Parshah Rabbit Hole - Vas'eschanan: Thieves and Gremlins

(23) I pleaded to the Lord at that time, saying, (24) “"O Lord God, You have begun to show Your servant Your greatness and Your strong hand, for who is [like] God in heaven or on earth who can do as Your deeds and Your might?

...faith is above the level of intellect and comprehension, meaning it exists only in an abstract manner in relation to intellect and emotion. And therefore, it does not excite the emotions very much, as is illustrated by the idea that "A thief on the verge of a break-in calls out to the Compassionate One." He has faith in the power of G-d, but nevertheless he transgresses His will. This is because his faith is distant and exists only in the abstract.

Bar Kappara taught: Which is a brief passage upon which all fundamental principles of Torah are dependent? “In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will direct your paths” (Proverbs 3:6). Rava said: One must apply this principle even to acts of transgression, as even then one must adhere to God and refrain from sinning excessively.

Know [G-d] - contemplate whether it is needed for a mitzvah, like Eliyahu on Mount Carmel, that you should transgress for its sake.

Bar Kappara taught: Which is a brief passage upon which all fundamental principles of Torah are dependent? “In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will direct your paths” (Proverbs 3:6). Rava said: even for acts of transgression. Rav Pappa said: This is the meaning of the saying "A thief who is about to break in calls out to G-d."

In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths” (Proverbs 3:6). Rava said, “Even for a transgression.” Explanation: You must believe that everything is done under Divine Providence. That is, even if you cause harm to many or to one person, whether in terms of property or bodily harm, you must believe that this harm was decreed from heaven and was only done by your hand because ‘punishment is brought about through the guilty.’ Thus it says "this is the meaning of the saying 'A thief on the verge of a break-in calls out to the Compassionate One.'" Explanation: The thief sees himself as an agent of Providence, saying, ‘This harm was decreed for this person, and if I had not done it, others would have. Therefore, this is not as big of transgression for me."

He fulfills the desire of those who fear Him; He will hear their cry and save them. (Psalms 145:19)
There is a problem with this verse. If G‑d already fulfilled the desire of those who fear Him, why must He hear their cry and save them? It should have been written in reverse: “He hears their cry, and fulfills the desire of those who fear Him.”
[The Baal Shem Tov] explained that G-d listens to all who call upon Him, for good or for bad. Thus, our Sages said: “A thief on the verge of a break-in calls out to the Compassionate One.” ...And if you then ask, in that case, what is the difference between a Tzaddik and a Rasha? [The Baal Shem Tov] explained that there is a very big difference. Because when a thief, whose prayers to steal are answered, gets caught, G‑d will not answer his prayers to be released, for he chose this himself. But when a Tzaddik prays for something, G‑d gives it to him, even though He knows it is not for his good – “He fulfills the desire of those who fear Him.” Later, when the Tzaddik himself sees that it is bad for him and prays to G‑d, He, in His compassion, “will hear their cry and save them.”

...One who cries out over the past in an attempt to change that which has already occurred, it is a vain prayer. For example, one whose wife was pregnant and he says: May it be God’s will that my wife will give birth to a male child, it is a vain prayer. Or one who was walking on the path home and he heard the sound of a scream in the city, and he says: May it be God’s will that this scream will not be from my house, it is a vain prayer. In both cases, the event already occurred.

The Sages taught: One who goes to measure the grain on his threshing floor recites: May it be Your will, O Lord, our God, that You send blessing upon the product of our hands. If one began to measure the grain he says: Blessed is He Who sends blessing upon this pile of grain. If one measured and afterward recited this blessing, this is a prayer made in vain, because blessing is found neither in a matter that is weighed, nor in a matter that is measured, nor in a matter that is counted. Rather, it is found in a matter concealed from the eye, as it is stated: “The Lord will command blessing with you in your storehouses.”

...it follows that something that is measured or counted, {gremlins] do not have the right to take it, but something that is concealed, they do have the right. This seems to imply that there is no blessing in something which is concealed. A possible answer is that there is really no question in the first place. Because the reason for [the criteria] stated there is because [the gremlins] only have a right to ownerless items, which excludes items which are measured or counted or wrapped or sealed. That is because there is no blessing found in them and thus there is no ownerless matter in them; They belong entirely to the owners. Rather, [they may take] only from something which is concealed, because blessing is found in things which are concealed, and that which is added due to the blessing, they have the right to take it because it is concealed, which makes it as if it is ownerless, because nobody has exclusive rights to it yet.

"For blessing is only found in something which is concealed from the eye..." And with regard to what is written in chapter 8 of Chullin, that gremlins do not have power over something that is counted, weighed, bundled, or sealed, this stems from the same reason: Something which has not been measured or counted is susceptible to both blessing, when one prays for it, and to a curse and deficiency when one does not pray for it, in which case the gremlins have power over it to take from it...

...I then found that the Tosafot answered this question: "And one could answer that there is actually no question in the first place. {The criteria] stated there show that [the gremlins] only have the right to take from ownerless items, meaning things which are concealed, in which blessing is found. Because that material which is added due to the blessing is ownerless, and the gremlin takes from it from it sometimes, and the owners are also blessed through it...