Q&A: God’s Limitation(?)
God’s Limitation(?)
Question
A question for the Rabbi: doesn’t the very existence of sins or things that are forbidden to do indicate some limitation in God? Suppose that sins really do damage some layer of reality. Seemingly, if God is truly omnipotent, what prevents Him from repairing the damage a person caused through his sins?
Answer
Absolutely not. You’re assuming that His goal is a given state of the world. But it’s clear that this isn’t true; He wants that state to come about through a person’s choice. And if a person has free choice, then by definition he can do either good or bad.
The same is true regarding morality. We judge people and actions not only by the outcome but also by the intention. A sheep that has never harmed anyone is not moral. A person who has never harmed anyone is moral (because he has choice, impulses, and so on).
Discussion on Answer
I have no idea. What was He lacking that He created the world and us in the first place? With or without free choice.
But you wrote in the booklet that it repairs Him (“human worship serves a higher need”).
And therefore? Does that mean I know what He was lacking?
And what is God lacking that He wants things to be realized דווקא through human free choice? Why can’t the omnipotent One create a route that bypasses free choice and depends only on Him, may He be blessed?