Your Soul Agreed to Your Life: A Deep Jewish Perspective on Destiny and Free Will

While it may be hard to believe, we are taught that our soul signed off on everything that would happen to us during our lifetime.

Rabbeinu Bachya explains this idea in depth: “The meaning of this Midrash is that all created beings were brought into existence with their own will and consent. At the beginning of creation, G-d revealed to each being all that would happen to them—their entire destiny. He informed them of the length of their lives and the manner of their death, as well as their sustenance: whether they would live in abundance or hardship, whether they would earn it through their own efforts or rely on others. As the sages taught, all acts of creation were done with awareness, according to their form and nature, as it says: ‘And all their hosts’ (Genesis 2:1). Everything agreed and accepted.” (Rabbeinu Bachya, Ki Tetzei 22:8)

According to this teaching, before descending into the world, each soul sat with G-d, and He showed it the entire “film” of its life down to every detail. G-d told the soul how it would live and how it would die, what kind of livelihood it would have, whether it would be comfortable or difficult, whether it would come easily or through hardship, and whether it would earn its living independently or need help from others.

The soul saw everything in advance including which family it would be born into, who its parents would be, what kind of spouse it would have, which home it would live in, what job it would do, which seminaries or schools its daughters would be accepted to (and how easily or not), how many setbacks it would face, how often it would miss the bus—every little detail was revealed.

The Zohar even teaches that the soul chooses the body it will come into, because the body is like a vehicle that serves the soul in fulfilling its mission in this world. Only after the soul agrees willingly and joyfully is it sent down into the world.

It’s important to note that the soul’s willing “signature” on the life plan does not contradict what is taught in Pirkei Avot (Ethics of the Fathers): “Against your will you are formed.” As they refer to different aspects of the process.

While the soul is still in the higher spiritual realm, it is surrounded by immense pleasure and spiritual delight—something we can’t even begin to comprehend. In that state, the soul does not want to descend into the physical world. It’s afraid it won’t succeed, and that it might stumble and become spiritually damaged.

As the Talmud says (Eruvin 13b), the schools of Shammai and Hillel debated whether it’s better for a person to have been created or not. In the end, they concluded: “It would have been better for a person not to have been created than to have been created; but now that he has been created, let him examine his deeds.”

The soul doesn’t want to leave the spiritual world because it fears failure. But G-d tells it: “You don’t have a choice. You must go down.”

After the soul accepts that it must descend, G-d sits with it and shows it the complete life plan in detail. The soul watches the “movie” of its life and sees how everything that will happen—every joy, every pain—is perfectly designed for its growth and soul-correction.

G-d then asks the soul: “Does this plan look good to you?”

The soul, seeing the wisdom behind it all—how precisely every tool, challenge, and blessing is tailored to its purpose—agrees joyfully, and signs off on the plan. The soul sees how everything will help it fulfill its mission and that it will return, cleansed and whole, to the next and eternal world.