Free Will, Faith, and the Meaning of Life in Judaism

Zohar asks: "I read that a person must have a different purpose than animals, since humans cannot accept death and are always striving for more. But I know that there are animals who risk their lives for their offspring, and also people who have sacrificed their lives for causes that mattered to them — they were not afraid of death at all. Also, if the goal is to reach the World to Come, isn’t doing good ultimately a selfish goal? Thank you in advance."

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Shalom Zohar, and thank you for your thoughtful questions.

Animals do not think and choose freely; they act according to instincts that the Creator embedded in them. That same cat willing to risk her life for her one-month-old kittens may later snatch food from those same offspring six months down the line. Unlike humans, animals act without free will, following the “program” set in them from birth until death. That is why salmon swim upstream to lay eggs and then die — it is instinct, not choice.

A human being, however, has the unique capacity to choose between good and evil. Some choose evil, while others choose good. Humans are not locked into a single mode of behavior. Some mothers care deeply for their children, while sadly others harm them. Some people dedicate themselves to helping others, while others choose to harm. Some return to faith, while others abandon it. This gift of free choice is the most powerful spiritual faculty in humanity. It is also the clearest evidence that God tests each person in this world, in order to grant reward or punishment in the World to Come.

Those who sacrifice their lives without fear of death, are operating from the strongest inner power a human possesses: the religious drive.

God implanted in us a deeply spiritual power — a connection to faith, that originates from a higher source. Throughout history, countless Jews gave their lives rather than betray their God. The soul’s most powerful expression is to surrender itself to a higher cause, through fire and water, out of unconditional love. Love is indeed the deepest force in the human heart — but just as one can mistakenly pour this love into someone unworthy, one can also pour the religious drive into false ideologies. That is why people have been willing to die for nations, for communism, or for political leaders. Terrorists and Nazis misused this sacred spiritual faculty by devoting themselves to false “messianic” ideologies, resulting in their willingness to kill and die for them.

The sages tell us that Amalek, a distant nation, traveled into the desert specifically to fight Israel. Amalek attacked out of pure hatred, with no gain to be had. Many recognize the same blind, irrational hatred today in terrorist movements; antisemitism for its own sake, not for rational goals.

This illustrates the power of the spiritual faculty within us, and how much greater the triumph when a person channels that immense power into serving and loving the Creator. That is the very meaning of life.

In answer to your final question, the Talmudic Sages taught: “A person should always engage in Torah and mitzvot, even if not for their own sake, because from doing them not for their own sake, one will eventually come to do them for their own sake” (Pesachim 50b). Even if one begins doing good for selfish reasons, eventually the very act of doing good opens the heart to do it purely for God’s sake. Goodness leads toward selflessness.

The Torah calls on us to reach the ultimate level: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your might” (Devarim 6:5) — in every situation, even if He takes your very life. The ultimate purpose that Judaism sets before us is a love that is pure and eternal, and not dependent on gain. This is the purpose of all creation, that binds a person to their Creator, granting them eternal closeness to God.