The maaseh of Ba'aya the tax collector is disturbing. As Rashi relates the story, Shimon ben Shetach was to take the tax collectors place in Gahenom. What bothers me is that it was the son of Shimon that was killed as a result of the testimony of false witnesses and not Shimon himself? Secondly why did he or for that matter his son deserve this set up? The Talmid told Shimon about the dream he had and Shimon followed through by putting the sorceresses to death. Was it because he was Nesrashel in not taking care of it immediately when he knew about it? Moshe Rabbeinu was Nesrashel and chayav misah but because of Tziporah he was saved. She carried out the mission. So too here Shimon followed through!! Wasn't this a tikun and why should his son be punished in such a false manner?
Is there a Meforash that talks about this problem?
Keep up the good work I enjoy the discussion very much!
Berkas Kol Toov!!
Mordechai Levin
Hash-m allows gave man the Bechirah, free choice, to sin, even if though his sin might directly affect the lives of other people. When a wicked person chooses to harm a righteous person he might succeed in his plans (unless the righteous person is a very very unique Tzadik).
In the spirit of the season... when Reuven advised his brothers to throw Yosef into a pit, the Torah says "he saved Yosef from their hands." But Chazal tell us the pit was full of scorpions (Shabbos 22a)! In fact, we find at the end of Yevamos (121a) that if a man falls into a ditch of scorpions, his wife may assume that he died and remarry!
The ZOHAR (Bereishis 185a), cited by MAR'EH KOHEN on Shabbos 22a, asks this question. The Zohar answers that Reuven knew Yosef stood a better chance of surviving the scorpions than of surviving his brothers' hands. Hash-m will much more readily send a miraculous salvation from animals than from the hands of Ba'alei Bechirah, free-choosing people.
As for why the false witnesses did not testify that Shimon ben Shetach himself had sinned, apparently that would give away their evil intentions immediately and the judges would dismiss the case as a "Din Merumah." Or perhaps, because of his great merits, they knew Hash-m would save him even from the hands of Ba'alei Bechirah.
M. Kornfeld