Chasidut zu Schemot 20:5
לֹֽא־תִשְׁתַּחְוֶ֥֣ה לָהֶ֖ם֮ וְלֹ֣א תָעָבְדֵ֑ם֒ כִּ֣י אָֽנֹכִ֞י יְהוָ֤ה אֱלֹהֶ֙יךָ֙ אֵ֣ל קַנָּ֔א פֹּ֠קֵד עֲוֺ֨ן אָבֹ֧ת עַל־בָּנִ֛ים עַל־שִׁלֵּשִׁ֥ים וְעַל־רִבֵּעִ֖ים לְשֹׂנְאָֽ֑י׃
Du sollst dich nicht niederwerfen vor ihnen und ihnen nicht dienen, denn Ich, der Herr, dein Gott, bin ein eifervoller Gott, der die Schuld der Väter ahndet an Kindern, am dritten und am vierten Gliede, die mich hassen;
Kedushat Levi
Exodus 20,5. “Who, while remembering the guilt of the fathers to the children if the children continue to hate Him, while at the same time showering thousands of generations of those who have loved Him with His loving kindness.” The essence of these words is that on the one hand, by exacting retribution for sins G’d minimizes the impact of these sins, i.e. the residue of the guilt.
The word פקד, in the sense of diminishing, is familiar to us already from Samuel I 20,25 when on the occasion of the festive meal on the New Moon David’s chair was vacant, and the King remarked on this as something lacking. The opposite is the case when people are rewarded for meritorious deeds by G’d. Paying them a reward does not detract from the good deeds they had performed, so that they should consider themselves as having been “paid off,” but, on the contrary, is a stimulus to such people adding more meritorious deeds in the future. This idea is expressed by the words עשוה חסד, i.e. G’d does not only “repay” the just and the pious, but He adds a “bonus.,” known as חסד.
The word פקד, in the sense of diminishing, is familiar to us already from Samuel I 20,25 when on the occasion of the festive meal on the New Moon David’s chair was vacant, and the King remarked on this as something lacking. The opposite is the case when people are rewarded for meritorious deeds by G’d. Paying them a reward does not detract from the good deeds they had performed, so that they should consider themselves as having been “paid off,” but, on the contrary, is a stimulus to such people adding more meritorious deeds in the future. This idea is expressed by the words עשוה חסד, i.e. G’d does not only “repay” the just and the pious, but He adds a “bonus.,” known as חסד.
Ask RabbiBookmarkShareCopy