Stealing and Poker
Question
Hi,
Machlokes if card game poker is stealing.
When I was young I used to play with other Jews. none of us were religious. non of us considered it stealing.
Now I am religious. Must I call them and ask for forgiveness? is it considered that I stole and that they stole?
If someone says bed time Shema where it says I forgive anyone who did things with money.. my question is does this Mochel someone who stole from someone else? or if someone in their life just says out loud, I forgive everyone who wronged me. Does the person still need to find them and ask for forgiveness or pay back after someone has done this?
Now, me and about 5 friends of mine used to cheat when playing poker. meaning we all stole from each other. but I think we all knew we were doing it to each other. we all knew that we all cheated. it has been many years. must I find them all and ask for forgiveness. I do not want to be reborn on account of this. please confirm. no one is asking each other or in contact with each other, we all parted ways peacefully to a different point of life.
now perhaps you will say I need to call and admit my sin. if this is the case I have another question
there are other Jews I used to play with, I can remember some but not all. I have no idea if I cheated with any of them, it is technically possible though. if I have no idea, but there is a possibility I did, also must I contact them for forgiveness
Thank you
Machlokes if card game poker is stealing.
When I was young I used to play with other Jews. none of us were religious. non of us considered it stealing.
Now I am religious. Must I call them and ask for forgiveness? is it considered that I stole and that they stole?
If someone says bed time Shema where it says I forgive anyone who did things with money.. my question is does this Mochel someone who stole from someone else? or if someone in their life just says out loud, I forgive everyone who wronged me. Does the person still need to find them and ask for forgiveness or pay back after someone has done this?
Now, me and about 5 friends of mine used to cheat when playing poker. meaning we all stole from each other. but I think we all knew we were doing it to each other. we all knew that we all cheated. it has been many years. must I find them all and ask for forgiveness. I do not want to be reborn on account of this. please confirm. no one is asking each other or in contact with each other, we all parted ways peacefully to a different point of life.
now perhaps you will say I need to call and admit my sin. if this is the case I have another question
there are other Jews I used to play with, I can remember some but not all. I have no idea if I cheated with any of them, it is technically possible though. if I have no idea, but there is a possibility I did, also must I contact them for forgiveness
Thank you
Answer
Shalom!
Thank you for your question.
If the matter involves large amounts of money then if you know who you might owe money to then you should contact them, if possible, and return the money. If you cannot contact them then donate the money to causes that benefit the public, this applies only to money that you cheated about, but the actual money that you earned through the game you do not need to now return.
However, if the matter only involves a small amount of money then one can assume that the other party was "mochel" and doesn't care about the money.
The "mechila" recited as part of Kriat Shema before bed only refers to small amounts of money.
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