Introduction Mishnah five discusses an important Rabbinic conception of the punishment of the wayward and rebellious son, namely that he is not punished on account of the sins that he has already committed but on account of the sins that he will commit in the future.
A “wayward and rebellious son” is judged on account of his outcome: let him die innocent and let him not die guilty. One of the difficulties in comprehending the severe punishment meted out to the wayward and rebellious son is that it does not seem to fit the crime. The Talmud itself asks, just because he ate too much meat and drank too much wine should this child be stoned. Our mishnah provides one potential answer: the son is not punished for that which he has already done but for that which he will do in the future. The punishment prevents a minor criminal from becoming an even worse criminal. The mishnah teaches that executing the potential criminal is not only good for society, but is a benefit to the criminal as well, for he will die innocent and not guilty. Behind this idea lies a concept of reward and punishment in the world to come. Since the wayward and rebellious son is punished before he can be guilty of a serious crime, he will not receive further punishment in the world to come.
For the death of the wicked benefits themselves and the world; [and the death] of the righteous, injures themselves and the world d. Wine and sleep of the wicked benefit themselves and the world; of the righteous, injure themselves and the world The scattering of the wicked benefits themselves and the world; of the righteous, injures themselves and the world. The assembling of the wicked injures themselves and the world; of the righteous, benefits themselves and the world. The tranquillity of the wicked injures themselves and the world; of the righteous, benefits themselves and the world. The mishnah then continues with a discussion of things that are good for the wicked and for the whole world, and bad for the righteous and for the world. Death is good for the wicked, for they will die before they commit more crimes, and for obvious reasons it is good for the world. Death of the righteous prevents them from performing more good deeds and, again for obvious reasons, it is bad for the world. Wine and sleep will prevent the wicked from committing more sins and is therefore good for them and for the world, but bad for the righteous for it prevents them from performing good deeds. The scattering of the wicked prevents them collaboration in sinning whereas the scattering of the righteous prevents their collaboration in good deeds. The ingathering of the wicked allows them to commit more and greater sins, whereas the ingathering of the righteous allows them to perform more good deeds. Finally, tranquility affords the wicked the freedom to commit more crime, whereas it provides the righteous the freedom to do more good.