Rambam on License (Free Will)

(1) License (Free Will) is granted to all humans: If one wanted to turn oneself to a good path and to be righteous he has the license to do so, and if one wanted to turn oneself to an evil path and be wicked he has the license to do so, as it is written in the Torah, Behold, the Man is become like one of us, to know good and evil (Genesis 3:22), that is, this species of human is unique in the world (כְּאַחַד) and there is no other species like it in this matter, that it of its own initiative (מִמֶּנּוּ) and will and thought knows Good and Evil and will do whatever it pleases, and there is no one to prevent its hand from doing Good or Evil, and since that is so Lest he send forth his hand (Gen. 3:22).

(2) Do not let this thing that the simpletons of the Nations of the World and most of the fools of Israel say cross your mind, that the Holy Blessed One decrees for a person to be righteous or wicked from the beginning of his creation. The matter is not so; rather, every person is capable of being righteous like Moshe Rabeinu or wicked like [King] Yerov'am, wise or foolish, compassionate or cruel, stingy or wasteful, and so on for all of the attributes. And there is no one that forces him or decrees for him, nor anyone who pulls him toward one of the two paths; rather, that person, of his own will and awareness, leans toward whichever path he wants, as Jeremiah said, Does not Good and Evil come out of the mouth of the Most High? (Eicha 3:38). And since that is how it is, it seems that this sinner injures himself. Therefore it is appropriate for him to cry and wail over his sins and over what he did to his soul and how he caused evil to it, as is written afterward, How can a living man complain etc. (Eicha 3:39). And he returns to say, since we have free will, and by our own awareness we did all of the evil, it is appropriate for us to return in teshuvah and abandon our wickedness, since we now have free will, as is written afterward, Let us search and try our ways, and return [to the Lord] (Eicha 3:40).

(1) There are many verses in the Torah and the words of the Prophets that appear to contradict this principle, and most people stumble on these ideas: that the Holy Blessed One decrees for a person to do evil or good, and that one’s heart is not turned over for one to incline it toward whatever one might want. But I will now clarify an important principle, from which you will know the explanation of all those verses: At the moment when a particular person [sins] or the citizens of a particular province sin, and the sinner commits the sin with awareness and intention, as we have explained – it is appropriate that they should pay for their actions. The Holy Blessed One knows how exactly to "collect payback": (for example:) There is a sin for which the judgment renders punishment for the sinner in This World physically or financially, or through the sinner’s minor children – since a person’s minor children who lack awareness and have not taken on any mitzvot are like one’s property, and it is written, Each man shall be put to death for his own sin (Deut. 24:16) – once he becomes a man. And there is a sin for which the judgment renders punishment for the sinner in the World to Come, but no damage will be done to the sinner in This World. And there is a sin for which the sinner is punished in This World and in the World to Come.

(3) But it is possible that a person would commit a grave sin or many sins so that judgment is rendered before the True Judge to punish this sinner ("collect payback") on account of these sins committed through [the sinner’s] awareness and intention – such that teshuvah is prevented and we do not allow this person to return from their evil, so that they will die and be lost in the sins they committed. This is what the Holy Blessed One said through Isaiah: Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they, seeing with their eyes, and hearing with their ears, and understanding with their heart, do teshuvah, and receive healing (Isaiah 6:10). Similarly, They mocked the messengers of God, and despised God’s words, and scoffed at God’s prophets, until the wrath of the Lord arose against God’s people such that there was no remedy (2 Chronicles 36:16), meaning: they sinned intentionally and eagerly transgressed until they deserved to be denied teshuvah, which is the “remedy.” Therefore it is written in the Torah: I will harden Pharaoh’s heart (Ex. 14:4) – since he initially sinned of his own initiative and abused Israel, who were living in his land, as it says, Come, let us deal cleverly with them (Ex. 1:10), judgment was rendered to deny [Pharaoh] teshuvah until [God] punished him – therefore the Holy Blessed One hardened [Pharaoh’s] heart. So why did [God] send Moshe with the message: “Release [the Israelites], and do teshuvah,” when the Holy Blessed One had already said [to Pharaoh], “You won’t release [the Israelites],” as it says, But as for you and your servants, I know that you do not yet fear the Lord God (Ex. 9:30), ‪But for this purpose I have raised you up, to show you my power, so that my name may be proclaimed in all the earth (Ex. 9:16)? In order to inform humanity that when the Holy Blessed One denies teshuvah to a sinner, [the sinner] can not repent – [rather] the sinner will die in the wickedness that [the sinner] initially committed intentionally. So it was for Sihon – because of his sins he deserved to be denied teshuvah, as it says, the Lord your God hardened his spirit and strengthened his heart (Deut. 2:30); and so it was for the Canaanites – because of their abominations, they were denied teshuvah to the point where they waged war against Israel, as it says, For it was the Lord’s doing to harden their hearts, so they would come against Israel in battle and be utterly destroyed (Joshua 11:20); and so it was with Israel in the days of Elijah – because they eagerly transgressed, those who eagerly transgressed were denied teshuvah, as it says, [Answer me, Lord, answer me, so that this people will know that You, Lord, are God,] for You turned their heart backward (1 Kings 18:37), that is, You denied them teshuvah. So you must conclude: God did not decree for Pharaoh to abuse Israel, nor for Sihon to sin in his land, nor for the Canaanites to commit abominations, nor for Israel to commit idolatry – rather, all of them sinned of their own initiative and all of them deserved to be denied teshuvah.