The Power to Choose
The Meaning of Free Will

The question is ancient. If G-d hardened Pharaoh’s heart, then it was G-d who made Pharaoh refuse to let the Israelites go, not Pharaoh himself. How can this be just? This lesson explains the mechanics of free will, and what tools we need to make sound decisions.

Torah Studies 5777 - 17 - Bo (The Power to Choose)

Are we bound by fate?

If G-d already knows what we will do tomorrow, is our “free choice” nothing more than an illusion? And with so many powerful influences outside of our control -- or even our awareness -- influencing our choices, how “free” could they possibly be?

What Is - Lesson 6

Biblical Conspiracies & Free Choice
A Deeper Understanding of the Ten Plagues
(Recorded live at the Intown Jewish Academy on January 2, 2019)

In this session of Torah Studies we look at Biblical conspiracy theories, ancient Egyptian scrolls, free choice, and the ten plagues. What was the purpose of the plagues? Why did G-d harden Pharaoh's heart? And if G-d was hardening his heart, why was Pharaoh warned about the plagues? Learn the amazing answers to these questions and more!

We all know the story of the Jews in Egypt: bone-crushing slavery for hundreds of years. What caused this terrible catastrophe? Was it perhaps because they were habitual idolaters? Nope. After a kerfuffle with two bickering Jews, Moses declares that slander, above all, was the root cause of suffering. Really? Is it that bad? Ride the train of Jewish nationhood to discover why, yes, it is really that bad.

Torah Studies 5779

Torah Studies 5779 - 13 - Va'eira (Biblical Conspiracies & Free Choice)

Rabbi Nasan Maimon - BreslovTorah.com
Succeeding with Free Choice: What you Need to Know!

Succeeding with Free Choice: What you Need to Know!

We humans feel like we have the ability to make any choice, but the reality is that we can only make any choice we want to. In other words, humans are bound to their own wills - it’s not possible to choose to do something you ultimately do not want to do. Every choice to do something you don’t want to do is made because there is something you ultimately want more. We choose to go to the dentist–something we don’t want to do–because our desire to avoid the long-term pain of dental decay is greater than our desire to avoid the short-term pain of dental pain. A better way to talk about the way we make choices is to say we have freedom of agency: we can choose to do anything within the realm of our desires. For example, I am free to choose between wearing the green socks or the yellow socks, but I am not free to cut my feet off–it simply isn’t within the realm of my desires to do so. 

The Bible insists that this is also true when it comes to one’s relationship with God. Our fallen human hearts do not desire God, or at least we do not desire God as he really is. And so we choose to reject him because it is our will to reject him, and we do not choose to accept him because our wills are opposed to him–and it is impossible to do something ultimately against your will. And so, if we are going to accept God, he must change our will so that we desire him. This work of the Holy Spirit, called prevenient grace, happens when God mercifully and lovingly draws us to himself, and changes our heart from the inside out so that we believe in him and long for a relationship with him. 

Hosts: Aaron Mueller and Chuck Rathert

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To comment on this episode, visit https://saintjamesglencarbon.org/cacg-ep123.

Do We Have Free Will? (Ep123)

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St. James Lutheran Church was established in 1982. We are a church rooted on Grace Alone, Faith Alone, and Scripture Alone. And we are a body of sinners and saints focused on spreading the Good News in the Greater Glen Carbon community.

St. James is located in Glen Carbon, IL at 146 North Main Street. We are located across from Glen Carbon Village Hall and right next to Schon Park.

Rabbi Nasan Maimon is recognized internationally as a dynamic teacher, compassionate listener, and experienced counselor who provides well-grounded applications of the teachings of Rebbe Nachman in contemporary life. 

His knowledge is informed by decades of close apprenticeship to his teachers, Rabbi Rosenfeld and Rabbi Yechiel Michel Dorfman ז”ל. 

Rabbi Maimon founded BreslovTorah.com as an online resource center for students of Rebbe Nachman all over the world.

New tracks tagged #Free Choice