2022/5782

Poked Avon Avot and Shlomo HaMelech

Shlomo HaMelech’s punishment is deferred to the next generation and in the next generation, Rechavam is punished by losing the northern portion of the kingdom (which is to become Malchut Yisrael).  Let us explore the deeper meaning of Pokeid Avon Avot Al Banim, how it precisely played out with Rechavam, in general in Sefer Melachim and beyond, and the major ramifications this powerful concept has for our lives.  

The Source of Poked Avon Avot – the Aseret HaDibrot

Let us begin with the source of the idea, which appears in the Aseret HaDibrot - Shemot 20:4 - פֹּקֵד עֲון אָבֹת עַל-בָּנִים עַל-שִׁלֵּשִׁים וְעַל-רִבֵּעִים, לְשֹׂנְאָי.  The next Pasuk follows with an idea we cherish, and allude to every day three times a day in the Shemoneh Esrei, the corollary of Pokeid Avon Avot Al Banim,  Zechut Avot.  וְעֹשֶׂה חֶסֶד, לַאֲלָפִים--לְאֹהֲבַי, וּלְשֹׁמְרֵי מִצְוֹתָי (and by the way, notice the great gulf between the manner in which Hashem administers intergenerational reward and punishment).   Consider how much we embrace the idea of Zechut Avot and yet we are very uncomfortable with Poked Avon Avot Al Banim.  

A Contradiction!

Problem! Devarim 24:16 poses a glaring contradiction to the idea of Pokeid Avon Avot Al Banim - לֹא-יוּמְתוּ אָבוֹת עַל-בָּנִים, וּבָנִים לֹא-יוּמְתוּ עַל-אָבוֹת:  אִישׁ בְּחֶטְאוֹ, יוּמָתוּ.  Onkelos and Rashi in Shemot 20:4 famously resolve this issue: כתרגומו, כשאוחזין מעשה אבותיהם בידיהם:   

The Ramban to Shemot 20:4 adds a critical point: If the children are bad, but not as bad as their parents, then they also can be punished for the sins of their parents. Only if they completely repent would they be exempt from intergenerational punishment. This view reflects a concept of collective judgment against a family if they sin beyond a certain threshold. 

Rechavam Persists in His Father’s Sins

The first 15 Pesukim of Melachim I Perek 12 record the events that led to the split of the kingdom.  As we learn these Pesukim we can discern that Rechavam is אוחז במעשה שלמה if we consider not only what is recorded but what is not recorded.  When the righteous Chizkiyahu HaMelech succeeds his evil father Achaz, he immediately springs into action to correct his father’s mistakes.  He degraded his father’s bones at his funeral, removing Avoda Zara, and organizing mass adherence to the Mitzvah of Korban Pesach right off the bat.  

Sadly, Rechavam does not act and remove the Avoda Zara tolerated by Shlomo HaMelech.  Immediately lowering the tax burden right away would have also steered the nation in a very different direction.  Rechavam is forty one years of age when he assumes the throne (Melachim I 14:21).  At this age he should have realized the need to forge his own path just as Chizkiyahu did when he began his reign at age twenty five.

Poked Avon Avot a Recurring Theme in Sefer Melachim

Poked Avon Avot is a recurring theme in Sefer Melachim.  Yehoram ben Achav (Melachim II 8:16-19), and Hoshea (Melachim II chapter 17, especially 17:2) are depicted as more righteous than their ancestors but still wicked, and they inherit the brunt of the sins of their ancestors. In several other examples in Sefer Melachim, sons are depicted as just as wicked as their ancestors and suffer for their ancestors’ sins as well as their own [1]. However, fully righteous descendants do not get punished. Most prominently, Yoshiyahu HaMelech was spared punishment for the sins of his grandfather Menashe even though the decree against Jerusalem was not annulled and was carried out three and four generations later.

The last Melech Yehuda, Tzidkiyahu, while not a Tzadik is by far not the worst king of Yehuda.  Yet the Churban happens in his generation!  Hoshei’a ben Eilah, the last king of Malchut Yisrael, also is far from a Tzadik but is also not at all the greatest Rasha and Churban Malchut Yisrael occurs on his watch. The Churban happens not only because of the Aveirot of the Dor of the Churban but also due to the cumulative Averot of the prior Dorot.    

