The Obstacles of Luxury (San 108a & San 109a)

The discussion over the past few days has focused on how different groups of people lost their share in the world to come. The rabbis give many different examples of what the groups did to transgress their way out of olam ha'baah. One reoccurring thread used in discussion with the generation of Noah and the Sodomites is how wealth and fortune turned into arrogance and transgression.

לא נתגאו אלא בשביל טובה שהשפיע להם הקדוש ברוך הוא

The people of Sodom/the generation of the flood became arrogant only because of the bounty that the Holy One, Blessed is He, Lavished upon them. (108a2 and 109a4)

The obvious take away is how dangerous money, wealth, power, etc can be for a group of people. What I think is so interesting is the way the rabbis emphasize that they only became arrogant because of something God gave to them. So, who are the rabbis blaming, God or the people? It seems to me that the rabbis are putting some of the responsibility on God, who gave the people an obstacle they couldn't overcome.

As I was writing this post a crazy thing happened.

An umpire, Jim Joyce, blew a call that caused Armando Galarraga to lose a perfect game on literally the last out. If you don't know anything about baseball this is like the biggest deal ever. The stadium (and virtual world) erupted with such anger because we all had the fortune of watching the replay and could clearly see that the ump blew the call. Basically, we have been given a gift of technology, and this gift makes us feel entitled to justice. The game of baseball gives the luxury of "replay" to the fans but not the umpires (for this type of call). A lot of people are against replay in baseball, feeling that human error is part of the sport. This may be true in the moment for those on the field, but the problem is that it is too late for the rest of us watching on TV. Nothing good comes out of the umpire and the player walking in to the bullpen and seeing that a human error cost a perfect game. The umpire feels horrible, the player is probably devastated, and the fans are enraged. We have been given an obstacle (technology) that we can't overcome.

I don't think the rabbis in the gemara were necessarily blaming God and I also don't think the people who are outraged about this call are blaming technology either. We know replay is dangerous, but we can't not watch. I think the same was probably true for the generation of Noah and the Sodomites. There were probably those who understood that their wealth was getting the best of them, but at the end of the day, they didn't really want to give up their comfortable lives. I guess the lesson here is that we as a society need to learn how to deal with the gifts we are given. I think it is especially important that these passages discuss groups, not individuals. I believe individuals are better at overcoming arrogance and living modestly than groups are. As a leader in my different communities, I wonder what I can do to help combat societal arrogance and help my community overcome the many obstacles that our lives of leisure give us.