Decrees and Negligence
Rabbi Chanina said, “Everything is in the hands of Heaven except for sickness from cold and heat, as the verse states, “Cold and heat are traps on the path; one who wants to be safe from them will keep at a distance from them.” (Prov. 22:5)
The verse refers to the dangers as tzinim pachim, which means “cold” and “heat” according to one explanation by the Rashbam, and is also the explanation in Tosefot. Another possibility is cited by the Rashbam, saying that the verse speaks only about cold (tzinim), with pachim meaning the cold as a harmful “trap” (pach). However, according to all explanations, the verse teaches about the danger to a person posed by adverse climatic conditions.
Rabbi Chanina’s teaching is cited in our sugya to explain the meaning of “illness through negligence,” an expression in the gemara. One might think that a person’s well-being is always decreed from Above, and a person’s negligent conduct will not affect his health and physical condition. The verse in Proverbs, Rabbi Chanina states, is proof that a person has the free-will to choose to be negligent, which can lead to sickness or injury.
Tosefot explains a gemara in Bava Metzia (107b), which elucidates the verse in Deut. 7:15, “And Hashem will remove all sickness from you.” “Sickness” refers to the cold, which seems to imply that Hashem, and not the individual person, controls whether a person gets sick from the cold. This means that if it was not decreed, a person could walk outside indefinitely in Arctic weather and remain perfectly healthy. Tosefot explains that the accurate meaning of the verse is not that Hashem controls whether a person is cold or not, but that Hashem gives a person wisdom to guard against the cold by choosing to wear warm clothing.
The Talmud Yerushalmi tells a story, as quoted by Tosefot, that the Roman ruler Antoninus was setting out to travel and asked Rebbi (his close friend, with whom he studied Torah) to pray for his welfare. Rebbi prayed, “May it be the will of Hashem that you be saved from the cold.” “Is that a fitting prayer?” asked Antoninus with disappointment. He clearly knew that he could put on a warmer coat if necessary! So, Rebbi then prayed, “May it be the will of Hashem that you be saved from extreme heat.” Antoninus replied, “Now, that prayer is certainly a helpful prayer, since it is written (in Ps. 19:7): ‘And no one can escape its (the sun’s) heat.’”
Years ago, I was in a classroom on a cold day, when a dispute broke out between two students. One said, “Close the window, I’m too cold!” The other argued that he was not cold (even a bit warm, if anything), and that he needed fresh air from outside. The teacher settled the matter by quoting a ruling he had heard from his Rabbi about a hot vs. cold situation. He said, “The person who is warm and wants the window open “wins.” The cold student should put on warmer clothing. And the source for this decision? The verse that Tosefot cites, ‘No one can hide from its heat.’ (Ps. 19:7) The cold person can add layers of clothing for warmth, but what can the warm person do in order to not be hot? Step out of his skin?!”
Bava Batra 144b
