does judaism believe in free will?

Question

please if answer if you know or if have good links explaining this.

Answer 1

Absolutely we have free will according to Judaism. Without Free Will, everything else falls apart. The question that will really blow your mind is how do we have free will if G-d knows everything that was, is, and will be?

The short answer is that pre-knowledge does not contradict Free Will. Just because Hakodesh Baruch Hu ("The Holy One, Blessed is He," Jewish nickname for G-d) knows what choices we are going to make doesn't mean we aren't free to make them.

I've heard a lot of analogies to describe the subject, but unfortunately, most of them suck. The best I can give you is...well...let's say you have a child, and this kid is totally nuts for ice cream. You offer the kid an ice cream cone, and you know that he/she is going to take it without a moment's hesitation. I would submit that just because you knew what the child would do, doesn't mean that the child did not have a choice in the matter. Now if we have this kind of ability to observe and to analyze, how much more so does G-d, who exists simultaneously, within and beyond time and space, in and above all dimensions, for whom past, present and future are all as one? So just think about that!

If you like learning about this kind of stuff, I heartily suggest the works of folks like Aryeh Kaplan and Akiva Tatz (two of my all-time favorite writers). In fact, I believe that in his "Thinking Jewish Teenager's Guide to Life," Rabbi Tatz dedicates an entire chapter to this very subject. Don't let the title scare you off - it's a good read at any age. :)

Oh, I'd like to add that Free Will (tm) ;) really only applies to moral decisions. Obviously we cannot choose where we're born, what kind of upbringing we receive... the challenges we face in life (which are all designed to help us grow as people), we generally don't get to choose. As it has often been said, we can't control what life brings us, but only how we react to it. Rabbi Tatz does a much better job treating this topic in his book - again, highly recommended.

I hope this helps.

Answer 2

One of the main tenets of Judaism is the concept of free will. There can be no reward and punishment if there is no free will. Jews believe that man was given complete freedom to choose between good and evil. Every person has a good inclination and a bad inclination inside of them. Each side is constantly fighting for the upper hand yet if we are determined we can beat the evil inclination. Each time we are given a test to sin or not we have a choice to refstrain ourselves until the act is done. We can even stop in middle of the sin yet that is obviously much harder. Better not to start to begin with.

Answer 3

To choose between good and bad is a fundamental principle of Judaism. It's what separates humans from angels.

Below is a link to Jewish thread discussing the concept. Please note that the Jewish word for free will is "bechira" it is used a lot in the thread. If you don't understand something in the thread you can register and ask, they are a good group of people there.

Answer 4

Yes

Answer 5

Yes they do indeed. Heaven and Hell for the jews is NOT at all like it is for christians. It is how you are remembered. If you live your life well, you will be remembered well, and therefore enter heaven.

Answer 6

yes the ydo,they are big on the realization that it was God himself who gave us free will

Answer 7

without question.

http://www.askmoses.com/article.html?h=253&o=227
http://www.askmoses.com/article.html?h=253&o=277
http://www.askmoses.com/article.html?h=253&o=288

(above are articles discussing this)

Answer 8

NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!