Q&A: Regarding the Lecture on Free Will and Choice
Regarding the Lecture on Free Will and Choice
Question
Hello, honorable Rabbi,
I really love your lectures; they are very enlightening.
I wanted to ask about what the Rabbi said in the lecture on free will and choice, lesson 2.
The Rabbi spoke about the combination of Luther and Calvin: that determinism is not necessarily also fatalistic, because a person is obligated to make an effort, and the Rabbi said he does not agree with this because it is a kind of oxymoron (if I understood correctly).
What about the concept of trust and personal effort in Judaism? Isn’t that a similar combination? Because on the one hand it is deterministic, since everything is decreed in advance (a person’s sustenance, etc.), but on the other hand one still needs to make an effort. I assume there is a difference, but I still haven’t managed to understand it.
Thank you very much.
Answer
I’m glad my words are helpful to you. Thank you.
As for your question, you are absolutely right. I have written this more than once on my site. The combination of trust and personal effort is similar, although it should be said that there the contradiction is not logical. In principle, it is possible that everything depends on the Holy One, blessed be He, but that He waits for our effort in order to act. But in my view this is an implausible invention with no basis. Therefore there is no reason to say it.
All the best,