The purpose of judicial punishments is not deterrence. Proofs of this are:
- Punishments are only given with 2 witnesses who must first warn the criminal about the punishment he will receive should he commit the crime. This seldom occurs and a smart criminal will usually be able to avoid this.
- In most monetary crimes there is only restitution (תשלומין) and not even a fine.
The purpose of judicial punishments is not to repay the offender in kind. Proofs of this are:
- The expression in the Torah (Shemos 21:24) “an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth” does not mean remove an eye or remove a tooth. It means monetary payment. We are taught that by tradition (ב”ק פ”ד עמוד א).
- Furthermore, there in Shemos various payments are mentioned (loss of work and medical expenses for the victim) in the words שבתו יתן ורפא ירפא.
(There are only four places where the Torah states that “all Yisrael should see and be afraid.” Those four places are specifically in cases where the crime was not successful. People might not have understood the significance of where these attempted crimes were leading (על שם סופן). They are: עדים זוממין, בן סורר ומורה, זקן ממרא and מסית ומדיח. In all four of these cases deterrence is the reason for the public execution or announcement, but not for the punishment in and of itself.)
- The lesson of the expression of “an eye for an eye” is that a person’s rights are reserved for him, only to the extent that he recognizes the rights of others.
All punishments are rather atonement (כפרה) for the offender. Even someone who is to be executed has a future in the next world and needs this atonement. His death atones for his misdeeds, enabling him to go to the next world in a new state of being, in purity.
Beraishis 9:6
pages 228-229
