸ Others might suggest that since this and the next world are really one continuum⁹, there is no injustice in meting out recompense in one world for deeds done in the other.

Biblical blessings – The Torah's many promises of reward and punishment, especially those which are physical in nature and thus appear to refer to compensation in this world,¹⁰ present a difficulty for this position which assumes that there is no such retribution:

• Collective recompense – R. Crescas¹¹ responds that the retribution spoken about in the verses is for the collective, and refers to national rather than individual rewards. This is supported by the collective nature of the vast majority of the Torah's blessings and curses, which speak of war, rain, plague, famine and the like.¹²  In addition, many verses appear to be addressing a group, being worded in the plural,¹³ and others, despite being worded in the singular, explicitly mention the nation.¹⁴  The collective context further implies that even surrounding verses which could theoretically be explained to refer only to the individual refer to the group as well.¹⁵
• Enablers – Rambam,¹⁶ in contrast, suggests that even individuals might in fact benefit from the promises of Torah,¹⁷ but maintains that these do not constitute rewards but rather enablers. A life free of troubles, sickness, and war will make it easier for people to observe Hashem's commandments,¹⁸ paving the way for one to earn real reward in the next world.¹⁹  
• Rewards of next world – R. Yaakov suggests that other promises such as "לְמַעַן יִיטַב לָךְ / לְמַעַן יַאֲרִכוּן יָמֶיךָ" in Shemot 20:11 or Devarim 22:7²⁰ refer to the next world.²¹  This, though, is somewhat difficult in light of the ending of the verse (and other similar ones) which explicitly add, "עַל הָאֲדָמָה אֲשֶׁר י״י אֱלֹהֶיךָ נֹתֵן לָךְ", suggesting that the promise applies to this world.²²  R. Bachya,

"וְשַׂמְתִּי אֲנִי אֶת פָּנַי בָּאִישׁ הַהוּא"

Why not reward the individual in this world?

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.  Though immediate reward and punishment is manifest in the Biblical and First Temple periods, it disappeared thereafter as Hashem's initial overt providence gradually became covert.

"עַל הָאֲדָמָה אֲשֶׁר י״י אֱלֹהֶיךָ נֹתֵן לָךְ"

¹ For the rambam, the biggest punishment is a soul ceasing to exist and losing the opportunity to

² For the Rambam, the biggest punishment is that a soul should cease to exist and lose the opportunity of joining in the spiritual good of the next world.

³ See

⁴ The more righteous one is (or the more in line with the Active Intellect), the more providence one will receive. Ralbag notes that, as a result, it is possible that some people might not merit any individual providence at all.  Even a basically good person, however, might not merit enough providence to merit Hashem's overturning of nature on  his behalf.

⁵ undefined

⁶ R. Yaakov's position is presented in the gemara as an answer to Elisha ben Avuyah's questioning of a real life scenario - where a son who both honors his father and observes the commandment of שילוח הקן, gets not long life as promised by the Torah, but early death!

⁷ By adding that the individual instead gets his just compensation in the next world, they address the associated problem of theodicy.

⁸ According to him, it is simply impossible to get full reward in this world, so there can be no question of injustice.

⁹ See R. Yaakov's statement in Mishnah Avot 4:16, "הָעוֹלָם הַזֶּה דּוֹמֶה לִפְרוֹזְדוֹר בִּפְנֵי הָעוֹלָם הַבָּא".

¹⁰ See, for instance the rewards and punishments promised in Shemot 15:26,  Vayikra 26, Devarim 7:11-16, Devarim 11:13-25,Devarim 28 or Devarim 29:21-27.  As these include agricultural blessings, promises of victory over enemies, abundance of children, and health, they would seem to relate to this world rather than the next.

¹¹ See also R. Elazar in Kiddushin 40bKiddushin 40bAbout the Bavli who notes that "the world is judged by the majority". This is also R. Shemuel EidelsMaharsha Chidushei Aggadot Kiddushin 39bAbout R. Shemuel Eidels (Maharsha)' understanding of R. Yaakov's position in Kiddushin, "די״ל לרבי יעקב דמודה דזכות הרבים ומעשיהם הטובים מביאים להם כל הברכות והטובות שנזכרו בתורה גם בעוה״ז וכן בהיפך בחטא הרבים אבל ר״י לא אמר כן אלא ביחיד".

¹² See, for instance, Shemot 23:27, Vayikra 26:3-12 / Vayikra 26:14-21, Devarim 7:16, Devarim 11:13-17, Devarim 28:1-13, 21-25, 49-63, and Devarim 29:21-27.

¹³ See, for example, all the blessings and curses of Vayikra 26.

¹⁴ See Devarim 7:14 ("בָּרוּךְ תִּהְיֶה מִכׇּל הָעַמִּים"), Devarim 28:9 ("יְקִימְךָ י״י לוֹ לְעַם קָדוֹשׁ") and Devarim 28:52 ("וְהֵצַר לְךָ בְּכׇל שְׁעָרֶיךָ בְּכׇל אַרְצְךָ"). Other verses () foretell how outsiders will view the fate of the country when the blessings / curses come to fruition, further supporting the idea that Biblical rewards are aimed at the group rather than the individual.

¹⁵ Thus, though the blessings of Devarim 28:3-8 are all worded in the singular ("בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה") and could easily refer only to individuals, the fact that they are followed by a discussion of how the nation will perceived after these have been bestowed, suggests that even the initial blessings of the list speak of the collective.  Similarly, though Shemot 23:26 refers to the removal of barrenness, a promise which might be understood to refer to an individual, the verse's addition of "in your land" ("לֹא תִהְיֶה מְשַׁכֵּלָה וַעֲקָרָה בְּאַרְצֶךָ") suggests that it is referring to a nation-wide phenomenon.

¹⁶ See also R. Yonah.

¹⁷ He does not appear bothered by the fact these promises do not appear to always come to fruition.

¹⁸ Rambam notes that this is the reason that all yearn for the Messianic age as well.  The peace that will mark the era will enable all to engage in torah and mitzvot, meriting all with the rewards of the next world.

¹⁹ The same is true for sinners.  Once someone has embarked on a path of evil, he is cursed with travails, making observance more difficult and paving the way for his true punishment in the next world.

²⁰ These verses refer to honoring one's parents and sending away the mother bird.  Similar blessings are mentioned for honesty in business dealings in Devarim 25:15, and for general observance of mitzvot in Devarim 5:25, Devarim 5:29, Devarim 6:24, Devarim 12:28 and Devarim 32:47.  Presumably, these verses, too, which speak of general good (and not specific physical rewards) could be understood to refer to the next world.

²¹ As these two verses speak of rewards for individual observance of specific mitzvot, (honoring parents and sending away the mother bird) they would seem to be referring to the individual rather than the collective, making these blessings more difficult to explain away.

²² Ibn EzraShemot Second Commentary 20:11About R. Avraham ibn Ezra, RalbagVayikra 26:4-5Devarim 5:29Devarim 6:24-25Devarim 22:7Shemot Beur HaParashah 20:11Shemot Toalot 23:25Vayikra Toalot 26:3Devarim Toalot 6:24Milchamot Hashem 4:4Milchamot Hashem 4:6About R. Levi b. Gershom, ShadalShemot 20:11Devarim 6:24About R. Shemuel David Luzzatto and Hoil MosheShemot 20:11About R. Moshe Yitzchak Ashkenazi regarding the reward for honoring parents.] 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 the nation to live in Israel and not be exiled.²² [Though these exegetes only address Shemot 20, the same logic could be applied to the other similar verses.  A society whose members care even for a mother bird and who are honest in business is one which will merit to thrive.]

²²