Do We Really Have Free Will?

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Rabbi Manis Friedman is a world-renowned author, counselor, lecturer and philosopher who uses ancient wisdom and modern wit to captivate audiences around the world. For bookings please call Zalman at 800-656-5669

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[theresefournier]

He gave me freedom of choice so that i could lovingly give it back to Him as to let His will, not mine, be done!

[jensm.]

I love listening to Rabbi Friedman. It is so inspirating. I am a Christian who has so many questions. Here I get answers. However, I still cannot understand the „I do not have needs“ because I experience it as needs: I feel hungry, thursty, tired … .

[jackiebarnes]

Rabbi friedman thank you for another wonderful video..

[Intentionalife]

Hi Rabbi I just wanted to let you know that I was just talking to God and I told him this is how I know you are God : because you gave us free will and men are pretty controlling, at least most men that I know, . That takes God to be able to create a whole world then give it to somebody and give them the free will in it. That is true love! that takes God. God you are so great and I am very thankful that you gave us free will but let me be a better person by doing your will amen

[theresefournier]

He also gave me love so I'd be equipped to give that back as well!

[johncheeseboro]

I love these videos. I found the rabbi 2 months ago. I may never fully understand the Jewish faith. But these glimpses are priceless. I only wonder if I need a second opinion from another rabbi or if Rabbi Friedmann's words are general thought?

[alisonmurphy-maley]

Thank you for this lovely teaching Rabbi ☺️

[nomorecensoringme]

Thank you Rabbi. A looking forward to buying your book. The first of yours in my library. Will not be the last though.

[thegrievancegordieshow]

I was just watching the hunchback of Notre Dame when he tells the woman

I didn’t know how ugly I was until I saw your beauty

[norrycegiordano]

I've always looked at free choice as to our first choice to accept God and his laws. Once we've done that our choices are made for us by his commandments and laws. Even a choice between two evils is weighed by which is less offensive to God.

[theresefournier]

It's pretty good when you get me to press that like button before i even hear your first sentence! That's, pretty good, no?!

[yerushalayimkodush]

The human is created good! - They only have the "Free-Will" choice to be other than good.
As you said - G.d designed the human with certain attributes; this is the "limitedness{the non-free will/non-choice)" of one's free-will of choice. Going against one's human design/attributes/nature, is the "Free-Will" of choice that the human has if & when they actually choose to act upon/apply their "Free-Will" freedom of choice.
ירושלים, רוח הקודש אהבה: לב יהוה

[nomorecensoringme]

People are so afraid of not having a free will. God has given it to us though others try to take it away. That is where the concern might be better applied.

[lizgichora]

Thank you very much, 'freedom of choice', it might also be the biggest responsibility that he gave his creation.

[Tsudkyk]

Man has free will. But access to free will comes with the understand who you are, a “calibration of your moral compass”. If an individual does not have this understanding- they will easily becomes intoxicated by fads, celebrity or media- they see the world through the lens of these intoxication’s and their motivations become shifted.

The wrong motivating factors can drive sinful behavior, but the individual justifies this behavior because of the extrinsic benefits. This problem is why I denounce “prosperity preachers” in Christianity.

Understand who you are (let god tell you, not your peers) identify your relationship with your community and then allow your intuition to guide you, if your soul is aligned with god- your intuition will be calibrated to point you in the right direction.

[vojtechferencz]

I can’t find a link to get to your VIP program can you help me with it
Thx

[martinjanev]

That honput unlike button: please to vrhite Why(?) (Big ignorance for same people, for God's carakter attribute and Beeing, Rabby Freedman us so Acured here that I'm Amazed and listen couple of times, unforchent I'm from Balkan-macedonia I can't afford the book bit I will find way) +(plus I'm christian) but God is gliryfaid true M.r Freedman Blesings
Lord bless you and ceap you ...
..let the Lord Shine his face Upon you
In Meshiah Name

[observeroflife]

God did make us "good". He created Adam and Eve sinless, and after Creating all of this creation He rested when He saw it was good:

Then God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good. So the evening and the morning were the sixth day.

