Medieval commentators noted that the cessation of zekhut avot flies in the face of Jewish liturgy, which frequently cites Leviticus 26:42, especially in the selihot (penitential) service. These views limited appeal to the merits of the fathers they are better suited to conceptions of zekhut avot rooted in the principle of election than to universal models of reward and punishment. Several amoraim (third- and fourth-century interpreters of the Mishnah) claimed that zekhut avot no longer applies, although they differed as to the date in the First Temple period when it ceased to operate (B.T. The explorations of exegetes, nonphilosophical theological thinkers, and modern academic scholars have shed light on aspects of the theme by adopting both synchronic and diachronic approaches. In classic medieval Jewish philosophy, zekhut avot is not central to the major discussions of providence and theodicy. 170) Consequently the rabbinic material has not generated a systematic theological consensus. Solomon Schechter's century-old dictum that " … the notion of imputed righteousness and imputed sin … have … never attained such significance in Jewish theology or in Jewish conscience as is generally assumed" remains true. In this framework one must also consider the negative impact of unworthy parents on their children's destiny. When zekhut avot is assimilated to natural mechanisms of collective or transgenerational deserving, it is more easily regarded as an application of general principles. To the extent that zekhut avot is construed narrowly, it is distinguished from universal philosophical concepts of divine justice it belongs rather to concepts related to the idea of election. Some sources speak of the merit of descendants justifying the fathers others disagree. Examples of the latter can be found in M Eduyot 2:9 and Maimonides' commentary. Nonetheless, the term is occasionally applied to other Jewish figures such as the sons of Jacob, to Noah's merit in preserving humanity, or to any kind of inherited merit. The rabbinic concept of zekhut avot (merits of the fathers, with occasional mention of their wives) in the narrow sense of the term derives from the special standing of the original progenitors. Several rabbinic debates argued for and against the possibility that the attainments of later generations justified divine solicitude for their forebears. Some biblical verses single out the particular benefit derived from the merit of the patriarchs Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, as in Leviticus 26: 42. Makkot 24 and the commentaries of Abraham Ibn Ezra (1093 –1167) and Nah ̱manides on Exodus 20. Later rabbinic and medieval interpretation tended to restrict the penal aspect, limiting it to grievous sins like idolatry and to cases in which the sons perpetuated the sins of their fathers. Other statements that deny or downplay transgenerational recompense, such as Ezekiel 14 and 18, balance these judgments. Some passages suggest that later generations benefit or suffer as a result of the actions of their ancestors, as in Exodus 20:5 –6 and 34:7 Deuteronomy 7:8 –10 and Lamentations 5:7. Many passages are directed to the people of Israel as a whole -for example, Deuteronomy 11:13 –17. Biblical teaching frequently presupposes that reward and punishment have a collective dimension. Zekhut avot is a Hebrew phrase that refers to the merits of the ancestors of Israel.
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