Repentance Part 1: Free Will and the Tree of Knowledge

From The Book of Memories by R Shnayor Burton.

Published: Wed, 01 Sep 2021 10:00:00 -0400
Duration: 49:38
Audio: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1723156/episodes/9117974-repentance-part-1-free-will-and-the-tree-of-knowledge.mp3
TorahApp: https://torahapp.org/share/p/3P_r_shnayor_burton_book_of_memories/e/Buzzsprout-9117974

Maimonides’ prooftext that man has power over his own actions is the biblical verse that describes the power man attained after sinning and eating from the forbidden Edenic fruit. Yet Maimonides also teaches us that as God wills that each part of creation exist in accord with its nature, He wills that man exist as a free rational agent. Furthermore, Maimonides emphasizes that the belief that man is given the power to do good or evil is fundamental to the Torah. Does it follow that God willed that man would eat from the Tree of Knowledge? And if so, how could the Torah call that a sin?

Join us this week for Part 1 of our discussion of Maimonides’ Laws of Repentance, focused on Chapter 5, as we grapple with these questions and more. Stay tuned for next week’s Part 2, as we will, God not preventing, discuss Chapter 6, focusing on Torah verses that suggest God at times controls human action.

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