Avot 5:8-9
Seven kinds of punishment come to the world for seven categories of transgression:
When some of them give tithes, and others do not give tithes, a famine from drought comes, some go hungry, and others are satisfied.
When they have all decided not to give tithes, a famine from tumult and drought comes.
[When they have, in addition, decided] not to set apart the dough-offering, an all-consuming famine comes.
Pestilence comes to the world for sins punishable by death according to the Torah but which have not been referred to the court, and for neglect of the law regarding the fruits of the Sabbatical year.
The sword comes to the world for the delay of judgment, and for the perversion of judgment, and because of those who teach the Torah not in accordance with the accepted law.
Wild beasts come to the world for swearing in vain, and for the profanation of the Name.
Exile comes to the world for idolatry, for sexual sins, and for bloodshed, and for [transgressing the commandment of] the [year of the] release of the land.
At four times pestilence increases: in the fourth year, in the seventh year, and at the conclusion of the seventh year, and at the conclusion of the Feast [of Tabernacles] in every year. In the fourth year, on account of the tithe of the poor which is due in the third year; in the seventh year, on account of the tithe of the poor which is due in the sixth year; at the conclusion of the seventh year, on account of the produce of the seventh year; and at the conclusion of the Feast [of Tabernacles] in every year, for robbing the gifts to the poor.
An essential aspect of Pirkei Avot’s focus on ethical and spiritual development is the principle of reward and punishment. Several mishnayot have discussed G-d’s judgment and the consequences of personal actions. These two mishnayot, framed within a series of anonymous, numbered mishnayot in the fifth chapter of Pirkei Avot, detail large scale catastrophes as being directly caused by specific severe societal sins. Famine, pestilence, war, wild beasts, and exile result from failure to uphold cherished and essential values such as charity, justice, and morality. When these principles are ignored, humanity suffers.
While as far as I know, Rabbi Jonathan Sacks did not publish any comments directly related to this mishna, many of the essential themes of his writings can be read as indirect reflections to this text.
Charity
The failure to observe the agricultural laws such as tithes, challah, and the Sabbatical year reflects an unbridled acquisitive drive and a failure to care for the poor and needy. G-d provides the antidote to this disease of greed through the laws of charity. As Rabbi Sacks develops in depth in To Heal a Fractured World, “We own what we are willing to share. That is tzedakah: charity as justice.”
Several commentaries point to direct correspondence – middah kenegged middah – of these different consequences. The punishment fits the crime. Speaking of “The Good Society” in the I Believe series of Covenant & Conversation, Rabbi Sacks similarly suggests “As you act, so shall you fare… The paradoxical truth is that a society is strong when it cares for the weak, rich when it cares for the poor, and invulnerable when it takes care of the vulnerable.”
But when society fails at these ethical obligations, it deteriorates. Through His laws, G-d urges us “to see the world as His work, and humans as His image, and therefore to care for both. Bein adam le–Makom and bein adam le–chavero – the duties we have to G-d and those we owe our fellow humans – are inseparable. Without a belief in G-d we would pursue our own interests, and eventually those at the social margins, with little power and less wealth, would lose. That is not the kind of society Jews are supposed to build.”
Justice
The critiques within the mishna regarding a lack of justice speak to a running theme within Pirkei Avot concerning fair and accurate judgment. In fact, Maimonides suggests that the whole treatise, inserted within the Mishnaic collection related to courts, was originally a moral and ethical guidebook specifically for judges. It is up to us as a society to ensure that a fair system of justice prevails. As Rabbi Sacks writes, also in To Heal a Fractured World, “G-d creates Divine justice but only we, acting in accord with His word, can create human justice – and our very existence means that this is what G-d wants us to do.” Through G-d’s commands we are responsible to bring justice to the world. When we don’t, and injustice prevails, society will fall apart.
Morality
The lack of charity and justice combine with the inclusion of the three cardinal sins of idolatry, sexual licentiousness, and bloodshed to reflect a total breakdown of morality. Morality was a prominent theme in Rabbi Sacks’ writings, culminating with his 2020 book Morality: Restoring the Common Good in Divided Times. The breakdown of morality is causing global societal challenges, and the only way forward is to stop outsourcing morality to the market and the state, and to instead rebuild our moral foundation within society.
An important antidote to immorality, and the salve to avoiding the calamites delineated in the mishna, is the Biblical concept of covenant. In his introduction to his Covenant & Conversation volume, Essays on Ethics, Rabbi Sacks writes that “Covenant generates an ethic of social responsibility… It is predicated on the belief that a free society is a moral achievement and one for whose maintenance all the people share responsibility.” As he continues in his essay on The Good Society, “I am responsible for what I do. But I am also responsible for what you do… It is each of us and all of us together. That is what makes the ethic of the covenant unique… Covenant means we cannot delegate moral responsibility away to either the market or the state. We – each of us, separately and together – make or break society.”
The warnings in this mishna serve dual functions. Primarily they are meant as preventative threats to encourage and motivate proper conduct. These potential consequences should deter injustice and immorality. Secondarily, if confronted with these tragedies, the community should respond with collective soul-searching, spiritual strivings, and yearnings for improvement.
The mishna provides agency in the wake of tragedy, a path of resilience in response to calamity. If, as individuals and collectively as a community, we adhere to covenantal principles of charity, justice, and morality, there is hope for a better future.
