CHAPTER THREE
MITZVOS AND SINS
[3:1] Every person has merits and sins, (the righteous do mitzvos but sometimes do not). If a person's merits are greater than his sins, he is considered a righteous person. If his sins are greater than his merits, he is considered a sinful person. If his merits and sins are equal, he is called a beinoni1 (half righteous half sinner). The same applies for an entire country, if the total merits of its dwellers are greater than their sins, the country is judged righteous. If their sins are greater, the country is judged wicked. The same is true for the continents and for the entire world2.
[3:2] If a person's sins are greater than his merits, he is sentenced to die3. For it is written, "I have struck you ... because your sins were so many." (Jerimiyah 30:14). A country whose sins are greater than their merits will be sentenced to devastation, as it is written, "The painful cries (of the oppressed) in Sodom
1 When God our Creator judges an individual, the accuracy of weighing the scale is so fine that it is almost impossible for an individuals sins and merits to be equal. However, the mercy of God will tilt the scale for someone whose merits are somewhat less than his sins if he also was kind and gave charity and helped people in need. Sometimes the scale will be tilted to the middle, and he will be considered a beinony, and sometimes the scale is tilted to the right side of the merits.
2 As was the case with Noah and the flood.
3 The literal translation is "he will die immediately". If so, then all evil people will die the day after Yom Kippur. We must conclude that the term death in this context means, not to merit the World to Come. The actual time of his death will vary accordingly. There are only specific sins whose punishment is, that he will not see the World to Come, therefore, we cannot say that everyone whose sins are greater than his merits will not see the World to Come. The concept here is that if he did not do a sin whose punishment is that he will not see the World to Come, and his sins are greater than his merits, then he is paid in this world for the good that he has done, and he is punished after death to cleanse his soul, and then subjugated to the souls of the righteous, to merit the World to Come through them because his merits were paid for in this world. This punishment can also be considered death, the same way that we say that an impoverished person is considered dead. If he cannot be independent and needs the righteous in order to exist in the World to Come, he is a person who is spiritually impoverished. Furthermore, the very fact that he was judged to be paid in this world and to be punished after death, this can also be considered as a death sentence, because what good is it for him to continue living in this world under these conditions, he is a case of the living dead.
As long as he has not been fully paid in this world, he has an argument not to die. However, he may receive a large payment quickly, and die immediately afterwards. He may have been paid in full and yet not die because God may feel that there is a probability that he will repent, or that God desires to punish people through his evil ways. We have seen totally ruthless people make an entire nation suffer. Sometimes, God lets him live in order to increase his sins and punishment.