Ask The Rabbi
March 5, 1994, Issue #13

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This edition contains:
1.	Being punished for the bad deeds of your ancestors

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J.B. from The States asks:

>Dear Rabbi,
>
>In Ki Tisa [last] week, I read that Hashem remembers good deeds for 
>thousands of generations.  However, the bad deeds  of the current 
>generation are carried onward for three or four generations.  This 
>infliction on those who are yet unborn or on those who are not directly 
>responsible for the bad deeds does not feel right to me .  Maybe you could 
>provide some positive thoughts.
>     
>Thank you and best regards,
>
>J.B.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Dear J.B.,

I agree with you that punishing innocents for crimes that others have 
committed doesn't seem fair.  The Talmud in Tractate Brachot discusses this 
issue and resolves it in the following way:

	"Behold it says: `He remembers the sins of the fathers 
	upon the children (Shemot 34:7)' and it says: `And the 
	children shall not die on account of their fathers 
	(Devarim 24:16).'  These verses apparently contradict 
	one another, but we reconcile them by saying that `there 
	is no difficulty,' one of them [Shemot] is talking about 
	when they are still holding on to the ways of their 
	parents and one [Devarim] is referring to when they are 
	not holding on to the ways of their parents."

So, according to the Talmud the verse that was troubling you is referring 
to children or grandchildren that are _continuing_ in their parents' ways.  
In the Book of Samuel II, there is an example of this.  At first glance the 
incident is a very troubling one.
     
We are taught that there was a famine during the reign of King David and 
that he was told that the reason for the famine was partially in response 
for the killing of Gibeonites by the house of King Saul.  The Gibeonites 
were a tribe of Amorites who had tricked the Israelites at the beginning of 
the conquest of Israel into making a treaty with them.  They masqueraded as 
a nomadic tribe from far-away, and the treaty was ratified.  Shortly 
afterward, the Israelites discovered the ruse and responded by making the 
Gibeonites a caste of wood-choppers and water-carriers.  They chiefly 
served the Priests.  It was apparently when the Priestly city of Nov was 
decimated by Saul for supposed insurrection that the Gibeonites were 
slaughtered.  King David asked the Gibeonites how they could be mollified.  
They responded by asking that seven members of the house of Saul be hung at 
his former royal residence.  King David complied.  
     
There are many troubling issues that this passage presents, but by far the 
most troubling is the killing of innocent people for the crime of Saul.  
The Malbim in his commentary on the Books of the Prophets explains that 
what actually happened was that after the supposed insurrection at Nov, the 
Gibeonites became an oppressed class, and were continuously harassed, 
chiefly by the House of Saul.  These members of the former Royal House 
persisted in the _ways of their grandfather_ and were thus punished.  The 
message was that the harassment will no longer be tolerated, no matter who 
the perpetrator is, even if he is a member of the aristocracy.
     
There are many people who feel that they are not responsible for their 
actions because they were raised in an environment that _caused_ them to do 
what they did.  "It's not my fault I was born into this neighborhood, I 
can't be held responsible for my becoming a thief or a murderer."  The 
Torah tells us otherwise.  _We_ make the choices and we are responsible for 
the outcome.  In his book `Awaken the Giant Within', Tony Robbins mentions 
that he has interviewed thousands of people.  Among them are siblings from 
difficult family situations.  One sibling became a convict, another a 
successful family man with a thriving business.  When he asked the convict 
how he got to where he is, he answered "With parents like mine I had no 
choice."  When he asked the brother how he got to where he is, he also 
answered "With parents like mine I had no choice!"  
     
We make the decisions.

Sources:
       The Talmud - Tractate Berachot, page 7a.
       The Tanach - The Book of Samuel II, ch. 21, v.1-11.
       Rabbi Meir Leibush Malbim - Commentary on Tanach, ibid.
       Anthony Robbins, Awaken the Giant Within, Summit Books.

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