Punishment: Its Method and Purpose 57

no longer useful even when properly applied. The same was true of penance which ceased to be mentioned in the responsa litera­ture. The communal base for such actions diminished further and further.

Forms of penance as a path to reconciliation with God had their roots in the Bible with its system of guilt and atonement offerings as well as fasting. They were stipulated, but not legally enforced as this was an area between God and the individual. They could be used as a form of punishment. The Talmud devel­oped them, but not in the direction of a court directed punish­ment as was the case in the Middle Ages. Whipping, shaving of the head and beard, and fasting along with financial restitution was imposed.®

Aside from the traditional uses of punishment of earlier peri­ods to control criminal behavior, the medieval authorities uti­lized it as a way of enforcing communal discipline. As the world around them was often hostile, strict discipline was necessary to hold the community together. The threat of punishment should therefore be seen as preventive or educational. The methods used reflected the general standards of the times, so new and cruel methods, not previously found, were introduced. There were limits beyond which the punishment could not go for the possiblity of simply leaving the Jewish community always existed. So a balance between reinforcing communal discipline and forcing a member out of the community had to be found.®! No general theories of punishment were developed and none of the medieval philosophers treated this area.

Conclusions

As we look over the punishments used through the centuries, we see that a number of different goals were sought:(a) The execu­tion of the Divine will;(b) the establishment of a“holy people” with high ideals which would lead to the Messianic Age;(c) the removal of evil from the midst of the people;(d) the elimination of personal vengeance;(e) the prevention of evil through a fear of Punishment;(f) the re-education of the criminal;(g) the mainte­Nance of limited autonomy in the face of gentile power;(h) the Preservation of the community and its integrity and(i) the elim­ination of dissidence.