Judaism, justice and collective punishment

“Far be it from You to do a thing such as this, to put to death the righteous with the wicked so that the righteous should be like the wicked. Far be it from You! Will the Judge of the entire earth not perform justice?"

These powerful words, uttered by Avraham in last week’s parashah as part of his negotiation with God over the fate of Sodom, would seem to represent a basic biblical concept of justice and fairness. A far more succinct parallel to this principle is stated by Moshe and Aharon later in the Torah in the context of Korach’s rebellion: "O God, the God of the spirits of all flesh, if one man sins, shall You be angry with the whole congregation?".

Is it so clear, however, that Judaism rejects the notion of collective punishment?

Later on in the book of Bereishit we find Shimon and Levi put the city of Shechem to the sword in response to the crime of its leader. While Ya’akov is critical of their actions, his primary objection appears to be a lack of consideration of the political consequences rather than a miscarriage of justice. Furthermore, as one of my young children once asked me on Seder night, are we to understand that every single one of the Egyptians was participating in the brutal persecution of the Jews and therefore deserving of such severe divine punishments?

In a recent podcast (as part of his highly recommended new series of ten-minute daily Tanach shiurim linked in first comment), Rav Alex Israel offered a fascinating insight which may provide a key for resolving such questions. The immediate context is his commentary on the seventh chapter of the book of Joshua, in which Achan sins by stealing from spoils of war that have been set aside as a tribute to God. Despite the fact that this theft appears to have been perpetrated by one man alone, God attributes his sin to the entire nation and reveals it to be the cause for a military loss in the initial battle for the city of Ai.

The reason why the nation is blamed and punished collectively for Achan’s sin, suggests Rav Alex, is that it would not have occurred in a vacuum. Drawing profound lessons to our own times (this shiur was given on the anniversary of Yitzchak Rabin’s assassination), he explains how on certain occasions a community at large can be swept along a certain sinful path. While only one person may ultimately cross over the line to commit a serious sinful act, this person would not have reached this point had it not been for his community’s encouragement and erroneous orientation. In such a scenario, the whole community is culpable for the sin under the maxim of kol Yisrael areivim zeh lazeh (all of Israel are guarantors for one another) – it is not considered collective punishment of the innocent.

A similar formula might be used to explain why the entire town of Shechem were punished for the actions of their leader. It is only because of the culture of immorality and impunity which was fostered among the wider populace that Shechem considered that he could act as he did with Dina. Shimon and Levi are nevertheless severely criticised by Ya'akov on his death bed for their violent actions. It would seem that it is only God, who knows the thoughts and intentions of all humans, who is able to judge a community all deserving of a collective punishment.

The moral lesson which emerges requires us to examine our actions and speech not just in terms of their own technical correctness, but also as to the potential impact that they are likely to have on others. If people can potentially be radicalised or deem what we say as supporting violence or hatred towards others, the Torah will hold us collectively responsible for their sinful actions.

First posted on Facebook 16 November 2022, here.