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Written Lecture:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/gp60x1w349dvsm0/Freedom%20of%20Choice%20vs%20Divine%20Providence%20-December%202019%20Venetian%20Islands.pdf?dl=0&fbclid=IwAR1pkijgWWP5pkRye-H0AXlkqTn2d1iQB1xijbyqKSj4ULuga3zTXr-BBsw
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Let us first understand the impossibility of these two fundamental beliefs. The first issue is that as fundamental beliefs, both of these beliefs are absolute. Meaning, that a person’s Freedom of Choice has to be absolute. There is no virtual reality and stage effects that make it look like we have Freedom of Choice, while really, only G-d controls what we do and what we cause. We truly and absolutely have total Freedom of Choice in our actions, with no controlling influence forcing our choices in any form or fashion.
This is true even for addicts in addiction. The saying in addiction recovery is, “I am powerless over my addiction, but I am not powerless over my recovery.” If there is ever an absolute powerlessness that completely denies any freedom of choice, it is the addict with his addiction. Today, with brain scans and scientific research, we truly know that addiction is a disease that takes away a person’s freedom of choice, to the point that he is absolutely hopeless and powerless when it comes to acting out his addiction. However, even in this case, a person has power to choose recovery, of which the side-effect is sobriety. How much more so, when we are not speaking of powerless addicts, but only of people with strong inclinations, and all the more so, when we are speaking of people who simply choose whether to show self-restraint or not.
The moment that one removes the absoluteness of the freedom of choice that the human has, one has negated all of the truth to Torah, Mitzvoit, and any purpose for existence.
On the other hand, the same absoluteness must exist in the fundamental belief that everything that happens in the universe is absolutely directed by an absolute Divine Providence. The absoluteness oft his fundamental belief leaves for nothing at all to take place in our lives or in the universe at large, which is not absolutely controlled and guided by G-d’s providence and knowledge. Without the absoluteness of this belief there can be no true belief in G-d, and even less so, in trusting G-d. How can we trust a G-d who is not in control of any and everything that happens in my life?
Thus, it seems to be that an absolute belief in a person’s Freedom of Choice and an absolute belief inDivine Providence are mutually exclusive, while Judaism demands for us to believe in them both, as mutually inclusive.