Yechezkeil – Pressing the Poked Avon Avot Restart Button

Most interestingly, the Navi Yechezkeil (18-1-4) in the post-Churban generation, quotes the people’s complaint that “Parents eat sour grapes and the children’s teeth are blunted” אָבוֹת יֹאכְלוּ בֹסֶר, וְשִׁנֵּי הַבָּנִים תִּקְהֶינָה .  Please explain why they are offering this complaint.  

Yechezkeil HaNavi responds with a shocking pronouncement from Hashem seemingly repudiating the doctrine of Pokeid Avot Al Banim:

חַי אָנִי נְאֻם אֲדֹנָי יְקֹוִק אִם יִהְיֶה לָכֶם עוֹד מְשֹׁל הַמָּשָׁל הַזֶּה בְּיִשְׂרָאֵל: הֵן כָּל הַנְּפָשׁוֹת לִי הֵנָּה כְּנֶפֶשׁ הָאָב וּכְנֶפֶשׁ הַבֵּן לִי הֵנָּה הַנֶּפֶשׁ הַחֹטֵאת הִיא תָמוּת:

Yechezkeil HaNavi seems to be contradicting the Torah’s principle of Pokeid Avon Avot Al Banim! How might we resolve this glaring problem?    

Here is my suggestion – Am Yisrael post-Churban felt that they are doomed to failure since they bear the cumulative Aveirot of their ancestors.  They felt (to paraphrase Kayin) “Gadol  Avonot Avoteinu Me’Neso”, the sins of our ancestors are just too much to bear.  Hashem shockingly announces (via the Navi Yechezkeil) that he has pressed the Pakod Avon Avot restart button [2].  However, the concept of Pokeid Avon Avot Al Banim is not abrogated. It is just that the Jews of the post-Churban generation are given a fresh start.  Sadly, Churban Bayit Sheini eventually falls due to the cumulative Aveirot of the generations leading up to it, not just due to the sins of the Dor of the Churban.  

Divrei HaYamim’s New Start

Let us consider how this plays out in Divrei HaYamim.  This Sefer begins from the beginning of the Creation of Man “Adam, Shet, Enosh,” signifying a fresh beginning. In addition, the concept of Pokeid Avon Avot is present in Divrei HaYamim but dramatically diminished [3], pointing to the the gift of the fresh start that Hashem grants us at the beginning of the Second Temple Era.

A Bold Concluding Thought

We should consider the implications for us as a nation and individual Jews.  One may boldly suggest that Hashem once again pressed the reset button after the Sho’ah with the creation of Medinat Yisrael.  I recognize that this is a fiercely sensitive issue but it is a thought worth considering.

[1] For example, Yerovam ben Nevat is not punished for his sins; his son Nadav is (Melachim I 15:29-30). Elah inherits punishment from his father Baasha (Melachim I 16:13). Yehoram inherits from Achav (Melachim I 16; Melachim II 3, 9). Zechariah inherits from Yehu four generations later (Melachim II 10:28-30; 15:8-12).

[2] I believe this is the meaning of the stunning statement of Chazal (Makkot 24a; translation from the William Davidson edition of the Talmud) Said R. Yose b. Hanina: Our master Moses pronounced four [adverse] sentences on Israel, but four prophets came and revoked them…Moses had said, ‘The Lord is…visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and upon the children’s children, unto the third and unto the fourth generation’; Ezekiel came and declared, ‘The soul that sins, it shall die.

[3] On the one hand, Shlomo HaMelech’s sins are not mentioned in Divrei HaYamim, so the blame for the division of the monarchy is attributed entirely to Rechavam sins. Similarly, Menashe repented in Divrei HaYamim and cleared many of his idols out of the Beit HaMikdash. Instead, Divrei HaYamim blames Tzidkiyahu’s generation for the destruction of the Beit HaMikdash. On the other hand, Divrei Hayamim alludes to the prophecies of doom from Sefer Melachim. Achiyah HaShiloni, for example, mentions the decree against Shlomo HaMelech (Divrei HaYamim II 10:15) which was carried out during the reign of Shlomo’s son Rechavam.