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How does communal punishment differ from individual punishment?
The Gemara discusses what is done when the court erroneously allows idol worship.
Sins that are committed in error are generally treated with more leniency than those committed intentionally.
Similarly, sins committed by an entire community are punished more vigorously than those committed by an individual.
The rabbis look to juxtapositioning of different words and phrases to prove this assertion.
We present the notion of juxtaposition in the work of Avigdor Shinan and Yair Zakovitch.
We explore the ramifications of collective punishment in Jewish thought.