The Mystery of Free Will / We Look Only to God It is impossible to understand how God treats the entire world — particularly creatures with free will, for whom everything was created from beginning to end. All the angels, celestial palaces and levels of holiness — and, in the realm of evil, everything in the “husk” and the Other Side — everything was made for human beings, who have free will. God has given human beings free will. Nevertheless, free will is also in His hand, because everything comes from Him and He gives life to everything. A person must avert and close his physical and mental eyes from looking at the meaningless things of this world. In particular, he should not have any evil thoughts. He should turn his eyes only to look at the light of the Torah and the true Tzaddikim who shine with a great, awesome and elevated light, until his desire for this-worldly matters is nullified. This entire world, with all of its desires and vanities, is nothing compared to a single point of the holy Torah and the holy Tzaddikim who illuminate all worlds with a wondrous and awesome light. But although this world is so small compared to just one point of the light of the Torah and the Tzaddikim, it stands before people’s eyes and keeps them from seeing that great and precious light. God Made Everything for Human Beings “From the belly of Sheol I cried out. You heard my voice.” “You heard my voice; do not turn Your ear away from my sigh, from my outcry.” “The waters covered my head. I said, ‘I am cut away.’” “HaShem, I called Your Name from the depths of the pit.”

Master of the world, You are filled with compassion for all creatures, even for me. No matter what I have done and no matter what I am like, rescue me from this moment on. I see and have faith that Your compassion will never leave me.

It is impossible to understand how You treat the entire world — particularly creatures with free will, for whom everything was created from beginning to end, from the start of Atzilut to the lowest point of this physical world of Asiyah.¹ (Nearness), Yetzirah (Creation), Beriah (Formation) and Asiyah (Action). Our physical world is part of Asiyah. All worlds, thousands and millions of them, are included in human beings. All the angels, seraphim, ophanim and holy chayot, all the celestial palaces and levels of holiness — and, on the side of evil, everything in the “husk” and the Other Side — everything was made for we human beings who have free will.

footnotes: ¹ According to the Kabbalah, there are Four Worlds or levels of existence. These are: Atzilut

You have given human beings free will, as though their will is not under Your control. As our sages have said, “Everything is in the hands of Heaven except the fear of Heaven.”

Nevertheless, free will is also in Your hand, because everything comes from You, and You give life to everything.

As our sages said, “A person’s evil inclination rises up against him every day, and if not for the fact that the Holy One, blessed be He, helps him, he would fall into its power. As the verse states, ‘Although the wicked person gazes at the righteous man and seeks to kill him, HaShem will not abandon him and will not permit him to be condemned when he is judged.’”

And our sages said, “If not for three verses [that express the power of the evil inclination], the Jewish people could not stand [and defend themselves]. One of them is, ‘As for the evil that I brought about … ’”

Who can understand Your wondrous, awesome and mighty ways, the hidden and revealed lovingkindness with which You treat every generation and every single individual?

Averting Our Eyes Therefore, I have come before You, HaShem my God and God of my fathers — God from beginning to end, God of all flesh, You Who have compassion on the poor, You Who hear the prayer of each mouth — to have compassion on me.

Give me counsel and encouragement on how to avert and close my physical and mental eyes so that I will no longer look at the meaningless things of this world.

In particular, may I not even begin to have evil thoughts, Heaven forbid.

I believe without any doubt that I possess free will — but habit keeps me from focusing on holiness.

For the sake of Your Name, for the sake of Your honor, for the sake of Your kindness, for the sake of Your vast and great compassion, help me. May I be saved, at least beginning now, from whatever I need to be saved. May I no longer enter into such bitter Gehinnom, such deep mire.

May I have pity on my soul from this moment on. May I totally remove my thoughts from every type of evil thought and idea, so that they will not occur to me even when I see something with my physical eyes.

“Guard my soul and rescue me; may I not be ashamed, for I take refuge in You.”

Guard me and rescue me from every type of evil sight and evil thought. “Turn away my eyes from seeing vanity; in Your ways, give me life.”

Arouse Your tremendous compassion for a soul as lowly as I am today. Help me avert my physical and mental eyes from the sight of this world.

Look Toward the Torah and the Tzaddikim May I turn my eyes, heart and mind at every moment only to look at the light of the Torah and the true Tzaddikim who shine with a great, awesome and elevated light, until my desire for this-world matters will be nullified.

You have revealed to me — and I believe it with complete faith — that this entire world, with all its desires and vanities, is nothing compared to a single point of the holy Torah and the holy Tzaddikim who illuminate the whole world with a wondrous and awesome light.

But although this world is so small in quantity and character compared to just one point of the light of the Torah and the Tzaddikim, it stands before people’s eyes and prevents them from seeing that great and precious light.

Now that You have helped me know and understand all this, have compassion on me for the sake of Your Name. May I no longer allow myself to fool myself, Heaven forbid. May I no longer walk in darkness.

May I not stray after my heart and my eyes. May I not lift my eyes at all to look at the empty affairs of this world, with its vanities and evil desires that end in bitterness. May I turn my eyes aside so that I do not look at any of this.

Instead, may my eyes always look straight at the light of the Torah and the true Tzaddikim.

Shine their sweet light on me until all my desires for this world and its empty affairs will cease, and I will truly recognize You. May I “gaze upon the pleasantness of HaShem and visit in His palace.”

You Who are filled with compassion, have compassion on me and accept my pleas. Have mercy on me. Help me no longer exchange light for darkness.

Bring me out from dimness to brightness, from darkness to a great light, from the murky darkness of the desires and ideas of this world to the pure light of the Torah and the true Tzaddikim.

Help me spend all of my days drawing close to true Tzaddikim, and to the holy and awesome teachings that they draw down and reveal and shine in all the worlds at every moment.

Have compassion on me for the sake of Your Name. Have pity on me and my children for the sake of Your vast compassion. “The kindness of HaShem has not ceased, Your compassion has not been exhausted.” HaShem, “I stretch my hands out to You. My soul turns to You like a weary land.” My eyes are lifted up to You. “I have raised my eyes to You, You Who dwell in Heaven.”

“My eyes are raised to the heights, HaShem. I have been oppressed, be my guarantor.” “Be a guarantor to Your servant for the good — do not let the wicked oppress me!”

My Father and King, help me for the sake of Your Name. Reveal the glory of Your sovereignty. Appear soon and cause the light of the holy Torah and the true Tzaddikim to shine on me.

From the day of the giving of the Torah until now, You have shone Your great light upon us through all of the true Tzaddikim since Moses.

Because I am so coarse and my sins are so dark, I need Your greatest compassion so that You will shine the light of Your holy Torah and the light of the true Tzaddikim on me even now.

May I no longer experience any of the desires of this world and its vanities, so that from now on I will return to You in truth and in accordance with Your good will.

“Cause Your face to shine on Your servant. Save me in Your lovingkindness.” “Cause Your face to shine on Your servant and teach me Your laws.” “May the way of the righteous, like the light of dawn, grow ever brighter, until the day is whole.”

Then “you will no longer have the sun for light by day, and the moon will not give you light for brightness, but HaShem will be an everlasting light for you, and your God will be your beauty. Your sun will no longer set, and your moon will not be gathered away, for HaShem will be a light for you forever, and the days of your mourning will be over. And your people will be entirely righteous forever; they will inherit the land, a scion that I planted, the work of My hands in which I will take pride.”

May it happen quickly, in our days. Amen, selah.