If Every Cause Has an Effect - Where Is Our Free Will?

Nachum asks: "Hello, it seems that every action is influenced by something, so every action we take is impacted by previous states or events, the education we received, and things we have been exposed to, etc. So my question is, where is our free will if we are always influenced by different situations that Hashem created for us? Thank you."

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Hello Nachum, and thank you for your interesting question. Your statement can be summarized in a sentence passed down by the sages: "Everything is in the hands of Heaven except for the fear of Heaven" (Berakhot 33b). Moreover, in Tractate Niddah (16b), it is said: "Rabbi Chanina bar Papa explained: The angel appointed over conception... takes the drop and presents it before the Holy One, Blessed be He, and says: Master of the universe, what will become of this drop—strong or weak, wise or foolish, rich or poor? But whether it will be wicked or righteous, he does not say."

This means that Hashem indeed determines all the situations and events we will encounter in life, but He gives us the choice of how to act within those events. Ethical teachings suggest that for this reason, a person who repents should not be angry with themselves when negative thoughts disturb them during prayer or moments of holiness, as these thoughts were predetermined for them as a test from above and are not a result of choice. Every day, Hashem places us in various trials, and it is up to us to pass these tests and derive the best outcome from each situation - even within our hearts and minds. As the sages said: "Judge every person favorably" (Pirkei Avot 1:6). However, we do not determine the events we will encounter in our lives, nor do we determine the nature and trials we will receive.

Rabbi Eliyahu Dessler, of blessed memory, in his book 'Michtav M'Eliyahu' (Essay on Free Will), describes the point of choice that each of us has. For the righteous, the point of choice might be how much to focus in prayer today or how much to invest in learning Torah, but for a person born into a family of criminals and thieves, the point of choice might be whether to commit murder... Every person receives different trials according to their level and their accounts from previous lifetimes. No one has control over the events and situations they will go through in life, but everyone has a point of choice that, if used to the best of their ability, can open up worlds, lead to repentance, and emerge even from the greatest darkness, as the sages have passed down that Hashem says to each of us: "Open for me an opening as tiny as a needle's eye, and I will open for you an opening as wide as a banquet hall" (based on Shir HaShirim Rabbah 5:2).

Dr. Viktor Frankl, a Holocaust survivor who wrote the well-known book 'Man's Search for Meaning,' tries to psychologically describe where our point of choice lies and illustrates it through stories from the concentration camps, tales of despair countered by tales of heroism—under the same threatening psychological conditions and pressures. For example, he tells of seeing a Nazi officer speaking harshly to a weak and pathetic Jewish man and claimed proudly: "You are a cowardly Jew." The Jew replied, "True, I am indeed a coward, but if you were as scared as I am now, you would run away in sheer terror!"

Dr. Frankl saw in this statement an expression of the point of choice within each of us, meaning our personal response to events, even in situations of tremendous fear and horror. Frankl argued that even if we cannot control situations of intense emotions like fear, anger, or frustration, we are still capable of choosing how to respond to events—despite the emotions and thoughts that invade us. For example, a person who is very frightened can choose to act bravely, and a person who is very angry can hold on despite accumulating anger. The sages claimed that even when one is born under the "Mars star," meaning with a natural disposition toward shedding blood(!), they are not doomed to become a murderer. They can direct their nature, choosing to become a ritual slaughterer or a mohel (or alternatively a surgeon or a paramedic who is not fazed by the sight of blood). The sages tell us that King David was born under the Mars star, and he directed his emotions to fight the enemies of Israel (Shabbat 155-156).

In conclusion: Though you have no control over the events you experience in your life or even always over the thoughts that arise in your mind, you have full choice over your fear of Heaven. In other words, your personal response to situations, the choice to do good and have faith in Hashem and trust in Him even despite trials. This is your point of choice, and it defines who you really are.