Over the last six months or so as I have been listening to a few different Rabbi's, I get the distinct feeling that the Jewish people feel responsible for teaching mankind the laws of God, as well as for not having taught them thus far. As if somehow they are at fault for the condition of the world because they have been scattered and not "done their part". As if following the laws taught in the Torah are what is missing in society and somehow they have to find a way to make those laws relevant to everyone. That would be a pretty heavy burden to bear. Especially in today's society. But again, we were created to be sinless… It was Adam and Eve who stepped outside of the boundaries they weren't even aware of at that time. The only boundary they were given was, "don't eat of this one tree". Adam and Eve did not have the same process of growth that we experience. They were not infants who needed to be taught every single thing, from feeding themselves to dressing themselves, to walking and talking, and so forth. Their mind was literally a clean slate in the body of someone considerably older, but they obviously were given enough comprehension to know what the words "do not" meant, yet were also very naive because their innocence had not been tampered with through the knowledge of good and evil, which seared their conscience towards God.

Think about Adam… The searing of the conscience is shown most clearly in Adam's response to God after having eaten from the tree of Knowledge. He went from being completely fine in God's presence to suddenly being afraid when He heard His voice. What is it that changed? Adam now had KNOWLEDGE of God's anger, without having ever experienced it for Himself. Knowledge without Wisdom is what causes irrational fear. God did not strike them down with lightning, He didn't immediately turn Him back into dust, or even come looking for Him in an angry manner screaming, "Adam! Where are you, you sinner! You come explain yourself right now young man!"… But knowing somehow that God could and should was "knowledge enough" to become afraid and hide. That is why Knowledge without Wisdom doesn't work. It is only half the equation. It is like trying to make orange juice from just the peels. What a bitter, chunky "drink" that would be. But what if your WHOLE life you had been given that and TOLD it was orange juice? Which was true in Adam and Eve's case… Their short lives had now been tainted by knowledge without understanding, because understanding cannot be achieved by knowledge alone. Understanding is obtained through Knowledge + Wisdom. So, if you requested a cup of orange juice, a chunky bitter drink is what you would expect to be given because you sincerely wouldn't "know" any better. But what a pleasant surprise it would be to taste the real thing for the first time... If you didn't reject it just because it doesn't look like what you have been used to. 🤷‍♀️

A satisfied soul
loathes the honeycomb, But to a hungry soul every bitter thing is
sweet.

So the cycle of sin and evil began in the Garden for mankind through the seared conscience of the two "first born", not through people not choosing to follow the 10 commandments. We perpetuate this cycle in the world through making the same mistake they did… Believing that knowledge alone is enough to "know" God, because of a seared conscience that doesn't "know" any better since half the equation is still missing. Wisdom. We talk about "free will" as if that can determine our physical or eternal destination… The choices we make with that free will… But, that "free will" actually comes at quite a cost. If Adam and Eve had not chosen Knowledge before Wisdom there would not be a need for written laws to follow, because God's laws would be written on our hearts through His Wisdom. We wouldn't just "know about" sin and evil… We would actually understand sin and evil, *as well as* the goodness of God.

Because our hearts and minds wouldn't be riddled with the emotional and spiritual weight that sin and evil puts on us all. Guilt, shame, irrational fear, and everything of the likes… We would be able to govern ourselves as we were created to do, because we wouldn't be trying to do it based on Knowledge without Understanding. Our conscience would be able to lead us in the right way because we would actually be listening to it and not guilt, shame, irrational fear, and everything of the likes. Because those things work like a veil, clouding our vision of ourself and God when there is no true Understanding of what we "know".

[theresefournier]

Arrogance, as ignorance, is not a pretty thing in anyone on Eart-h that still has a locked door in his aching H-eart. Shalom

[DoreenBellDotan]

To speak of Freedom of Choice as a binary function does people a great injustice and does not dignify freedom of choice. Freedom of choice is not an all or nothing matter. Our freedom of choice exists on a gradient. Paradoxically, as our will approaches the Will of HaShem our freedom of choice increases even as it no longer strays, because all straying is only into foolishness. Shlomo HaMelekh teaches this magnificently.
Freedom of Will is very low for those for whom HaShem is an object of worship. Any object of worship, no matter how abstracted, exalted, awesome and removed is still an object, and thus idol worship. Abstract, exalted and removed are qualities, and so cannot apply to HaShem. Awesome is pretty cool though.
:0)
Idol worshipers have little choice. Yes, most Rabbis are idol worshipers. We cannot do Tshuvah until we can admit that we are idol worshippers, realize how subtle and sophisticated idol worship is and be sincerely regretful and committed to becoming Monotheists.