Yesurim shel ahava

Igros Moshe (YD 1:140): This that you explained that Suffering from Love (Berachos 5a) - that Rashi explains that G d afflicts a person even though he hasn’t done any sin in order to increase his reward - is similar to the issue of a father hitting his son even though he has completed the his required task. The father does it in order to increase the child’s fear and respect for him . Even though the son would fulfill the father’s command anyway he gets additional reward. This is a valid explanation…. However it is necessary to add that G d does not give Suffering from Love to someone who hasn’t sinned at all. … Nevertheless he is chastised in the same way as the son who has completed his task. This is to increase his reward more than his actual merits…. Nevertheless Rashi’s view is that the suffering serves no purpose for the tzadik except to increase his reward.

Ramban (Shaar HaGemul #3): A person who becomes afflicted with suffering should examine himself for sin. If he hadn’t done a sin which justifies the suffering he should assume that it comes from neglecting a positive commandment. But if he is completely righteous and has not sinned nor neglected positive commandments than the suffering is the result of yesurim shel ahava which are to give him extra reward in the World to Come. The suffering of love comes to purify a person from sins done accidentally and from lack of caution to avoid sins. Thus he has tasted of accidentally sinning and furthermore every improper deed dirties his soul. Even though these accidental sins are not punished in Gehinom, but he still needs to be purified from them to reach the proper level for the World to Come. Therefore G d has mercy on people who have accidentally sinned and allows them to atone by bring sacrifices in the Temple. When there is no Temple He sends suffering to purify the soul for the World to Come…. Thus even suffering of love is also to purify a person from sin.

Sefer HaIkkarim (4:13): … … 4) Sometimes the tzadik experiences bad because it is beneficial for him. This is called Suffering of Love. It is also called a nisayon (test). There are three aspects of Suffering of Love. a) Suffering that erases the slightest remnant of sins that are too minor to be atoned for in a prescribed manner or that he is unaware of what he had done. b) Sometimes there is not the slightest sin but the suffering is entirely to test the tzadik whether he serves G d entirely from love…c) Sometimes there is absolutely no sin and there is no need to test the tzadik but it is entirely to increase the reward in the World to Come - such as Avraham’s sacrifice of Yitzchok.

Rambam (Moreh Nevuchim 3:17): The majority of our Sages agree that there is no death or suffering without sin… A person is rewarded according to all the good deeds that he has done even if he wasn’t commanded by the prophet to do them. He is also punished for all the bad things he did, even if he wasn’t forbidden by the prophet. This is true however for those things that his intellect would indicate that they were good or bad.…In the words of our Sages there is something additional which is not found written in the Torah. Some of them talk about yesurim shel ahava which is suffering which occurs even without sin - in order to increase reward. This is also a concept found amongst some Muslims. However there is no verse in the Torah which expresses this idea.

Maharal (Derech Chaim 4:16): It is difficult to understand what our sages meant by saying that “it is not in our hands to understand the suffering of the righteous.” Of course we understand why the righteous suffer because it is known that there is no such thing as a perfect tzadik who has never sinned. Apparently it is referring to the suffering that the righteous get even when it is not the result of sin as is mentioned in Berachos(5a). Even though this is “suffering of love,” nevertheless the sages said that we don’t understand it. In other words there are tzadikim who don’t want this suffering as we find in Berachos(5b) that R’ Yochanon did not want his suffering or the reward for the suffering. From this we see the suffering was difficult for the tzadikim even though they were entirely from G d’s love in order to increase the reward the tzadik would receive in the World to Come. Therefore he said that it is not in our hands to understand either the tranquility of the wicked - because even Moshe did not understand this and we don’t understand the suffering of the righteous… because the tzadikim who rejected “suffering of love”…. The expression “it is not in our hands” - means that we are forced to accept it even if it is not to our good. In other words it is not according to what we want and it is against our will…

Berachos (5a): If a person notices that bad things are happening to him, he should examine his deeds as it says(Eicha 3:40).: Let us search and examine our ways and thereby return to G d. If he examined his deeds yet finds nothing to justify his suffering, he should assume his suffering to neglect of Torah study…. If the assumption is not correct then he should know for a certainty that his suffering is from G d’s love as it says(Mishlei 3:12): Whomever G d loves He chastises.

Rashi (Berachos 5a) Yissurim shel ahava G-d causes suffering in this world even if the person did not sin in order to increase his reward that he will receive in the World to Come which is greater than what he deserves based entirely on merit for good deeds.