Before us is Mishnah 8 in the fifth chapter of Maseches Avos (in various editions the numbering of the mishnayos in this chapter differs). The Mishnah opens: "Shivah minei pur'anus ba'in la'olam al shivah gufei aveirah" - seven kinds of divine retribution, which are in effect punishments, come to the world for seven categories of sin.
Two preliminary notes on the structure of the Mishnah:
In our Mishnah only five kinds of retribution are listed; the remaining two appear in the next Mishnah.
The structure of the Mishnah can be misleading: it seems as though there is a one to one correspondence, one kind of retribution for each category of sin. But that is not the case, and at times several categories of sin lead to a single kind of punishment. This question may become clearer as we go on; first let us read the Mishnah and understand its words at face value.
The five retributions in this Mishnah:
"Miktzasan me'asrin u'miktzasan einan me'asrin - ra'av shel batzores ba" - when part of the community separates tithes properly and gives the gifts to the kohanim, the Levi'im and the poor, and part does not separate them, a famine comes on account of drought, that is, from lack of rain. And the result: "Miktzasan re'evin u'miktzasan seve'in" - the rain falls in certain places and not in others, and therefore food is found in certain places and not in others; some people will be hungry and some will not. This is a matching correspondence: corresponding to some who tithe and some who do not - some are hungry and some are satisfied.
"Gamru shelo la'aser - ra'av shel mehumah v'shel batzores ba" - when the community decides as a matter of principle not to separate tithes at all and not to give the gifts to the kohanim, the Levi'im and the poor, a more severe famine comes: not only lack of rain, but also turmoil - panic and disruption. Disruption of the supply chains, panic or threats, which prevent food from being produced properly, and there is not enough food for everyone - and all become hungry.
"V'shel lo tarum challah - ra'av shel kelayah ba" - when the community does not give challah, that is, the portion of the dough given to the kohen, a famine comes that is more severe than the previous ones: a famine of annihilation, in which people die of hunger on a widespread scale.
"Dever ba la'olam" - dever is a plague in which people die everywhere (like the well known epidemics: the Black Death, the Spanish flu and the like). The Mishnah lists two causes for its coming:
"Al misos ha'amuros baTorah shelo nimseru l'veis din" - when people commit transgressions punishable by death and the court is unable to carry it out. There are two types here: transgressions punishable by death at the hands of Heaven or by kares - an untimely death that comes by way of divine providence, from the Holy One and not from the court; and transgressions punishable by death at the hands of the court, except that the court cannot execute the sentence because there are no valid witnesses or because proper warning was not given. When a situation arises in which people are liable to death and it is impossible to bring them to trial, widespread death comes by way of dever, an epidemic of disease.
"V'al peiros shevi'is" - when the laws of shevi'is are not properly observed: doing business with produce of the Shemitah year, which is forbidden, or engaging in agricultural activities that the Torah prohibited. Here too the result is dever, may the Merciful One spare us.
"Cherev ba'ah la'olam" - its literal meaning is a sword, and the intent is that violence and war come to the world. Three causes are listed for this:
"Al inui hadin" - delaying the issuing of a verdict. The court already knows how it will rule, to acquit or to convict, but it delays its ruling, and the litigant suffers and waits in his distress.
"V'al ivus hadin" - the perversion of justice: acquitting the guilty of their punishment, or obligating the innocent to pay.
"V'al hamorim baTorah shelo kahalachah" - those who issue halachic rulings that do not accord with the halachic norms, such as the actions of Shabbesai Tzvi, or the permitting of prohibitions by a Reform rabbi and the like. All of these are included in "those who teach Torah not in accordance with halachah," and they bear this terrible punishment.
In summary: this Mishnah lists five of the seven kinds of retribution: three levels of famine - corresponding to partial separation of tithes, to a decision not to tithe at all, and to failure to give challah; dever - corresponding to death penalties not carried out by the court and to the produce of shevi'is; and the sword - corresponding to delaying justice, perverting justice, and teaching Torah not in accordance with halachah.
The next Mishnah will list the final two kinds of retribution, and there we will continue.