OU TORAH To the Third and Fourth Generations By Britain's Former Chief Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks

There is, on the face of it, a fundamental contradiction in the Torah. On the one hand we hear, in the passage known as the Thirteen Attributes of Mercy, the following words: The Lord, the Lord, compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in loving-kindness and truth … Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children and their children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation.” (Ex 34: 7) The implication is clear. Children suffer for the sins of their parents. On the other hand we read in this week’s parsha: Parents are not to be put to death for their children, nor children put to death for their parents; each will die for their own sin. (Deut 24: 16)