Suffering for others

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  • #592309
    a nony mus
    Participant

    By many of the funerals I have been to lately, the speeches often revolve around the same theme. The “honoree” of the funeral suffered a lot during their life, but was, of course, the nicest, sweetest, most generous person you can ever be lucky enough to know.

    A common thought that is said, is that this kind and generous soul did not deserve to suffer the pain that it did because of its own actions, but rather the suffering was for the other people around who were effected by that individual’s suffering.

    For example: A young child with cancer, who is suffering immensely, is not suffering because of his actions, but rather because of the actions of the people around him. Family, community, etc.

    One of the Jewish refutes to the Christian statement that their leader died for their sins, is that in Judaism, one does not and cannot die for the sins of others.

    How do these two theories/statements not contradict each other?

    #694979
    gavra_at_work
    Participant

    mdd

    Member

    A child is considered an autonomous extension of his parents till his bar mitsva or her bas mitsva age, and can be punished for the parents aveiros (Parshas Ki Teitze, Pashi on the posuk “Lo yumsu avos…”).

    #694980
    a nony mus
    Participant

    There have been many times when the sufferer was not a child. I have often hear the statement of “He was suffering because of the people around him” related to gedolim and tzadikim.

    How does that one line up?

    #694981
    MPK
    Member

    GAVRA:

    Interestingly, that is one reason given for the little known shita that the bar-mitzva himself makes the brocho of boruch shep’turani. and not the father. He is making the brocho that he’s made it past the age that he can be punished for the sins of his parents.

    A KSIVA V’CHASIMA TO ALL!

    #694982
    WIY
    Member

    It says in many Seforim that Tzaddikim are treated harshly and receive illnesses and other problems to be Mechaper for the dor. A Tzaddik of high caliber knows how to be mekabel punishments on himself so that they won’t happen to others. That’s one of the reasons many of the greatest Tzaddikim suffered greatly.

    #694983
    apushatayid
    Participant

    There are signifigant differences in xtian doctrine and what you hear at a levaya.

    The main one.

    The xtians believe that oso ish suffered and died (the suffering is not as critical as the dying, but since the suffering is mentioned in the passuk they shoehorn this concept into, they talk about it as well) as a means of a “kappara” for all mankind since we can no longer bring karbanos. This is based on another “pshat” they shoehorn into another passuk about “blood” being the only form of kappara available to people. Their doctrine states that unless you believe that oso ish died for your aveiros, you will never, ever have a kaparra and are damned for all eternity. This belief is a lot different that the statement that the ribbono shel olam sometimes brings a punishment on an individual as a means to wake up an entire tzibbur for introspection and tshuva. Moreover, unless each individual does tshuva for their individual situations they are not given a kappara and will be held accountable in shaymayim (in contrast to the xtian doctrine that an individual is not required to do tshuva, or the tshuva doesnt help – depends on the denomination- without believing that oso ish already died for you).

    May we all be zoche to a tshuva shlaima and a ksiva vchasima tova.

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