I was heartbroken this morning to learn that the toddler hit in the head by a foul ball at an Astros game looked like she would have permanent brain damage. I doubt any of us think the little girl deserved what happened to her or that any children marred by tragedy deserves what happens to them. We should meditate hard on the children who will be impacted now that the winds of war are once again blowing.

In today’s Daf, the Rabbis attempt to create a theological explanation for why bad things happen to good people. They debate whether tragedy represents punishment for sin or if calamity to the righteous is somehow a paradoxical sign of God’s love. Today, I would guess that a large majority of Americans find these explanations hollow. They sound to us like a blame the victim mentality. I certainly remember when some leaders tried to claim that AIDS was God’s punishment and those who contracted a disease deserved it. We lose compassion for victims if we think they deserve what happens to them. Religion becomes a dividing force, not a unifying force, when we use God to justify that some of us are more fortunate than others. This ugliness comes readily apparent in the Daf when the Rabbis confront one of their own who suffers his own economic ruin.

Before turning to these more philosophical questions, the Daf opens with a debate if Torah scholars have to say the Shema at night like everyone else. The debate is not resolved in the Gemara, but the notes in the Schottenstein Edition indicate that Rabbis now believe that there are no longer scholars of such a caliber that they could credibly skip the Shema anyway. Regardless if one is enough of a scholar that you can skip evening prayers, the Rabbis believe that we have to be on constant guard from evil inclinations (“Yozer Hora” in Hebrew). We can guard against the evil inclination by engaging in Torah study, reciting the Shema and, if those don’t work, reflecting on our mortality.

Before continuing, the Gemara inserts a proof that the Talmud has the same theological standing as the written bible. Specifically, the Rabbi Levi bar Chama says in the name of Rabbi ben Lakish that Exodus 24:12 proves the point: “The Lord said to Moses, ‘Come up to Me on the mountain and wait there, and I will give you the stone tablets with the teachings and commandments which I have inscribed to instruct them.'” According to this theory, the stone tablets are the Ten Commandments, the teachings are the Torah, the commandments are the Mishnah and “the inscribed” refers to the other written books of the bible (the Prophets and the Writings). Point proved.

Now we can return to saying the Shema at night. The Rabbis provide proof texts that saying the Shema is a double edged sword to ward off evil and to protect one from demons. The proof from scripture, relying on Psalms 149:6, Job 5:7 and Deuteronomy 32:24 is really convoluted. I had a hard time following it. At any rate, the Talmud goes on to say that a proof is not necessary because even school children know it and it is stated plain as day in Exodus 15:26.

Here is where things turn ugly. Rabbi Yochanan asserts that anyone who has the time to study Torah, but does not do so, will receive “repulsive afflictions” from God. Thus we launch into the just deserts of the righteous juxtaposed against the punishments of the wicked. A footnote in the Schottenstein Edition (remember this is my religious translation, as opposed to Neusner, my academic translation), states “It is a principle of our faith that everything which befalls a person, whether to his benefit or to his detriment, is decreed by Heaven in accordance with his deeds . . . Therefore a person who suffers harm must presume that is a punishment for a sin he has committed.” Were you born with a horribly painful genetic disease? You must deserve it. Was your infant killed by a drunk driver? The infant must have deserved it.

This leads to an alternate interpretation. Perhaps, God sends us affliction because he loves us. Proverbs 3:12 states, “For whom the Lord loves, He afflicts. As a father, the son whom he favors.” See also Psalms 94:12 and Isiah 53:10. If we accept with love the afflictions God sends us, we are rewarded with offspring and long life. I suppose accepting afflictions with love means having a good attitude in life, no matter what occurs. A debate ensues as to how we know which afflictions God sends with love. One school holds that any affliction that does not prevent Torah study is sent with love. Another school holds that any affliction that does not prevent prayer is sent with love.

Perhaps the strangest proof comes by analogizing to the plight of slaves. If you own a slave and you destroy your slave’s eye or knock out your slaves tooth, then you are obligated to free the slave. Exodus 21:26-27. Similarly, when God afflicts us, we should rejoice because our status, in the World to Come, will be improved. Further proofs ensue based on the reading of the word “covenant” in different scriptural passages and showing that Torah, the land of Israel and heaven were only acquired through suffering. Indeed, the Rabbis then conclude that a person who buries his sons has his sins forgiven.

The Talmud tries to distinguish between “Afflictions of Love” and punishments for sin, by considering various types of tzaraas (the theological skin disease described in Leviticus 13). The Rabbis also debate whether losing sons is an “Affliction of Love” or punishment for sin. Of special note is Rabbi Yochanan who carried a bone or tooth from his tenth son who died. Three stories of Rabbis who were sick and visited by colleagues who revive them follow. I believe these stories illustrate how to re-frame suffering as a positive.

Then we come to the most puzzling of this weeks stories. Rabbi Huna had 400 barrels of wine that spoiled and he lost his investment. Several Rabbis went to visit Rabbi Huna. Rather than comforting Rabbi Huna, the Rabbis tell him he must be guilty of some grave sin. Here comes that blame the victim mentality that so endears religious people to everyone else! The Rabbis accuse Rabbi Huna of not properly dividing his crop with a sharecropper. When Rabbi Huna repents, apparently either the wine was restored or the price of vinegar rose. Either way, Rabbi Huna was restored.

Today’s Daf ends with some Feng Shui. Abba Binyamin discusses praying before bed, which sparks a discussion about why he always arranged his bed with the head at the North end and the feet facing South, rather than East/West or South/North. The Rabbis note that if your bed has a North/South alignment, you will have male children and your wife will not miscarry! In the last sentences, the Talmud notes that if you finish praying before the people with whom you go to synagogue, you have to wait for them to finish before leaving or you will receive no merit for your prayers. Don’t go to synagogue with me. My Hebrew is really slow. You will be waiting for a very long time!