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- #21
11. Sometimes the misuse of ‘compassion’ is at odds with justice.
“An ancient proverb teaches, “To spare the ravening leopard is an act of injustice to the sheep.” That is why the Rabbis spoke of mercy and justice as the two necessary attributes of God—and therefore of a decent society.” Dennis Prager
Prager continues:
…both are necessary for the world to function. If the world were ruled solely by justice, it would be destroyed, as it almost was during the time of Noah (Genesis 6:11-22)— where only Elohim is used to describe God. However, if the world were ruled solely by mercy, there would be no room for justice, and such a world, too, would cease to function. An overabundance of mercy means an increase in injustice. If, for example, mercy were extended to all murderers, their victims and the victims’ loved ones would suffer a terrible injustice (hence the Midrashic teaching, “those who show mercy to the cruel end up being cruel to those who deserve mercy”).
And, of course, if everyone knew they would receive only mercy, not justice, no matter what crime they committed, the amount of crime in society would increase exponentially.
“An ancient proverb teaches, “To spare the ravening leopard is an act of injustice to the sheep.” That is why the Rabbis spoke of mercy and justice as the two necessary attributes of God—and therefore of a decent society.” Dennis Prager
Prager continues:
…both are necessary for the world to function. If the world were ruled solely by justice, it would be destroyed, as it almost was during the time of Noah (Genesis 6:11-22)— where only Elohim is used to describe God. However, if the world were ruled solely by mercy, there would be no room for justice, and such a world, too, would cease to function. An overabundance of mercy means an increase in injustice. If, for example, mercy were extended to all murderers, their victims and the victims’ loved ones would suffer a terrible injustice (hence the Midrashic teaching, “those who show mercy to the cruel end up being cruel to those who deserve mercy”).
And, of course, if everyone knew they would receive only mercy, not justice, no matter what crime they committed, the amount of crime in society would increase exponentially.