Suffering?
The explanation of the bible (the oral law) about suffering, quotes Rava,, as teaching that if a person sees that suffering has befallen him, he should examine his actions. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=krtMFVfbC6w
The explanation of the bible (the oral law) about suffering, quotes Rava,, as teaching that if a person sees that suffering has befallen him, he should examine his actions.
In the course of discussing this, the Talmud (Hebrew name for the Oral law) argues that there are three different possible sources for an individual suffering, each with its own scriptural support.
1. Generally, suffering comes about as punishment for one's transgressions, as it is stated: "We will search and examine our ways, and return to God" (Eichah 3:40).
2. If he examined his ways and found no transgression for which that suffering is appropriate, he may attribute his suffering to dereliction in the study of spirituality. God punishes an individual for dereliction in the study of spirituality in order to emphasize the gravity of the issue, as it is stated: "Happy is the man whom You punish, Lord, and teach out of faith that is teaching that when one realizes that he is ill, he should not assume that it is happenstance and immediately turn to medical doctors. Rather, he should view it as an opportunity to examine his own actions and conduct. A doctor examines a patient to determine the cause of the illness so that he may prescribe effective medicine to counteract the illness and restore the patient to physical health. Similarly, an examination of the soul is required to determine the source of one's spiritual illness. The first step in curing the illness is abandoning the conduct that is deleterious to one's spiritual health.
Your law" (Tehillim 94:12). This verse teaches us that his suffering will cause him to return to Your law.
Your law" (Tehillim 94:12). This verse teaches us that his suffering will cause him to return to Your law.
3. And if he did attribute his suffering to dereliction in the study of Torah, and did not find this to be so, he may be confident that these are afflictions of love, as it is stated: "For whom the Lord loves, He rebukes, as does a father the son in whom he delights" (Mishlei 3:12).
As my friend Joel Snyder said this morning, that doesn't mean that G-d wants you to suffer, but that he wants you to grow, like a parent wants a child to grow. So the rebuking or suffering is for the purpose of growing. No pain -no gain. However too much pain is not acceptable either, as we learn from the story of Lot.
Love Yehuda Lave
Our trip takes us to Lake Washington Seattle
Love Yehuda Lave
Our trip takes us to Lake Washington Seattle
SOMEONE HAS BEEN ABLE TO PHOTOGRAPH THE POT AT THE END OF THE RAINBOW
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Visit my Blog: http://yehudalave.blogspot.com
or http://www.yehudalave.com/
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Visit my Blog: http://yehudalave.blogspot.com
or http://www.yehudalave.com/
