216. Apparent Contradictions to Free Will
Teshuvah 6:4
In their prayers, the righteous and the prophets ask for God’s help on the proper path, as David said, “God, show me Your way so that I might walk in Your truth” (Psalms 86:11), meaning “do not let my sins keep me from the path of truth, which will lead me to appreciate Your way and the unity of Your name.” Similarly, Psalms 51:14 says, “let a willing spirit support me,” meaning “let my spirit do Your will and may my sins not prevent me from repenting. Rather, allow me to retain the choice until I repent and appreciate the path of truth.” This is the explanation of all such verses.
Teshuvah 6:5
“God is good and upright, so He instructs sinners in the path. He guides the humble…” (Psalms 25:8-9) means that God sends prophets to inform sinners of the proper path and to encourage them to repent. It further means that He granted them the ability to learn and understand. All people possess this capacity. So long as one follows the path of wisdom and righteousness, he will desire these things and pursue them, as the Sages said, “One who wants to purify himself is assisted.”
One question remains about God’s foreknowledge of our deeds. Genesis 15:13 says, “They will enslave them and oppress them.” Did He not decree that the Egyptians would perform these evil deeds? The same question may be asked of Deuteronomy 31:16, “This nation will arise and stray after the idols of the land.” Did He not decree that the Jews would worship idols? If so, how could they be punished for these deeds?
The answer is that God never decreed that any given person would sin. Rather, any one of those who did worship idols had the ability to refrain, had he so chosen. God merely informed us what would happen generally. God basically said that there would be righteous people and corrupt people. The corrupt people can’t complain that God decreed this fate for them because they could have chosen to be among the righteous people. The Egyptians likewise had the choice whether or not to be among the oppressors; no one person was condemned to that role. God was merely informing Abraham what would happen in the big picture.