Once we understand that God, or, if you prefer to think, nature, is not manipulating us, and we have been given intelligence to use to make decisions, and free choice to act as we want, even if we act contrary to God’s will and the laws of nature, we will realize the importance of using our intelligence and making right choices. The recognition that we are not puppets and must handle our own lives without divine intervention also helps explain why God did not interfere to save the six million Jews during the holocaust and does not answer prayers. It explains that the many miracles mentioned in the Bible, such as the ten plagues inflicted on the Egyptian slave masters, were natural events. But, most of all, it prompts us to realize that we must take our lives and destiny into our hands if we want to be successful and create a better world.
Free choice is a power and responsibility that brings both opportunities and consequences resulting from the exercise of this freedom, including the creation of who we are and who we can be. We need to make decisions in life because we are humans and not plants or animals. If we choose not to decide, we will have made a bad choice; we have acted inhumane.
We must be careful. We are free to choose what we want, but we are not free from the consequences of our choices. Charles Spurgeon wrote, “Free will carried many a soul to hell.”
Viktor E. Frankl, who suffered in a Nazi concentration camp where his wife was killed, highlighted the importance of making a correct decision. While in the camp, His decision gave meaning to his life. It led him to act sensibly. It saved his life. He wrote, “Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms—to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.”
George Elliot stressed that a proper choice can lead to improvement, “The strongest principle of growth lies in human choice.” Denis Waitley focused on our responsibility, “There are two primary choices in life; to accept conditions as they exist, or accept the responsibility for changing them.” The first is passive. It is as ineffective as a husband and a wife who spend their days on a couch watching TV. It left them practically, ethically, and humanely not a single step closer to where they should be.
Recently, I read a long, four-column op-ed newspaper article by an American university professor who addressed the issue of how to know if a behavior is ethical. He concluded his dissertation by saying, “We know that an act is ethical if it feels right.”
Have you ever heard anything so stupid? Hitler, thinking of taking control of a country that belonged to another nation and sacrificing millions to do so, felt he was doing what was right. Did that make it right?
The third weekly biblical portion of Deuteronomy, Re’eh, which means “see,” warns us not to think as the university professor taught his students and wanted to teach us with his op-ed. In 11:26, the Torah states, “See, I set before you this day a blessing and a curse.” In 30:19, it states, “I placed before you life and death, blessing and curse, choose life, that you can live, you and your offspring.”
The Torah warns that God is not involved in manipulating life; intelligence to choose was set in us. Only intelligent decisions assure a good life. In contrast, a wrong decision can ruin both the life of the decision maker and that of their descendants, such as a decision not to send one’s children to a Jewish school to learn about Judaism or a decision to stop learning after finishing school. Such choices are like death.
Rabbi Ronald D. Price tells us in his book Dvrei Halev that his teacher, Professor Halivni, stressed this Torah teaching; humans are informed of the existence of two things, blessings and curses, and are obligated to use their intelligence and then choose. Intelligent choices enable individuals to live and navigate their lives to pleasant shores, to Gardens of Eden, to a blessed life. Conversely, relying on feelings, failing to think and choose, or making wrong, false choices leads to stagnation and fierce death.
If we accept that God created us and we act independently of Him, then we also accept the concept of free will.
We are not puppets that are controlled by the Creator nor is our every move is being monitored. The fact remains that humans do things independently of any external force. It’s our thoughts and how we choose to act on these thoughts that predetermine the outcome. Anyone can achieve anything if only they take the right decision and choose to act. Saying free will can be influenced by biological factors like genetic, is still a matter of choice. Every human has some unique distinction in their genes, and that’s why our likes and dislikes are different. Our environment too can also influence our choices and decisions. This is where free will comes in; as our likes and dislikes are different, we have the free will to choose based on this. There’s also human adaptation, too.
We agree, Shmuel.
Israel
I like Spinoza, Einstein, and Mark Twain, but I disagree with them that we lack free will. I think humans have free will. In any case, it is better to think we are free agents than not.
I agree with you.
Intelligent choices enable individuals to live and navigate their lives to pleasant shores, to Gardens of Eden, to a blessed life.
Intelligent people who help others, uplift others, eventually uplifts themselves to the pinnacle of what it means to be human
Viktor E. Frankl, who suffered in a Nazi concentration camp where his wife was killed, highlighted the importance of making a correct decision. While in the camp, His decision gave meaning to his life. It led him to act sensibly. It saved his life. He wrote, “Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms—to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.”
He was deprived everything he every had.
And gained everything very few know today.
You are correct. He was very smart. I enjoyed his books.
Viktor E. Frankl, who suffered in a Nazi concentration camp where his wife was killed, highlighted the importance of making a correct decision. While in the camp, His decision gave meaning to his life. It led him to act sensibly. It saved his life. He wrote, “Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms—to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.”
He was deprived everything he every had.
And gained everything very few know today.
We have far too many skin & bone actors today!
It’s unfortunate that although we have free will, it’s so often used for harmful actions or poor decisions—a pattern that has existed since the time of Adam and Eve.
I agree. We need to use our intelligence.
Viktor Frankl who was a Holocaust survivor applied this principle even in Auschwitz. In Auschwitz his physical freedom was almost completely denied to him by the Nazis. However, the one thing the Nazis could not deny him, as long as he was alive, was his freedom to choose how he will view his situation in Auschwitz – whether as half full or half empty. He wrote, “Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms—to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.” Thus, Viktor Frankl accepted what life or God had given him and reconciled himself with the situation that had been thrust upon him.
God, or nature, if you prefer, does not manipulate us answers many questions. The concept of free will is a fundamental aspect in the human experience. By granting humans the freedom to choose their own path, God has empowered us to shape our own lives. The concept of free will is often misunderstood. We are not puppets on strings, with our every move dictated by a divine hand. Rather, we are autonomous beings, capable of making choices that determine our destiny. If God were to judge us, it would imply a limitation on our free will, restricting our ability to choose. However, this is not the case. We have the power to shape our lives through our actions, to use our intelligence, and it’s the consequences of those actions that ultimately determine our fate – not divine judgement.
Yes, we must use our intelligence, make proper decisions, and act to improve ourselves and the world.
one’s children to a Jewish school to learn about Judaism or a decision to stop learning after finishing school. Such choices are like death.
Doesn’t jewish school cost 30k per year?
I do not know the cost. It is many years since my wife and I paid for our four children’s schooling. Life has difficulties and difficulties lead to progress.
Our intellect makes us who we become rabbi israel drazin without the intellect we are nothing but skin and bone actors without any meaning
Yes.
Your observation that the recognition of human agency and the absence of divine intervention can help us understand the tragedies of history, such as the Holocaust, is a poignant one, dear Rabbi Israel Drazin ! As I have always argued, the concept of divine providence must be understood in a way that is consistent with the principles of nature and human freedom. The fact that God did not intervene to prevent the Holocaust does not imply a lack of divine concern or justice, but rather highlights the reality of human freedom and the consequences of human actions. Best, stephen