Without context, you can't answer the simplest questions. Here is an example: Is the earth big? Here is a more subtle example. The mishnah on daf 118a of Bava Kamma makes a seemingly straightforward statement, and then goes on to demonstrate that there are four different ways to read it. Each of which leads to quite different and practical differences in halacha. (The interested reader may see at the end of this for more details.) I brought this up because I want to take a more wholistic view of a recent TftD regarding the receipt of bad news. Chazal teach us that our response to bad news and our understanding of bad news are distinct and often apparently contradictory. That being said, it is also clear from Chazal that there is, indeed, bad news. This may stem from the nature of good and bad tidings. Good tidings mean we are right now able to experience the goodness of those situations. Bad tidings, on the other hand, require us to do some work to reveal the goodness. When I hea...
First, please don't tell me: "There is no such thing as bad news! Everything is good!" Ok, Pollyanna, but Chazal say differently. In fact, the mishna (Brachos 54a) makes two statements about how to respond to בשורות רעות/bad news. First the mishna tells us the appropriate brachos for both good and bad news. On good news, we say: ברוך ההטוב והמטיב/Blessed is the (One who is) Good and the (One who) bestows good. On bad new, of course, we say: ברוך דיין האמת/Blessed is the True Judge. A few lines later, the mishna reveals this to us: חייב אדם לברך על הרע כשם שלברך על הטובה/A person is obligated (yes, חייב) to bless on bad news in the same way that he blesses on good news. Rashi lets us know right away: This will be explained in the gemara. In other words, Rashi is letting us know: If you are confused, then you are learning the mishna correctly. We need Chazal to straighten this out for us. The gemara on daf 60b works out the kinks for us. Except that I was having a lot of tr...