Q&A: The Mechanism of Reward and Punishment in Judaism
The Mechanism of Reward and Punishment in Judaism
Question
Hello Rabbi,
Regarding the mechanism of reward and punishment in Judaism.
In principle there are two possibilities that look very similar, but I’m not sure whether one should receive punishment for them, and if not, then whether that is for the same reason.
First possibility: a person is obligated in a commandment but is not aware of it. Therefore, he does not intend to do it and does not do it.
For example: a person is asleep and misses the recitation of the Shema. The commandment applies to him, but he is not aware of it, so he does not intend to do it, and does not do it.
Second possibility: the person becomes obligated in two commandments simultaneously, but in practice can perform only one of them. This means that he does not intend to do the other commandment, and does not do it.
For example, a person wakes up late in the morning because of knocking at the door and looks through the peephole. He sees that it is a poor person who needs charity. So the commandment of charity applies to him. But when he comes to open the door he notices that the time for the commandment of reciting the Shema is just about to pass. He knows that he can do only one of the commandments, and he chooses to give charity to the poor person.
Now, in both possibilities the person did not fulfill the commandment of reciting the Shema. He did not intend to do the commandment, and he also did not do it. But in practice there are two different impediments here.
In the first possibility he did not perform the commandment because he was *not aware* at all, whereas in the second possibility he was aware and *deliberately* did not fulfill the commandment.
What does the Rabbi say: do they deserve to be punished for not performing the commandment? And is it for different reasons?
Answer
I don’t see the connection between the questions.
The first case is about a person who is in a situation of duress. That of course depends on the nature of the situation. If it is indeed a case of duress, then he is exempt. Is sleep considered duress? That is a different discussion, and perhaps it depends on what he knew when he went to sleep and whether he made sure he would wake up. And of course this requires discussion of the topic of placing oneself in a situation of duress.
The second case deals with one who is engaged in a commandment and is therefore exempt from another commandment. If the first commandment is time-sensitive (so that he will not be able to perform it unless he does it now), then he is exempt from the second.
Discussion on Answer
You’re asking whether punishment is given for the result, regardless of the transgression involved. That seems very unlikely. There is a discussion of this in Column 377. The Holy One, blessed be He, does not execute judgment without justice, so why would He punish a person who is not at fault? Especially in the case of someone engaged in a commandment, where Jewish law itself instructs him to act that way. Could it be that he would be punished for what Jewish law instructed him to do?!
I’ll try to sharpen my question.
I want to ask a theological question. Is it fitting for God to punish in either of these cases? This is not a halakhic question. It could be that from the standpoint of Jewish law the person behaved properly, but theologically God would still give punishment because a deficiency was created in the world.
My question is whether it is fitting for God to punish in cases of duress, and in cases of one who is engaged in a commandment and therefore exempt from another commandment, merely because of the deficiency that was created in reality?