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Unlock This CourseIn the lesson Sin and Crime: What Is the Difference?, you saw that a sin breaks a religious rule, while a crime breaks the law of the land. Judaism has its own way of putting this. A sin is breaking a mitzvah, one of the commandments in the Torah. A crime is breaking the law of the country. Jews are expected to obey both. The Talmud (the great collection of rabbis' teaching) gives a famous principle for this: the law of the land is the law. So a Jew who steals has sinned against the Almighty and broken the law.
Jewish teaching sees a wrong done to another person as also a wrong before the Almighty. That is why a Jewish response to crime is about more than the court.
Key terms:
For Jews, justice is not just a matter for judges. It is a command. Deuteronomy 16:20 says, "Justice, justice shall you pursue". The word is repeated, and some rabbis taught that this means justice must be pursued by fair means. Remember too that Abraham called the Almighty the "Judge of all the earth" who must do justice, so justice is part of the Almighty's own nature.
Living by the Torah means treating the rich and the poor, the stranger and the neighbour, by the same fair rules. The prophet Amos called on people to let justice "roll down like waters". For Jews, a fair society is part of serving the Almighty.
A person who has been robbed or hurt needs to see the wrong taken seriously. Justice tells them that what happened to them matters, and that they are not left to put things right alone. If wrongdoers go free, victims can feel that nobody cares.
Many Jews see fair punishment as part of justice. Deuteronomy 19:19-20 deals with a false witness, someone who lies in court to harm another person. The Torah says the false witness receives the penalty he planned for the other person. The reason it gives is that others will hear, be afraid, and never again do such evil among them.
This teaching shows three ideas. The wrongdoer gets a fair penalty. The victim is protected from a lie. And other people are put off from doing the same. Punishment is not seen as revenge. It is seen as the way a fair society keeps people safe and keeps the law respected. The aims of punishment are covered in the next lesson, Jewish Attitudes to Punishment and Its Aims.
Judaism does not only ask how to punish crime. It asks why crime happens, because ending the causes is better than only dealing with the results. Crime hurts victims, families and whole communities, and it keeps happening unless something changes. Reasons Jews and others give include:
Jews believe they have a duty to help. Deuteronomy 15:7-8 tells Jews not to harden their hearts, but to open their hand to a person in need. Tikkun olam means that helping to end the causes of crime is part of Jewish life. Jews do this as individuals and in groups.
Giving tzedakah (charity) is a duty. The medieval teacher Maimonides said the best kind of giving is to help a person become able to support themselves, for example with a loan or a job. That tackles poverty at its root. Many Jews also give their time as volunteers.
Jewish Care is a UK Jewish health and social care charity. It runs care homes and community centres and supports older people, people living with dementia and people with mental health problems. Its centres help people who might otherwise be alone. Loneliness and poor mental health are not crime, but they can wear down self-esteem, so this work tackles some of the roots of harm.
A synagogue is a Jewish place of worship and community centre. Many run youth groups and classes that give young people good company and a sense of belonging, which helps with upbringing and self-esteem. Many also collect food and money for people in need and take part in Mitzvah Day, a yearly day when Jewish communities do good deeds for everyone.
The Community Security Trust is a Jewish charity that protects Jewish people from antisemitism, a form of racism, and records antisemitic incidents. Norwood supports children and families, helping with a hard start in life.
Jews differ in how they work. Orthodox and Progressive (Reform and Liberal) Jews agree that justice and charity matter, but they may differ about which causes to put first and which groups to work through.
(a) Identify three reasons why crime might occur. [3 marks]
(b) Choose one religion. Outline two reasons why justice is important in this religion. [4 marks]
(c) Explain why Jewish groups work to end the causes of crime. [6 marks]
(d) "Fair punishment is the best way to deal with crime." Evaluate this statement, showing you have considered different points of view. In your answer you should refer to at least one religion. [12 marks]
(a) 1. Poverty (1) 2. Drugs (1) 3. Low self-esteem (1)
(b) Judaism. Justice is a command in the Torah, "Justice, justice shall you pursue" (1), so Jews must treat everyone by the same fair rules (1). Justice matters for the victim (1) because it shows that the wrong done to them was taken seriously (1).
(c) Jewish groups work to end the causes of crime because Jews believe in tikkun olam, repairing the world, so tackling poverty or loneliness is a religious duty (1). Judaism teaches that people should open their hand to those in need, so synagogues collect food and money, which tackles poverty (1). Jewish Care helps older people and people with mental health problems, so they are less isolated (1). Synagogue youth groups give young people good company and a sense of belonging, which helps with upbringing and self-esteem (1). This is better than only punishing crime afterwards, because it can stop harm before it happens (1). Groups such as the Community Security Trust protect Jewish people from antisemitism, a form of racism and another cause of harm (1).
(d) Plan. For: the Torah says a false witness gets the penalty planned for another so that others fear and do not do the same (Deuteronomy 19:19-20); punishment is justice for the victim; it protects society. Against: punishment does not remove causes such as poverty, drugs and low self-esteem; Jews teach tikkun olam and charity; some non-religious people say we should judge punishment by results, so reform may work better. Possible conclusion: fair punishment is needed for justice, but it is not the best way on its own, because Jewish teaching also stresses ending the causes, so the best response uses both.
In part (c), tie each Jewish group to a named cause of crime, so that each reason is explained and not just listed.