{"id":63,"date":"2012-08-21T15:31:11","date_gmt":"2012-08-21T15:31:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/kabbalahcounseling\/?p=63"},"modified":"2012-08-21T15:31:11","modified_gmt":"2012-08-21T15:31:11","slug":"the-reality-of-free-will","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/kabbalahcounseling\/2012\/08\/the-reality-of-free-will.html","title":{"rendered":"THE REALITY OF FREE WILL"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the previous post, we elucidated that what we mean by \u201cGood\u201d is that which brings me closer to the Infinite, and what we mean by \u201cEvil\u201d is that which pulls me away from the Infinite.<\/p>\n

Now that we have Good and Evil lucidly defined, let us be clear that in Judaism, when we talk about Free Will, it is to these decisions between Good and Evil that we are referring. That is, when we speak of Free Will, we are not referring to questions such as vanilla versus chocolate. Whether or not that is a real choice or conditioning is simply not our issue. Rather, our concern is one\u2019s decision that will result in either his building his relationship with the Infinite or his destroying his relationship with the Infinite. (One\u2019s personal tastes are actually rooted in his soul, according to Kabbalah. For more on this topic, see the section \u201cBlessings on Fruit\u201d in my book\u00a0The Trees in the Forest: Jewish Living in the Context of Kabbalah<\/a><\/em>.)<\/p>\n

Another area in which Free Will does not apply is when it comes to determining realities. The fact that a person has Free Will does not mean that he has the ability to determine what is real and what is not. Rather, Free Will means that one has the ability to choose what he does or does not do within the given reality.<\/p>\n

For example, imagine you and your friend are on the roof of a building, and your friend pops a pill and now believes he can fly home. You try to stop him and inform him that he is mistaken and that he is, in fact, incapable of flying. But, he responds by letting you know that while gravity may exist in \u201cyour reality,\u201d it does not exist in \u201chis reality.\u201d At this point, supposing you\u2019re a liberal-minded individual and you believe that you\u2019ve got to let people make their own choices in life, you let him jump off the building. Does he fly or does he fall? Of course he falls, despite the fact that in \u201chis reality\u201d he can fly.<\/p>\n

What you\u00a0think<\/em>\u00a0about reality has nothing to do with what\u00a0is<\/em>\u00a0reality. Thus Free Will does not mean one has the choice to determine realities; rather, it means that one has the ability to choose what he does within the given reality. And just as the physical reality exists independent of what we think about it, so too the spiritual reality exists independent of what we think about it.<\/p>\n

Therefore, if, as we\u2019ve explained, everyone wants to get the most pleasure, joy, and happiness out of life, our Free Will decisions ought to be predicated and based in reality. After all, to the extent one\u2019s decisions are based in reality, he is likely to move in the direction of pleasure, joy, and happiness. To the extent one\u2019s decisions are not based in reality, and he ignores\u00a0the<\/em>\u00a0reality in exchange for\u00a0his<\/em>\u00a0\u201creality,\u201d he is likely to miss out on pleasure, joy, and happiness.<\/p>\n

Rabbi Eliyahu Yaakov is a sought after cutting edge international speaker on Kabbalah, relationships, parenting, and life. His recently released #1 Amazon\u2019s Best Seller,\u00a0Jewish By Choice: A Kabbalistic Take on Life & Judaism<\/a>, has won wide acclaim as one of the clearest, most comprehensive, easily accessible, and practical depictions of Kabbalah and the \u201cwhys\u201d of Judaism.<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In the previous post, we elucidated that what we mean by \u201cGood\u201d is that which brings me closer to the Infinite, and what we mean by \u201cEvil\u201d is that which pulls me away from the Infinite. Now that we have Good and Evil lucidly defined, let us be clear that in Judaism, when we talk…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":506,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-63","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nTHE REALITY OF FREE WILL - Kabbalah Counseling<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/kabbalahcounseling\/2012\/08\/the-reality-of-free-will.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"THE REALITY OF FREE WILL - Kabbalah Counseling\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"In the previous post, we elucidated that what we mean by \u201cGood\u201d is that which brings me closer to the Infinite, and what we mean by \u201cEvil\u201d is that which pulls me away from the Infinite. 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