DEUT627 "You must not have pity on him, nor be compassionate or cover up for him" [this verse]. We have been admonished herein, neither to be compassionate nor have mercy for those who cause other people to sin and to falter. Our Sages, z"l, said (Yalkut Shmuel 121), "Whoever acts mercifully to the cruel, will ultimately act with cruelty to those who are merciful."

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DEUT631 R. Chamma b. Chanina said: From the teachings of R. Chiyya b. Abba I learned: Whence is it derived that one may not argue in defense of an inciter [to idolatry]? From: "and you shall not pity, and you shall not shield him" (Sanhedrin 29a)

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DEUT628 But there are mercies which are worse than cruelty – such as being merciful to the wicked and strengthening them. There is a great stumbling block in elevating the wicked and supporting them, and putting down the good and rejecting them. About this the Torah writes [this verse]: "And do not pity him, and do not spare him, and do not cover up for him." One must also not pity the poor man in judgment, as it is written (Shemos 23:3): "Nor favor a poor man in his quarrel," that one not pervert judgment because of the poor man's hardship. And there is mercy which is like cruelty, such as giving charity to a poor man and afterwards pressuring him by saying: "I gave you so and so much. You ought to help me out and do whatever I ask of you." About this it is written (Mishlei 12:10): "And the mercies of the wicked are cruel."

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DEUT634 We do have instances in the Book of Deuteronomy where punishments were given for a certain group of transgressions and the explanation offered seems to suggest not so much retributive or expiatory considerations as primarily utilitarian or deterrent ones. Thus, we find [this and following verses, Deuteronomy 17:13, 21:21]. Nachmanides makes it clear that these locutions indicate that the harshness of the penalty in these cases is not generated by the mere grievousness of the sin, but by the need to have the punishment act as a deterrent against future occurrences (Nachmanides on Deuteronomy 21:21). This introduces into the Torah's concept of justice an element of consequentialism. That is to say, one justifies punishment not only by the fact that the agent deserves it, but by the beneficial consequences the punishment will have on others. This would seem to imply that the welfare of society as a whole is to be viewed as a positive moral value for which the interests of the individual may sometimes be sacrificed.

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DEUT635 One of the important implications of perceiving the Torah as a moral-cultic code "fixed in a national framework" is the fact that the Torah addresses primarily the group, the people as a whole. … As a code imposed upon an entire society, the moral and cultic rules take on a legal character, and in order that compliance be achieved, an enforcement policy supported by sanctions is included. Hence, if the Torah embodies the law of the covenanted society, then the judicial system which it establishes can be expected to authorize penalties for the obvious purpose of deterrence: "In order that they may hear and be afraid and not sin" [this verse]. The rewards and punishments contained in the Torah are therefore pedagogical means of inducing compliance, a method familiar to every society, and should not be confused with the ultimate value of the rules themselves. This view of the Torah as addressed primarily to the nation as a whole may provide the key to the problem of why material rewards are stressed to the near-exclusion of spiritual rewards, such as immortality of the soul and the sheer ecstasy of fellowship with God. Spiritual rewards of this nature are directed primarily to the individual. They attach themselves essentially to the self and to the ego. It makes little sense to speak of a nation collectively enjoying the hereafter or of an entire community, as such, meriting immortality in some spiritual sense.

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DEUT636 See [[DEUT634]] Deuteronomy 13:11 stone SPERO 233-4

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DEUT637 The Rabbis taught: "The inciter must be publicly denounced, it being written: "And all of Israel shall hear and see" (Sanhedrin 89a)

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DEUT638 The administration of justice thus conceived is to serve two readily comprehended purposes. (a) It is to serve as a deterrent, "so that all may hear and fear and not continue to do such an evil thing" [this verse], and thus assure to the law-abiding members of the society, the enjoyment of their rights. (b) It sees to it "that the sinner shall not profit by his sin." It justifies the imposition of an injury upon the transgressor which as accurately as possible equals the injury he may have caused it to others. Hence, justice is conceived as being relevant only to the affairs of man, and from the long range point of view it is considered to be the indispensable servant of man's mundane self-interest.

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DEUT639 But it is no mitzvah to press an inquiry. I might then think that one need not pursue it [even if he did hear]; it is, therefore, written (verse 15): "And you shall inquiry, and you shall search out, and you shall ask well" (Sifrei)

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DEUT640 See [[DEUT768]] Deuteronomy 15:9 mean AHAVCH 103-4

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