Megillat Esther ends with the Purim antagonist, Haman, hanging from the gallows. Haman, however, does not die alone, for his tens sons also are slain: “And Parshandatha and Dalphon and Aspatha, and Poratha and Adalia and Aridatha, and Parmashta and Arisai and Aridai and Vaizatha: The ten sons of Haman the son of Hammedatha, the adversary of the Jews, they slew….” (Megillat Esther Chpater 9, Lines 7—10)
The Megillah itself does not expressly tell us exactly why Haman’s sons effectively deserved the same or equal punishment as their father but some scholars insist that sons were actively involved or passively complicit in Haman’s plot to destroy the Jewish People. Other scholars contend that even if the sons were not co-conspirators in Haman’s initial foiled plot, they nevertheless intended and/or attempted to destroy the Jews as part of the same or a related campaign. Suffice it to say, most scholars agree that for one reason or another, Haman’s sons were guilty and deserving of retribution.
Let’s put aside the question of whether and exactly how Haman’s sons were involved in the father’s scheme. Instead, let’s ask a broader question as to whether a child should be held accountable for the sins of a parent? Conversely, should parents be held responsible for the dastardly deeds of their descendants? These are important legal, halachic, ethical and philosophical questions, the answers to which cannot and should not be formulated without careful consideration and nuanced deliberation.
Even assuming that parents should be liable for their progeny and vice versa, one might wonder exactly how far such familial liability should extend. When does the relationship between two relatives become so remote that one should not be blamed for the acts of the other? Here are some hypotheticals to consider, all of which involve fake crimes that we hope no person would ever commit:
1. If your niece cares way too much about minor details that are of little significance and thus she is charged with “petty” crime, should you suffer the same consequence?
2. If your nephew, who has no respect for grammar or punctuation, writes an offensively long run-on word string and as a result receives a life “sentence,” should you meet the same fate?
3. If on Purim your aunt dresses up as your uncle and then is arrested for “male” fraud, should you also have to answer for her conduct?
4. If on Chanukah your gift-giving uncles conspire to hand out inferior tennis gear and thus are charged with “racqueteering,” should you get lumped in with them?
5. If your carnivorous brother overindulges on fast-food and is charged with “burgerlary,” should you be held accountable too?
6. If your poorly-behaved sister with an attitude problem is referred to by police as “Ms. Demeanor,” should you also receive an unflattering label?
7. If your half-sister intentionally stains the upper portion of a bleached dress shirt and thus is charged with “white collar“ crime, should you also be taken to task?
8. If your half-brother overly seasons food with excessive amounts of sodium chloride, intentionally serves it to the CEO of Duracell and then is charged with “a salt and battery,” should you face the same penalty?
9. If your great-grandmother, who is in desperate need of certain antigens, robs a blood bank, do you go to jail too? What if it was your great-great grandmother? By the way, was she caught in the act because her wheel chair, even if motorized and fully charged, was not the ideal getaway car for such a caper? Or was she apprehended immediately following the heist because she slipped the bank teller a “stick’em up” note that smelled exactly like her apartment and was written on the back of a 1960’s bingo card from Grossigners?
10. If your third cousin egregiously lacks confidence and thus is charged with “insecurities” violations, should you share the blame? Does it matter that you have never met your third cousin, you do not live on the same continent as your third cousin and you wouldn’t be able to pick out your third cousin if he or she was the only suspect in a police line-up?
11. If your machatonim (inlaws) deliberately avoid using metals pins to post things on their bulletin board and thus are sent to jail for “tacks” evasion, should you pay the same price? Would the punishment be far worse if you were forced to share a prison cell with your machatonim?
Final thought: Never detonate a nuclear family.
By Jon Kranz
