When the Righteous are also Killed 

Rabbi Moshe Ben-Chaim

Greater sins deserve greater punishments and deterrents:

“Once permission is given to the destroyer, it does not distinguish between the righteous and the wicked” (Talmud Sanhedrin 60a).

Of course, the wicked are always punished. So the new idea shared above addresses the destruction of the righteous people. But does this mean these righteous people are completely free of guilt? This principle is applied to the Egyptian Passover where the Jews were warned not to leave their houses at the risk of being killed along with the Egyptian firstborns. If they exited their homes, they sinned against God’s command and thus, would be destroyed (Rashi, Exod. 12:22). So the “righteous” doesn’t mean they were without guilt. Would a 100% righteous person without sin be swept away when God makes a general decree of destruction? Is that justice? Noah’s salvation indicates he was “righteous in his generation” (Gen. 7:1). Lote had character flaws, yet perhaps he was saved from Sodom’s destruction so his uncle Abraham would not suffer disgrace. And Radak says about the messianic war of Gog and Magog (Isaiah 26:20) that one should repent so as to be saved. Certainly one with no sin would be saved.

Ezekiel addresses the destruction of the First Temple:

“Pass through the city, through Jerusalem, and put a mark on the foreheads of the persons who moan and groan [with remorse] because of all the abominations that are committed in it.” (Ezekiel 9:4)

“Kill off graybeard, youth and maiden, women and children; but do not touch any person who bears the mark. Begin here at My Sanctuary. So they began with the elders who were in front of the House.”  (Ibid. 9:6).

 Shabbos 55a elaborates:

The Holy One, Blessed be He, said to the angel Gabriel, “Go and inscribe a tav of ink on the foreheads of the righteous as a sign so that the angels of destruction will not have dominion over them. And inscribe a tav of blood on the foreheads of the wicked as a sign so that the angels of destruction will have dominion over them.” The attribute of justice said before the Holy One, Blessed be He, “Master of the Universe, how are these different from those?” He said to that attribute, "These are full-fledged righteous people and those are full-fledged wicked people.” The attribute of justice said to Him, "Master of the Universe, it was in the hands of the righteous to protest the conduct of the wicked, and they did not protest.”  He said to that attribute, "It is revealed and known before Me that even had they protested the conduct of the wicked, the wicked would not have accepted the reprimand from them. They would have continued in their wicked ways.” The attribute of justice said before Him, "Master of the Universe, if it is revealed before You that their reprimand would have been ineffective, is it revealed to them?” [Meaning the righteous were guilty for not having tried to correct the wicked]  And that is the meaning of that which is written, "Slay utterly old and young, both maid, and little children, and women; but come not near any man upon whom is the mark; and begin at My Sanctuary” (Ezekiel 9:6). And it is written in that same verse, "Then they began with the elderly men who were before the house.”

First (9:4) we see God initially wishing to protect certain righteous people called, “tzaddikim gamurim; fully righteous” even during a punishment of the worst sin of idolatry. Thus, verse 9:4 says God’s mercy did not wish to harm these righteous people. But verse 9:6 concludes, “So they [destructive angels] began with the elders,” meaning God retracted his mercy from the elders. For although they had not sinned with idolatry, they sinned by not admonishing others to abstain from idolatry (see Rashi). Thus, no one fully righteous was killed. 

Under some circumstances, the righteous earn God's providence and protection, as Torah depicts regarding numerous personalities. But under severe circumstances, they are swept away in catastrophe just like the wicked people for some guilt they possess. 

It is only regarding severe sins with threats of harsh punishments intending to deter such sins, that when violated, the righteous too are killed. The justice is that even the righteous people are justifiably killed, as they have the knowledge with which they should have educated the masses to prevent great sins. Failure to rebuke the masses was the reason why during the First Temple, God killed these Jews, starting with the righteous. Talmud says, “Not only are the righteous killed too, but they are the first to be killed” as stated, “I will kill righteous and wicked” (Ezek. 21:8). In this verse, the righteous are mentioned first, teaching that they were killed first.   

Similarly, Sodom and the other cities were destroyed due to the lack of good influence. Had there been at least 10 righteous people, God would have spared them. When God revealed to Abraham His plan to destroy Sodom, Abraham's response was astonishment that God would destroy the righteous along with the wicked. But God said that without a minimum of 10 righteous people, the cities would all be destroyed (Gen. 18:32). However, God didn’t disagree with Abraham’s emphatic conviction that the fully righteous will always be saved. 

The fact that the destroyer does not distinguish between the righteous and the evil people indicates guilt of the righteous people. Meaning, with proper leadership, the masses will respect the leaders. That is human nature. But the leaders who fail the people by not teaching Torah, will not be immune to punishment. Similarly, the Jews who didn’t listen to God and exited their home during the Egyptian Exodus would be killed,  as “the destroyer does not distinguish between the righteous and the evil.” Meaning, when the righteous have some guilt, they too will suffer. But as Radak says on Isaiah 26:2, “Those who repent fully will escape harm.”  Certainly one who is righteous without sin will be spared. 

This matter is still be studied and I present only my initial thoughts herein.