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Pirkei Avos Ch. 5- Proper Discipline
It is customary to study a chapter from the Tractate Avos, or Pirkei Avos, in the weeks in between Pesach and Shavuos. This week we learn Chapter 5. Pirkei Avos are filled with the ethical teachings and wisdom of the great sages of the Mishnah.
For this year’s Parsha Lesson I will be focusing on a chinuch (parenting/educational) lesson that can be derived from the Dvar Torah.
Background
In the 1st Mishna of this week's perek (chapter 5) it says that Hashem created the world with 10 different utterances. The Mishna questions- since Hashem could have created the world with one utterance, why then did He create it with 10?
The Mishna answers, in order to punish the wicked people even more for their evil deeds. For it is ‘incomparable, destroying something which was created more easily and quickly than destroying something which took more effort and time to create.’
Question
There are two glaring questions on this Mishna. First of all, what would seem to determine the level of punishment deserving someone who destroys something is not how much effort went into creating that thing which was destroyed, but rather the value of what was destroyed!
If evil people, through their evil actions of injustice, lying, sowing discord, etc. destroy the world that Hashem created, it should be irrelevant how much effort Hashem put into creating it! The only question should be- how valuable and important the world is!
If someone has a wooden chair that they spent time and effort, many hours over the course of many weeks, toiling over, in order to create. And the person also has a priceless diamond which they found - easily and without much effort at all. And both were to be destroyed and lost by someone who, with malice, sought to harm this individual. Which item would a court demand a steeper punishment for - the chair that the victim toiled over or the diamond that the person found easily?
And furthermore, say that you have 2 wooden chairs which are exactly the same. One which the craftsman toiled over for weeks while the other is of identical caliber but took mere hours to create. Would destroying one warrant a worse punishment than the other? So if Hashem 'could have' created the exact same world with less 'effort', should Hashem's extra effort warrant a worse punishment to the perpetrator?
But this seems to be exactly what this Mishna is saying! That an evil person is punished in accordance with, not the value of the world he destroyed, but rather the effort that Hashem put into creating it! How does this make any sense?
Secondly, why would Hashem put extra effort into creating the world in order to punish the evil people more? Hashem is good, not vindictive and looking to 'get people'! Just the opposite! We are supposed to learn from Hashem to have mercy and to be kind to people, even if they are 'evil' and not deserving of kindness.
In fact, the very next Mishna speaks out this exact point - how Hashem 'lengthens' his anger and continues to shower blessing on evil people, for hundreds of years, without exacting retribution. So how are we to understand how it is consistent with Hashem's kindness to put more 'effort' into creating the world in order to punish evil people more?
Answer
In order to properly understand this one needs to first understand what ‘punishment’ is properly. Punishment is not, as is commonly thought of, a process whereby someone is punitively punished and made to suffer for doing bad things. But rather, Hashem punishes people, either on this world or the next, as a direct consequence of their actions and as a means of curing them of their ‘injury’ which they have incurred as a result of their actions.
Once we have this understanding clear, then I believe we can begin to understand this Mishna in a whole different light.
Of course, the punishment that someone is deserving of is directly related to the value and meaning of what the person has destroyed. How much work or effort that went into producing this ‘thing’ is not nearly as important. However, on an emotional level it feels different. It feels as if the diamond, which is worth $3 million, and the person just found on the ground, should have less punishment assigned to it’s being lost, than that of the wooden chair which is worth only $15 but took days of blood, sweat and tears to produce.
When Hashem administers justice, Hashem is concerned that the justice should be recognized as being upright and just, on every level and when examined from every angle. Therefore, if the world was created with only 1 utterance, it would seem to the evildoers as being not as significant and therefore not as deserving of severe justice, as it rightfully does. And therefore Hashem would not punish this person to the extent that they deserve (i.e.- require in order to be rehabilitated and cured of their injury).
The outcome would be that this person who did evil would not get the proper ‘therapy’ they need to become whole again. And, therefore, Hashem needed to create the world with more ‘effort’ in order that those who do require more severe justice, a more intensive cure for their ‘injury’, would not only receive it but recognize their punishment as being well-deserved and ‘just’.
Chinuch Lesson
How important it is to not only be mechanech (educate) our children properly, but to also ensure that they understand that the means and methods that we need to employ are ‘just’ and proper! If the ‘punishment’ that we mete out is not deserved then it will be rightfully resented. In addition, as we learn from the ways of Hashem, if the punishment is perceived as being unjust from some angle, then it will also be resented and therefore should not be done.
Certainly, in the moment, no one appreciates being punished and any attempt to correct our children’s behavior will be resisted and will be a source of angst. And this is certainly not a reason to not take the steps necessary to ensure that our children grow up properly, directed on the straight and narrow path through life. The question is however, what is the after effects and long-term impact of our discipline? Is it going to be recognized, sometimes only years later, as having been proper and for the child’s best interests or not? Proper ‘chinuch’ and a thoughtful committed approach to directing our children and disciplining them when necessary, will result in our children coming to appreciate that what was done for them was for their best and they will not resent what was done at them.
The starting point for all of this, of course, is to ourselves be people of proper character so that our actions are not determined by anger, being ‘disrespected’, insecurity, etc. and rather only focused on what is best for our children and how to best direct them there. Once that is true, and it is certainly a process and part of the journey of life which we will hopefully grow in, then we need to understand ourselves- clearly and in a way which we can explain- why it is that such discipline is necessary. Not that it is necessary to explain to our children in the moment a justification for why we had to do what we did, but after the fact and certainly many years later, our actions should be able to stand on their own as being proper and upright, in every which way possible.
Wishing you and your family a wonderful Shabbos!
Rabbi Eli Meir Kramer
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