“Visiting the Iniquity of the Fathers”: Punishment, Reward, and Divine Kindness

“You shall not bow to them nor serve them, for I am the Lord your God, a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, upon the third and upon the fourth generation of those who hate Me; and performing kindness for thousands, for those who love Me and keep My commandments.” (Shemot 20:4–5)

Kedushat Levi explains the phrase “visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children” in a striking way. When God punishes a sin, the punishment itself creates a deficiency — as if the sin is taken away and no longer remains. He bases this on a verse in Shmuel: “And David’s place was missing” (Shmuel I, 20:25), where the word vayipaked means “there was a lack.”

“‘Visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children’… means that when the Holy One, blessed be He, exacts punishment for a sin, He diminishes the sin through the act of punishment. This is the meaning of ‘poked’ — a term of deficiency, as in ‘David’s place was missing’ (Shmuel I, 20:25), meaning that the sin becomes lacking.”

With regard to “performing kindness”, Kedushat Levi draws a sharp distinction between punishment for sin and reward for a mitzvah. When God pays reward for a mitzvah, the mitzvah is not diminished in any way. On the contrary, it is enhanced. God bestows abundance and blessing upon the person who merited performing it. In this sense, the “doing” of kindness does not reduce anything; it actually increases the value of the mitzvah.

“Unlike punishment for sin, when God grants good reward for a mitzvah, the mitzvah is not diminished. On the contrary, the mitzvah becomes greater, for the Holy One, blessed be He, delights in bestowing abundance. Thus, what caused the divine flow becomes an even greater mitzvah. This is the meaning of ‘performing kindness’: in the payment of reward, the kindness itself becomes greater.”

This is a profound testimony to God’s kindness: when He rewards our deeds, He does not merely give what is deserved. He magnifies the good and grants far more than we could have expected.