Q&A: The Relation Between Punishment and Offense
The Relation Between Punishment and Offense
Question
1. I don’t understand why the severity of the punishment is not proportional to the severity of the offense!?? How can it be that someone who merely lights a candle on the Sabbath is liable for death, while someone who steals a million euros from another person is only liable for double payment.
Except if we say that the ways of God are hidden and entrusted to Him, and in fact the relationship really is proportional, but the deficiency is in us, because we do not properly understand the severity of the different offenses we commit, and in truth desecrating the Sabbath is more severe than robbery.
But I don’t really like answers like that
Answer
Are you referring to some article or column? If so, it’s worth mentioning that, both for my benefit and for the benefit of the readers.
My claim in the article about punishment is that sometimes the punishment addresses the type of offense, and therefore relates to it by its kind and not necessarily by its severity. If the purpose of the punishment is to serve as a sanction for the offense, then it makes sense for there to be a proportion between the severity of the offense and the severity of the punishment. But if it is a matter of type (for example, certain forms of punishment atone for a certain type of offense), then not necessarily.
I’m not referring to one. In which article do you write that claim?