The first seven of ten plagues that God brought upon Egypt as part of the process of redemption are recorded in this week’s Torah portion. Various Midrashim and other commentaries over the ages relate each plague as a result of a concept termed mida k’neged mida, a “measure for a measure.” The first plague of the Nile and other bodies of water in Egypt turning to blood was a result of the Egyptians worshiping the Nile and drowning the male Israelite babies. The last plague of killing the first born in Egypt was brought upon them for killing the Jewish babies, and in general, all the Israelite deaths from torture and oppression, as God calls His people his first-born. In fact, all the plagues are attributed to a measure for measure dynamic and the closely related concepts of judgement and reward and punishment. Therefore, it is appropriate to understand these concepts in greater depth as it applies to much more than just the ten plagues, rather it is an all-encompassing reality that manifests on every level of reality.
When investigating the concept of judgment from a Jewish perspective, two ideas are closely associated. First is the correlation of cause, effect and consequences in relation to reward and punishment. The second concept, which is an ongoing theme in any treatment of Jewish conceptions of judgment, is “a measure for a measure,” mida k’neged mida. In fact, these two ideas are intrinsically woven together in the Jewish notion of judgment.
Many times, what is felt and experienced as judgment and punishment is in truth simply the consequences of a person’s actions. Every thought, word and action produce a result, a subtle ripple effect of consequence. For most people, these connections are hidden and may even seem inconsequential, but Jewish belief is premised on the idea that everything matters, everything is recorded and all must be accounted for. This sentiment is expressed succinctly by Rebbe Akiva in parable form in Pirkei Avot (3:20):
“Everything is given on collateral and a net is spread over all the living. The shop is open, the Merchant extends credit; the ledger is open and the hand writes and whoever wants to borrow let him come and borrow. The collectors make their rounds constantly, every day, and collect payment from the person, whether he knows it or not. They have proof to rely upon and the judgment is a truthful one and everything is prepared for the [final] festive banquet.”
In this single profound parable, countless statements are woven together from throughout Jewish tradition relating to the nature of judgment, the belief in the righteousness of God’s ways and the parameters in which man operates in this world.
“Measure for measure,” a term very similar to the notion of cause and effect, could be described as the working mechanism of judgment, the particular way effects follow from causes. It is the manner in which the consequences of our actions play themselves out. Similar to the physical law that every action has an equal and opposite reaction, the concept of “measure for measure” is its spiritual counterpart.
Sometimes the payback is immediate and it is in those cases that we have the best chance of recognizing intuitively the “measure for measure” dynamic at work. Other times the consequences are meted out over days, weeks, months, years or even lifetimes. The older one becomes and the more mature spiritually, the easier it becomes to see the incredible web of Divine judgment connecting every event and decision in our lives.
The most explicit explanation of mida k’neged mida is found in a series of Mishniot in the first chapter of the tractate of Sotah (1:8). It begins by stating that a sotah, a suspected adulteress is put through a measure for measure ordeal to determine here innocence or guilt. It continues by giving a number of examples of the overall concept. The Mishnah states that because Shimshon went after the desire of his eyes, therefore the Philistines put out his eyes, as it is written, “The Philistines laid hold of him and put out his eyes” (Shoftim 16:21). The Mishnah continues by stating that Avshalom, the son of David, who rebelled against him, took great pride in his long hair, therefore his death came about through his hair, which became caught in the branches of a tree, allowing his pursuers to catch and kill him (2 Shmuel 18:15).
The principle of measure for measure is not only regarding negative actions but works the same for positive matters. Therefore, the very next Mishnah in Sotah (1:9) provides examples of this. Because Miriam, the sister of Moshe, waited on the banks of the Nile to see what would happen to her younger brother who was put in a basket for fear he would be killed if found at home, therefore, all of Israel waited for Miriam for seven days after she had to leave the camp because she had been stricken with tzara’at. A second example is brought: because Yosef busied himself extensively with the burial of his father Yaakov, Moshe, the greatest of his generation, was reckoned worthy to find the bones of Yosef and bring them out of Egypt for burial in Israel, as Yosef had requested right before his own death.
Further, the principle of mida k’neged mida is employed in every area of Jewish commentary, whether in the Talmud, Midrash, Rashi, Ramban, Zohar, Kabbalah or Chassidut, in order to understand the inner workings of the personalities, stories and mitzvot of the Five Books of Moses and Tanach. It is beyond the scope of this article to even begin to list the many examples beyond the few mentioned above.
In summary, our discussion of “measure for measure” here highlights a number of crucial points. This principle can manifest itself immediately or at a future date. In some cases, the Divine accounting process may take many lifetimes and thousands of years to work itself out, but every thought, word, and action is ultimately accounted for and paid back measure for measure. Only God knows exactly how, when, and where, this will occur. Yet we can often see quite clearly why certain things happen to us and what the causes and effects of our actions are. Sometimes, though, the reasons for why things happen are not so obvious at all. When all is said and done, it is important to know that our thoughts, speech, and action affect not only ourselves, but our children and our children’s children. As discussed above, the principle of “measure for measure” certainly applies to rewards meted out for positive behavior as well. This realization should give us good reason to measure our deeds carefully so that merit and goodness rain upon us and all our descendants.
