Which side of God are you on? TB Shabbat 149

Because of today’s daf TB Shabbat 149 I understand better the opening paragraph of the bedtime Shema.

 “And Rabbi Ya’akov, son of the daughter of Ya’akov, said: Anyone who causes another to be punished on his account, they do not bring him within the partition of the Holy One, Blessed be He, even if he is right. The Gemara asks: From where do we know this?

 “(After rejecting two other sources, the Gemara settles on this answer-GG) Rather, the basis for this idea is from here: “Punishment is also not good for the righteous” (Proverbs 17:26), meaning that it is not good for a righteous person to issue punishment. There is no meaning of not good other than evil. And it says: “For You are not a God that desires wickedness, evil will not dwell with You” (Psalms 5:5), meaning that You, God, are righteous and evil shall not dwell with You in Your place of dwelling. Even a righteous person who punishes someone and is called evil and cannot dwell within God’s partition.” (Sefaria.org translation)

 I understand why I should end the day by “forgiving anyone who has angered or provoked me or sinned against me, physically or financially or by failing to give me to respect, or any other matter relating to me, involuntarily or willingly, inadvertently or deliberately, whether word or deed.” (Koren Siddur, page 294) First of all, if I hold on to that anger and don’t let it go, then the person who has wronged me has taken up real estate in my mind. He is in control of my feelings and not me. Once I forgive that person I am free of his control. Secondly, if I want God to forgive me of my trespasses and sins, I need to forgive others.

 I never understood until today why the first paragraph of the bedtime Shema ends “let no one incur punishment because of me.” (Ibid) The life lesson from today’s daf is clear. Even a righteous person who punishes someone is called evil and cannot dwell within God’s partition. Since I never want to be separated from the Holy One blessed be He, I pray every night, “let no one incur punishment because of me.”