Q&A: Free Choice and Causality
Free Choice and Causality
Question
Hello Rabbi, I wanted to know how the principle of causality fits with free choice. (An additional question: how does free choice fit with the assumption in Judaism that He is all-powerful and possesses all abilities and all powers? After all, if I choose, doesn’t that mean that He is not the one exercising the choice?)
Answer
It doesn’t fit. My book The Science of Freedom is devoted to this, and briefly in this article of mine:
https://mikyab.net/%d7%9e%d7%90%d7%9e%d7%a8%d7%99%d7%9d/%d7%9e%d7%91%d7%98-%d7%a9%d7%99%d7%98%d7%aa%d7%99-%d7%a2%d7%9c-%d7%97%d7%95%d7%a4%d7%a9-%d7%94%d7%a8%d7%a6%d7%95%d7%9f/
He gave us the ability to choose, but we choose, not Him. Why would that contradict anything? He contracted Himself and gave us the possibility of choosing.