Question

In the chapter Eizehu Neshekh it says, in the course of the discussion, that one amora said to his colleague: "And if your father were to die and it fell before the orphans, what then? It would be like an error, etc., and he died." I have always been troubled by this Talmudic passage. What justice and fairness, even heavenly justice, is there in this? Just because he said something hypothetical—and even in words of Torah and Jewish law—should such a thing happen to him? Is this really a Torah of life that grants length of days, and so on? And where is the boundary here? Every morning we say, "And You are destined to take it from me," and there are hundreds of other examples like this. More generally, what sin did that amora commit that he died because of the words of another person, who was sitting far away from him and speaking about him? It is also known about the Hatam Sofer that when he studied in yeshiva he would fast when learning tractates of Yevamot because of its content, and also because its letters can be read as "woe, death." This is very puzzling, because if a person studies Torah, and it makes no practical difference what topic it is, should he really be concerned that the Torah will cause him harm?? Maybe one could say: better that I not study these laws at all, and that will be that—(forgive the expression)?!?