Reply To: Pre-Yom Kippur Request from the helige Coffee Room Posters

Based on the previous post as well as other posts that I have seen in other threads, I think there is a very important point that needs clarification:

Belief in Hashem means believing that He is all Powerful and that He is the ONLY One in control, and He is the ONLY One who makes things happen.

Not believing this is kefira (heresy).
The ONLY reason for doing hishtadlus (practical effort) is because Hashem said that we should do so, and therefore He may choose not to give us whatever the thing is (a livelihood for example) unless we do hishtadlus.

But it is ALWAYS Hashem who is in control and making everything happen. Hashem does not want us to do hishtadlus that goes against the halacha, so if someone does hishtadlus that is against Halacha, Hashem is not going to reward them for it, so it is not possible that they will gain something by doing so.

For example, Hashem decides what a person’s parnassa will be for the year. If the person robs a bank, it is not possible that he will end up with more money than Hashem had decided He should have. Since Hashem is All Powerful, you can’t cause anything to happen that He doesn’t want to happen.

Thinking otherwise is kefira. Likewise, if someone thinks that by posting something that is against Halacha, he can help Am Yisrael and not hurt Am Yisrael, this demonstrates a lack of belief in Hashem’s Power and is kefira.

Note: I realize that the above poster may not have meant to imply otherwise, but that is the conclusion inherent in his words, so it was important to point this out. If that was not his intention, he should please explain what his intention was, so I can explain why it’s still a problem.