Seller's Regret?

Rabbi (Rembrandt von Rijn)

אמר רבי זירא ואיתימא רבי חנינא בר פפא בא וראה שלא כמדת הקב"ה מדת בשר ודם מדת בשר ודם אדם מוכר חפץ לחבירו מוכר עצב ולוקח שמח אבל הקב"ה אינו כן נתן להם תורה לישראל ושמח שנא' כי לקח טוב נתתי לכם תורתי אל תעזובו

Brochos 5a
Rabi Zeyra said (some say it was Hanina bar Pappa) “Look at how God differs from men! When a man sells something to another the seller is sad and the buyer is happy. But with HaKadosh Baruch Hu this isn’t so. He gave the Jews the Torah and rejoiced, as the verse says (Mishlei 4) “A good wisdom I have given you, do not abandon my teaching.”

I am oft bombarded with comments extolling the greatness our Talmudic scholars; how they were not merely wise men, but imbued with deep spiritual insight and an even profounder perception of human psychology. Yet, I must tell you, the Talmud is full of statements that prove other wise. This is just one example.

First of all, I don’t know where these rabbis learned about doing business, but when a man sells something to his neighbor, especially if his business involves selling things, then why wouldn’t he be happy when the item is sold? That the seller should somehow be sad makes no sense at all. In any normal scenario the buyer and seller will be happy.

This gemara is a popular one, and I remember learning it for the first time when I was about nine years old. I also remember it bringing up some obvious dilemmas. I never felt the statement re:sad seller could be true. My mother’s mishpocho was in the furniture business for many years, and I, being the prodigal son, spent a good deal of time in the stores doing odd jobs and learning the business. I never once saw my uncles cry when they sold a bedroom set. Their raison d’etre was selling! If anything the opposite is truer, the seller is happiest and the buyer might later be the one with regrets.

Secondly, even if a seller would be saddened by the sale of something precious to him, perhaps because he didn’t wish to sell it or forced to do so out of desperation and sold it for much less than its value, how can you ever compare that to a gift? Why would anyone who freely offers a gift to another person ever be sad about it, or regret it? How can the Chazal get away with comparing selling, even under duress, to gift giving? This comparison, even if you ‘buy’ the sad seller scenario just doesn’t wash.

The only way you could justify this comparison is by showing that HaShem really never wanted to give the Torah to the Jews, but was, like our reluctant seller, forced to do so by circumstance. Last I checked, the Ribono Shel Olam couldn’t be forced to do anything he didn’t want to do. If the comparison is to be made over the issue of regret, then we have already said that HaShem has no regrets!

Besides, the quoted verse from Proverbs mentions nothing about HaShem rejoicing. If anything, it serves as a harsh warning not to abuse or neglect this ‘good wisdom’, and there is nothing happy about admonishment by God, unless one wishes to connect this idea with the rest of the sugya, which would invoke another whole set of problems. This verse also does not mean something specifically given by HaShem, but most likely means the passing of wisdom from father to son, as is evident from the context of Mishlei 4.

It requires quite the leap of faith to stick by the Chazal in spite of all the dumb things they say. I know that there will be some of you who will try to explain this as to make some sense from it. By all means, please try. Others will simply say that I’m an am-ha’aretz, shoteh, ba’al aveyra, etc.

I’ve been called worse by people who love me. Flattery will get you nowhere!