[Avodah] Choices?

Micha Berger micha at aishdas.org
Fri Sep 28 12:18:48 PDT 2018


On Fri, Sep 07, 2018 at 11:50:34AM +0000, Rich, Joel via Avodah wrote:
:>:>: Does HKB"H view it as equivalent to any other choice one could've made or
:>:>: is one dinged for the original choice when it was made? [is moving into
:>:>: an apartment building knowing one will need to use a manned elevator on
:>:>: Shabbat another example? How about certain medical specialties ]
...
:> That question had a nafqa mina lemaaseh? I missed it.

: Yes-consider a med student who has a slight preference to be an emergency
: medicine md but could just as well become a dermatologist. Assumedly
: the latter would be less likely to put one in questionable situations
: in the future.

But the question you raised was not whether he should choose emergency
medicine or dermatology.

Rather, it was whether the person is judged for picking a specialty that
would have more situations that would require qulos / heterim or whether
he is judged individually for each act of reliance on that qulah or
heter.

And for that, I don't see a nafqa mina lemaaseh.

And my comment:
:>:> Questions like these are unanswerable, since we can't know how Hashem
:>:> judges.

Stands, since "ba'asher hu sham" implies we are less judged for the
action in-and-of-itself, but the state of the soul. Which, in part,
would include the effects of having lived through choices.


(BTW, your example only mentions "questionable situations" -- I presume
you mean hilkhos Shabbos. It ignores the zekhuyos of being in more
opportunities for hatzalas nefashos. And since even safeiq piquach nefesh
trumps Shabbos, it's likely that you buried the lead by focusing on the
lesser issue. But that's about your example, not our discussion.)


:> Why would you think it's positive? It is not like he thereby moved his
:> nequdas habechirah in the right direction. Unless maybe, it was an
:> aveirah be'oneis lishmah. And we haven't revisited aveirah lishmah (even
:> without the "be'oneis" in years. We're due!

: Rabbi Chananya ben Akashya said:1 "The Holy One, blessed be He, wished
: to make the people of Israel meritorious; therefore He gave them Torah
: and mitzvos in abundant measure, as it is written:2 'The Lrd desired,
: for the sake of his [Israel's] righteousness, to make the Torah great
: and glorious.'"

: some mfarshim explain 1. As avoiding a prohibition is not just neutral
: but rewarded

Yes, avoiding. Because the battle with the yeitzer moves the nequdas
habechirah away from sin. Each time a person avoids a cheit, the next
avoidance is easier.

But a case of "oneis rachmana patrei"? If anything, the nequdas
habechirah is moved the wrong way... the person learned that the sky
didn't fall. Something done once be'oneis is now closer to the repetoir of
choices. Patrei -- the person isn't held accountable for that damage. But
how would it change a person for the better?

:-)BBii!
-Micha

-- 
Micha Berger             You will never "find" time for anything.
micha at aishdas.org        If you want time, you must make it.
http://www.aishdas.org                     - Charles Buxton
Fax: (270) 514-1507


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