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<DIV>RMC writes:</DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE
style="PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: blue 2px solid"><FONT
style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent" face=Arial color=#000000
size=2>>>r Dessler in MM vol 4 (section on bechira) explains (based on a
Ramban) that sometimes HaShem will let a person be killed/etc or not be killed
solely based on the bechira of another.<<</FONT></BLOCKQUOTE>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>>>>>></DIV>
<DIV>Yet we still have a saying, "Der mentsch tracht und Gott lacht"
(sorry if I have mangled the Yiddish) -- "Man proposes, G-d disposes."
</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>The victim in your scenario had a choice--bechira-- whether to go to minyan
or not (to give an example). He decided to go to minyan. But his
bechira was short-circuited by the actions of a mugger who killed him before he
could ever get to shul. Thus, in order for Hashem to let the killer
exercise his bechira in this instance, He had to take away the victim's
bechira. </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Obviously not even a supercomputer could be programmed to determine
whether, when, and why Hashem will let one person's bechira find expression in
action in the real world, while another person's bechira is not
actualized. But I believe -- and I know there are different opinions --
that Hashem exercises constant hashgacha over each and every individual, moment
by moment, and that He has His reasons why He will sometimes protect people from
harm, and at other times not. In times of hester panim, His hashgacha
/appears/ random and removed. </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV></DIV>
<DIV><FONT lang=0 face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2 FAMILY="SANSSERIF"
PTSIZE="10"><BR><B>--Toby
Katz<BR>=============</B></FONT></DIV></FONT><BR><BR><BR><DIV><FONT style="color: black; font: normal 10pt ARIAL, SAN-SERIF;"><HR style="MARGIN-TOP: 10px">Check out AOL Money & Finance's list of the <A title="http://money.aol.com/special/hot-products-2007?NCID=aoltop00030000000001" href="http://money.aol.com/special/hot-products-2007?NCID=aoltop00030000000001" target="_blank">hottest products</A> and <A title="http://money.aol.com/top5/general/ways-you-are-wasting-money?NCID=aoltop00030000000002" href="http://money.aol.com/top5/general/ways-you-are-wasting-money?NCID=aoltop00030000000002" target="_blank">top money wasters</A> of 2007.</FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>