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Why does the Torah (תורה) threaten that oppressors of widows and orphans will have wives who become "widows" unable to prove their husbands' deaths and children who become "orphans" unable to inherit? The curse fits the crime: oppressing the vulnerable doesn't just exploit weakness—it forces them to relive their loss. The measure-for-measure punishment creates perpetual, unresolvable pain that mirrors the psychological torment inflicted on those who are constantly reminded of their vulnerability.
The Torah (תורה) in Parshas Mishpatim warns that one who oppresses a widow or orphan will face divine retribution: "I will kill you with the sword and your wives will be widows and your children will be orphans." Chazal raise an obvious question: if Hashem (ה׳) is going to kill the oppressor, it's self-evident that his wife will become a widow and his children orphans. Why does the verse need to state this explicitly? Rashi (רש"י), based on Chazal, explains that the punishment is far more severe than simple widowhood and orphanhood. The oppressor's wife will become a widow whose husband's death cannot be proven—leaving her unable to remarry according to halacha (הלכה). His children will become orphans who cannot inherit their father's property because the father's death cannot be established with certainty. This creates a unique form of suffering: they have all the disadvantages of widowhood and orphanhood without the legal status that would allow them to move forward with their lives.
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Parshas Mishpatim, Shemos 22:21-23
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