Our Gemara on Amud Beis refers to a scriptural stylistic principle:

דִּבְּרָה תוֹרָה כִלְשׁוֹן בְּנֵי אָדָם

The Torah uses the idiom and vernacular. 

Thus, repetitions, exaggerations and figures of speech that enhance the poetic experience and nature of the narrative are theologically legitimate, and not a sign of imperfection. God designed the Torah to be meaningful on many planes of perception. The stories must engage our hearts as well as our minds.

Therefore, when the verse (Shemos 22:11) repeats itself there is no need to derive a specific extra Torah law. It is just part of the narrative:

וְאִם־גָּנֹ֥ב יִגָּנֵ֖ב מֵעִמּ֑וֹ יְשַׁלֵּ֖ם לִבְעָלָֽיו׃

But if [the animal] was stolen (Ganov Yiganev) from the guardian, restitution shall be made to its owner.

It is just to add emphasis, as if to say, “If indeed the animal was stolen.” 

The Sefas Emes (Menachos 93a) establishes an additional factor in this principle. Since repetition signals emphasis, we only accept this textual application for mitzvos. The Torah would never used a repetitive phrase to emphasize a sinful action.

Sefer Daf al Daf asks on this Sefas Emes from our Gemara which applies this linguistic principle to Gavov Yiganev, which is theft and obviously a sin. 

The answer given is that the narrative perspective is on the watchman who did not commit the sin per se. He was the victim. The Torah is emphasizing his problem and consequences by the repetition; it is not emphasizing the sin.

The idea that the Torah would not allow itself to emphasize sin by repetition of those words, as if God is somehow endorsing sin, is reminiscent of a theological dispute about the nature of evil. Is evil an independent force or merely the absence of God’s presence which leads to entropy and suffering?  Can God be associated with anything that is deemed as bad, meaning if a person suffers, even if there is an ultimate good, can God relly be a part of causing pain?

Midrash Rabbah (4:3) grapples with this and an ambiguous verse in Eichah:

דָּבָר אַחֵר, רְאֵה אָנֹכִי אָמַר רַבִּי אֶלְעָזָר מִשֶּׁאָמַר הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא הַדָּבָר הַזֶּה בְּסִינַי, בְּאוֹתָהּ שָׁעָה (איכה ג, לח): מִפִּי עֶלְיוֹן לֹא תֵצֵא הָרָעוֹת וְהַטּוֹב, אֶלָּא מֵאֵלֶיהָ הָרָעָה בָּאָה עַל עוֹשֵׂי הָרָעָה, וְהַטּוֹבָה בָּאָה עַל עוֹשֵׂי הַטּוֹבָה. 

'Behold, I have set before you' - Rabbi Elazar said: Since the Holy One, blessed be He, uttered this statement at Sinai, at that very moment, it is as it's written in Lamentations 3:38: 'Do not both evil and good come from the mouth of the Most High?' It means, only from Him does adversity come upon those who commit wrong, and prosperity comes upon those who perform good deeds. 

How far is Rabbi Elazar going with this? On a simple level we can say he is merely expressing that God gives us free will, therefore our punishments are consequences of our sin and not reflective of a lack of benevolence on His part. However, he could be saying something more deep. God is saying, don’t blame me if you disconnect from me. I cannot protect you if you sin and aren’t able to channel my life giving forces.

There is also a gemara (Avoda Zara 3b-4a) which can be seen as grappling with this idea as well:

אמר רבי שמעון בן לקיש אין גיהנם לעתיד לבא אלא הקדוש ברוך הוא מוציא חמה מנרתיקה ומקדיר רשעים נידונין בה וצדיקים מתרפאין בה רשעים נידונין בה דכתיב (מלאכי ג, יט) [כי] הנה היום בא בוער כתנור והיו כל זדים וכל עושה רשעה קש ולהט אותם היום הבא אמר ה' צבאות אשר לא יעזוב להם שורש וענף לא שורש בעולם הזה ולא ענף לעולם הבא

Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish says: There is no Gehenna in the World-to-Come. Rather, the Holy One, Blessed be He, will remove the sun from its sheath [minnarteikah], where it is situated during these times, and heats [umakdir] that world with it. The wicked will be punished by it and consumed by the heat, but the righteous will be healed by it. The wicked will be punished by it, as it is written: “For, behold, the day comes, it burns as a furnace; and all the proud, and all that work wickedness, shall be stubble; and the day that comes shall set them ablaze, said the Lord of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch” (Malachi 3:19). This verse is interpreted as follows: Neither a root shall remain for them in this world, nor will a branch grow for them in the World-to-Come. This teaches that the sun itself will burn and consume the wicked in the future.

צדיקים מתרפאין בה דכתיב (מלאכי ג, כ) וזרחה לכם יראי שמי שמש צדקה ומרפא בכנפיה וגו' ולא עוד אלא שמתעדנין בה שנאמר (מלאכי ג, כ) ויצאתם ופשתם כעגלי מרבק

And the righteous will be healed by it, as it is written in the next verse: “But to you that fear My Name shall the sun of righteousness arise with healing in its wings” (Malachi 3:20). And moreover, not only will they be healed by it, but they will even be rejuvenated by it, as it is stated in the continuation of that verse: “And you shall go forth and leap as calves of the stall.”

This Gemara seems to be saying that God only brings his goodness and divine flow, like the sun, and it heals the righteous and burns the wicked.  It is as if to say, God is the same, but the people activate what they will experience in their encounter with the God force.

Similarly, the Gemara (Bava Basra 16a) states:

אָמַר רֵישׁ לָקִישׁ: הוּא שָׂטָן, הוּא יֵצֶר הָרָע, הוּא מַלְאַךְ הַמָּוֶת. 

Reish Lakish says: Satan, the evil inclination, and the Angel of Death are one, that is, they are three aspects of the same essence. 

The Rambam in the Moreh Nevuchim (3:22, see commentary of Shem Tov) understands this as all of these three agents of God are metaphors for the vacuum that God allows which creates free choice, but also the disconnection when there is sin. The introduction of physicality and mortality is, literally, a necessary evil. Punishments are the experience, but the agency is a lack of connection to Hashem which leads to vulnerability to entropic and chaotic forces that hurt us and can kills us.

The Ramban (Introduction to Iyov) uses this phrase of the Gemara to prove the opposite point. He says, the Gemara characterizes the Satan, the Angel of Death, and the Yetzer Hara as Angels and agents of God. These are not merely forces of the universe but real entities whose mission is directed by God to serve as a counterpoint to good, allowing people the choice to sin.

When I was younger and more of a rationalist, my sensibilities were aligned with the Rambam’s thinking on this. But the older you get, and the more you see what goes on in the world, it inclines one to think that there truly is a demonic force acting upon humanity. The confounding degree of evil just makes one think that this is bigger than merely not connecting to God. How can you explain incredible hypocritical behavior of the United Nations in regard to Israel and terrorism? There is a real malignant force, the accuser, the seducer - Satan - who has been given some license to destroy us and our world. We must actively choose to align with God and defeat this enemy.

Translations Courtesy of Sefaria, except when, sometimes, I disagree with the translation

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