http://www.beingjewish.com/soul/freewill.htmlThis is complex, but more reasonable to me. I'm an Atheist.
Someone wrote me and asked me the following question:
Mordechai,
I could use some information. I understand that the Torah says that G-d has given mankind free will. Could you give the verses of the Hebrew Scriptures on that, and explain the logic?
So I answered him:
Ooh, boy, a tough subject. There is much to be said on that, and much to be said on the actual wording of your question.
In the first place, let me preface by pointing out that Judaism does not need explicit verses in the Scriptures to support a doctrine. All of our Doctrine is revealed in the Oral Law even more than it is revealed in the Written Law. That is how it has always been. Still, everything in the Oral Law is at least alluded to in the Written Law. However, that does not mean that one can always cite the Written Law as proof of a Doctrine of Judaism.
Point number two, before I cite the verses themselves: The Doctrine of Free Will is greatly misunderstood by many people who have not actually studied this concept as taught by Judaism. It is not merely the sum of the words "Free Will." Most people who argue with me over the concept know nothing more than the words "Jews believe in Free Will." I have no idea what those words mean to them, but their repeated objections against the concept bear no relation to what we actually believe. Therefore the question "What is Free Will?" is in itself a valid question, because it is obviously a concept not readily understood by most. This is why I will discuss its meaning before citing verses.
Point number three (and still before I cite any verses): The very fact that Hashem has given us a Torah at all leads us to the inescapable conclusion that we have free will. What logic would there be in the Torah commanding us to do good and desist from evil, if any act we did was out of compulsion? How could the Torah promise us reward or punishment for acts that we are predestined to do? The Torah gives us 613 Commandments and tells us to do good and not to do evil. This means that it is within our power to do either type of act. The Prophets throughout Jewish history exhorted Israel to mend their ways, to do good, to improve, to repent. How can Israel be so directed if it is not in their power?
The Torah tells us that even though we have the ability to do evil, we should not do evil. We should do good. The Torah tells us we have the ability to do good, as I shall attempt to show, with G-d's help.
This does not mean, by the way, that we have the ability and power to do anything we want. Nor does it mean that G-d lets us do every sin we want to do, or every good deed. Sometimes we are prevented from doing the actual act. Yet we have the ability to choose which we will attempt to do. A man in a wheelchair can still choose good, and attempt--or at least desire--to do good, even if it is beyond his physical means. Or he can turn bad, and decide that if he ever gets the chance he will do every evil deed he can think of.
And we do not always even have free will to obey G-d's Commandments. Sometimes we have no choice in the matter at all. Sometimes we are prevented from doing a good deed we desire and plan to do. Nevertheless, G-d counts every good intention as a good act.
And sometimes it is not the act over which we have control, but only over our emotions and desires. That is, we may be forced to fulfill a particular Commandment, but how we approach it is entirely our own decision. We may approach it with joy, and the desire to fulfill G-d's Command, or with annoyance at the "interruption."
It is a detailed and complex concept.
There are matters that are left up to the control of each individual. For example, whether or not any of us chooses to fear G-d. That is entirely up to each individual, in almost every situation. There are times, however, that a person can abrogate that right, by sinning in such a fashion that G-d decrees that this person will never again be granted the opportunity to repent. This is very extreme, however, and not the norm.
There are also mixed cases or destiny and Free Will. Say, for example, I work very hard and plant a field full of seeds. I did the work, and it was a function of my Free Will. But whether or not the planting will be successful, whether it will yield a good crop, is mostly out of my hands. Still, it is not entirely out of my hands. I must still tend to the crop, watering it, weeding it, doing whatever is necessary to its success. If I do this, I can hope for a good crop. But I can't guarantee success. That's up to G-d.
Personal health is akin to that. A person can get sick if G-d wills it, but a person can also make himself sick, either deliberately or through negligence.
A heavenly decree can also decide that you won't catch that bus or plane. If heaven did so decree, it is in fact better for you to have missed that bus or plane. It might be better for you in the materialistic sense: perhaps the plane was doomed, or perhaps something much more subtle that you may never know. Or it might be better for you in the spiritual sense, in many possible different ways. I won't go into that right now.
The point of all this is to show that free will is a complex and varied thing.
As for verses, Maimonides quotes a few on this matter. I shall not quote Maimonides verbatim, but in my own words, using Maimonides' concepts.
The first verse Maimonides quotes is, "Man has now become like one of us in knowing good and evil" (Genesis 3:22). We see from this that man knows the difference between good and evil.
Maimonides continues, and explains that humanity has free will in deciding whether or not to be righteous or wicked. G-d does not pre-ordain a person's goodness, nor predetermine whether s/he will be righteous or wicked. Maimonides quotes Jeremiah, in the third Chapter of Lamentations:
Printer-friendly format
Email this thread to a friend
Bookmark this thread
(1000+ posts)
Send PM |
Profile |
Ignore
