Q&A: Free Will and the Creator’s Knowledge
Free Will and the Creator’s Knowledge
Question
Hello Rabbi,
There is a well-known “answer” to the question of free will and the Holy One’s knowledge—namely: the Creator is above time, so from the present standpoint He sees what you, the human being, will choose in the future. Consequently, on the one hand He knows in the present, and on the other hand all of His knowledge is the result of the person’s free choice in the future. And that seems to work out nicely. That is the gist of it.
I seem to remember that you addressed this in the past and did not accept this answer. I looked on the site and couldn’t find your comments. I would appreciate it if you could point me to where on the site or in your books you wrote about this, and if you could lay out the argument for me again here—I would be very grateful.
Best regards,
Answer
See the series of columns on free will (299 and onward).