Beyond Cause and Effect: A Revolutionary Teaching on Emunah

We think we understand how the world works. 

How understanding Hashem's plan transforms the way we see success, struggle, and everything in between We spend our lives believing we understand how the world works. Intelligence causes success. Strategy causes victory. Medicine causes healing. It's simple: cause leads to effect. But what if we've been looking at it backwards this entire time?

The World Through a Keyhole

Beis HaLevi teaches something breathtaking — something that flips our entire worldview: It's not the cause that creates the effect. It's the effect that brings about the cause.

Imagine watching through a keyhole as a pen writes on paper. If you didn't know better, you'd think the pen was moving on its own. You see the effect — the writing — and assume the pen itself is the cause. But of course, someone is holding the pen. The pen's movement isn't the cause at all. It's simply the means by which the real cause — the person holding it —carries out their will. Rav Eliyahu Dessler explains that this is exactly how we see the world. We see the pen, not the hand. We see intelligence, strategy, credentials, connections — and we think these are what make things happen. But from the perspective of emunah, they're not causes. They're just the pen.

The License Doesn't Create the Success

Here's a concrete example. Someone receives a professional license and goes on to build a successful career. We naturally assume: the license caused the success. But Beit HaLevi tells us it's the opposite. Because Hashem planned for this person to succeed, He arranged for them to receive the license. The success came first in Hashem's plan. The license was simply the means He chose to bring it about. To us, it looks like a cause-and-effect sequence. But in truth, the "effect" (success) was already decreed, and the "cause" (the license) was put in place to fulfill it. This applies to everything. The general didn't win because he was brilliant. Hashem gave him brilliance because the victory was already decreed. The woman didn't find her bashert because she had great social skills. Hashem gave her those skills because the shidduch was meant to happen.

What This Means for How We Live

If you internalize this teaching, it changes everything.

1. It frees us from comparison

A young woman might think: "I don't have connections. I'm not popular. I don't come from a wealthy family. That's why I'm struggling to find a shidduch. If only I had what that other girl has — she got married right after seminary."

But this is a misperception.

That other girl didn't get married because she had connections or social skills. Hashem gave her those things because He had already planned for her to get married at that time. Both women are exactly where they're meant to be — not because of what they have or don't have, but because Hashem orchestrates it all.

2. It eliminates regret

R' Pinchas of Koritz teaches: "Resha'im melei'im charatot — the wicked are full of regrets."

Why? Because they believe they are the cause of everything. When things don't work out, they spiral into "what ifs" and self-blame. "If only I had made a different choice. If only I had acted sooner. If only I had been smarter." But when we truly believe that Hashem orchestrates everything, regret loses its hold. We still make responsible decisions. We still do our hishtadlut. We're still held accountable for our choices. But once we've acted properly and responsibly, we understand: whatever happened was simply the way Hashem carried out His decree. Our actions weren't the cause they were the means. And so we don't torture ourselves with regret. We trust the plan.

3. It shifts where we place our focus

If the "causes" we see aren't really causes at all if they're just the pen and not the hand then where should we direct our energy?

Toward the One who truly causes everything to happen.

Our role is simple:

• Do proper and responsible hishtadlut

• Turn to Hashem in sincere tefillah

• Live with bitachon — trust that He is orchestrating every detail

We don't give up effort. We don't stop trying. But we stop believing that our effort is what makes things happen. Our effort is the pen. Hashem is the hand.

The Freedom This Brings

When you live with this awareness, something beautiful unfolds.

You stop chasing causes. You stop obsessing over credentials, connections, strategies, advantages. Not because they don't matter in the practical sense — you still pursue them as part of your hishtadlut — but because you know they're not what's really driving your life.

Hashem's plan is what's driving your life. And when you trust that, deeply and fully, you find peace. You make the best decisions you can. You act with integrity and responsibility. And then you let go. No regrets. No "what ifs." No spiraling anxiety over whether you did enough or had enough or were enough. You were exactly who you were supposed to be. You did exactly what you were supposed to do. And everything unfolded exactly as it was meant to.

A Final Thought

The next time you see someone succeed, resist the urge to point to all the reasons why they succeeded. The intelligence. The connections. The lucky break. Instead, remember: Hashem wanted them to succeed. And so He gave them everything they needed to fulfill His plan.

And the next time you face a setback, resist the urge to spiral into regret or self-blame.

You did your hishtadlut. You made responsible choices. The outcome wasn't in your hands it never was. The pen doesn't write itself. There is a Hand guiding it all. And when we live with that awareness, we stop grasping at causes and start resting in trust.

May we all merit to see beyond the pen and recognize the Hand that holds it. May we live with unwavering emunah, sincere tefillah, and the freedom that comes from trusting Hashem's plan completely.