Berakhot 157

In our last shiur we noted that Rambam creates three categories for perceived evils (or suffering): suffering that is the result of being alive in this universe; suffering that people bring upon themselves; and suffering that is caused by other human beings. We have already discussed the first category, and we can now proceed to the other two.

Much of the suffering in this world is brought about by things people do to themselves. Rationally, we can understand that if a person smokes three packets of cigarettes a day for thirty years and then develops lung cancer they have no right to attribute their suffering to God. If a person over feeds themselves for thirty years and then develops cardiac disease they have no right to attribute their suffering to God. If a person drinks alcohol to a state of incipient inebriation and then they sit behind the wheel of an automobile, they have no right to attribute to God their crash and the damage done to themselves and their property.

All this from the rational point of view. But, of course, people do attribute these situations to God – or at the very least expect God to extricate them from their situation. Yet the Bible is very clear about our responsibility for our own actions. Both Jeremiah and Ezekiel state that the old teaching that the children must pay the price for their fathers' follies has been abrogated [Jeremiah 31:28, Ezekiel 18:20] and that now

Indeed, if we were not responsible for our own actions there would be no logic or rationale for the concept of repentance and forgiveness, and Yom Kippur would lose its meaning.

Perhaps it is necessary for us to realize that not only can we sin towards God and towards fellow human beings, but we also can and do commit grievous sins against ourselves. At first blush it may seem that we are not punished for such sins. But let us remember that in this modern day and age we can readily understand that perhaps we are not punished 'for' our sins, but we are punished 'by' our sins.

I sometimes think that people expect God in some way to intervene and to prevent them harming themselves. I shall expatiate more on this point when we discuss the next category; but at this stage let me point out that if God were to intervene and prevent us from harming ourselves, God would be severely compromising our moral independence – which according to Judaism is the hallmark of humankind. In the Bible [Genesis 4:7] the very first murderer is warned of this:

– and if you don't you must pay the consequences.

Part of our problem is that we are all too mindful of the liturgical images of God as a parent, because we associate parents with tenderness and forgiveness – and what parent would not intervene to prevent offspring doing themselves harm? But we tend to forget the other side of the coin: in one of the greatest liturgical pieces recited during the Ten Days of Penitence, we refer to God as Avinu Malkenu [Our Father and our King]. The Father has compassion, but the King must execute justice.

We also tend to forget that God has already intervened! The Torah [Deuteronomy 4:15] admonishes us to "take exceedingly great care of your persons". And on this verse Rambam teaches [Mishneh Torah, Hilkhot De'ot 4:1]:

We cannot claim that we were not warned.

To be continued.