The ratio between the severity of the punishment and the severity of the offense
Why is Shabbat more severe than Yom Kippur, why is stoning more severe than amputation? In my understanding, I understand that an amputation is a very severe punishment and does not always have a remedy, compared to stoning, which kills, an atonement?
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The punishment does not necessarily indicate the severity of the offense. Apparently the early scholars disagreed on this (Sefer Hasidim and Maimonides). Maimonides also cites four reasons for increasing the punishment, and only one of them is the severity of the offense. See, for example, From an article from last Saturday :
I wrote a large article about this years ago: The Doctrine of Halachic Punishment .
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Asks:
So then I wanted to understand why Shabbat is really more severe than Yom Kippur if the severity of the punishment does not indicate the severity of the act?
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Rabbi:
My statement was principled, but I can try to offer an explanation for the matter. For example, desecrating the Sabbath is seen as blasphemy against creation and the Creator. Yok is an important commandment but not essential to the actual worship of God. Therefore, a convert to the Sabbath is like a convert to the entire Torah.
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Asks:
It is presented in the name of the Ḥach, which at the end of Parashat Aḥari Mot brings two verses, one prohibiting the cutting of a brother’s hair on his sister, and the other prohibiting the cutting of a brother’s hair. About his wife Nida. The Rabbi says that these two verses show how problematic and far removed from the Torah’s view the majority of the people are. Mountains In the eyes of the public, if someone is caught committing adultery with his sister, he will be condemned and ostracized, and the general public will be very disgusted. But if someone is caught committing adultery with his wife, Nida’s attitude towards him will be much more forgiving – yes, they will condemn him and more, but much less, and they will also forgive him much more quickly – and I say about the rabbi that this is not true because the Torah punished both of them with exactly the same punishment – meaning that they are equally hated and those who do not treat it that way So he is with the land. I wanted to ask you what you think because I do think I would treat them differently, and for example I would treat Whoever comes upon a man’s wife is more severely punished than he who comes upon his own wife.
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Rabbi:
I disagree with him. First, the severity of the punishment does not indicate the severity of the offense. Second, there is a difference between moral severity and halakhic severity. Even if the punishment indicates the severity of the offense, it is halakhic severity and not necessarily moral.
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