I dedicate my study of Torah today to strengthening the resolve of all human beings to use our free will in good and peaceful ways, and to petition HaShem to soften all hearts towards peace.
Please feel free to put your own dedication for you study today in the chat.
Blessings for learning and studying Torah
Berakhot 11b:
בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה ה׳ אֱלֹקֵינוּ מֶלֶך הָעוֹלָם אֲשֶׁר קִדְּשָנוּ בְּמִצְוֹתָיו וְצִוָּנוּ לַעֲסוֹק בְּדִבְרֵי תוֹרָה
Barukh atah Adonai Eloheinu melekh ha’olam asher kid’shanu b’mitzvotav v’tzivanu la’asok b’divrei Torah
Nonbinary Hebrew Project:
בְּרוּךֶ אַתֶה חֲוָיָה שְׁכִינּוּ רוּחַ הָעוֹלָם אֲשֶׁר קִדַשְׁתַנוּ בְּמִצְוֹתֶיהֶ וְצִוְתָנוּ לַעֲסוֹק בְּדִבְרֵי תוֹרָה
B’rucheh ateh Khavayah Shekhinu ruach ha’olam asher kidash’tanu b’mitzvotei’he v’tziv’tanu la’asok b’divrei Torah
Feminine God Language:
בְּרוּכָה אַתְּ יָהּ אֱלֹהָתֵינוּ רוּחַ הָעוֹלָם אֲשֶׁר קֵרְבָתְנוּ לַעֲבוֹדָתָהּ וְצִוְתָנוּ לַעֲסוֹק בְּדִבְרֵי תוֹרָה
Brukhah at Ya Elohateinu ruach ha’olam asher keir’vat’nu la’avodatah v’tziv’tavnu la’asok b’divrei Torah
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- What is "free will"?
- Do all humans have the same amount of "free will"?
- Do we agree that human "free will" cannot be something that we share with other living creatures?
- Where do we find it in the Torah?
- What are the consequences of our use/ misuse of free will?
- Are we all judged the same way for the same actions?
(כז) ויתיצבו בתחתית ההר, מלמד שכפה עליהן הר כגיגית. פירוש, שהראה להם כבוד ד' בהקיץ ובהתגלות נפלאה, עד כי ממש בטלה בחירתם הטבעיי ויצאה נשמתם מהשגת כבוד ד', והיו מוכרחים כמלאכים בלא הבדל, וראו כי כל הנבראים תלוי רק בקבלת התורה.
“And they stood at the foot of the mountain” – this teaches that God held the mountain above them like a vat. This means, that God showed them the glory of the divine in revealed and wondrous ways, up to the point where their natural free choice was literally removed, and their souls departed from exposure to the glory of God. They were forced, like angels, without the ability to discern, as they saw with complete clarity that all of creation is dependent on the Torah.
This is the history of the events of mankind. On the day the Almighty created man, He made him in the likeness of the Almighty — with free will, as a reminder of the dignity of all humankind.
(ספורנו, ועפ"י ספרא קדושים דברי בן עזאי.)
The Gemara cites a related teaching: Three classes of people do not see the face of Gehenna, because the suffering that they bear in this world atones for their sins, and they are: Those suffering the depths of extreme poverty, those afflicted with intestinal disease, and those oppressed by creditors. And some say: Even one who has an evil wife who constantly harasses him. The Gemara asks: And why don’t the other Sages include one with an evil wife among those who will not be punished in Gehenna? The Gemara answers: They maintain that it is a mitzva to divorce an evil wife. Therefore, that source of distress can be remedied. And why do the other Sages include an evil wife? The Gemara answers: Sometimes payment of her marriage contract is very large, and consequently he cannot divorce her since he cannot afford to pay it. Alternatively, he has children from her, and he cannot raise them himself, and therefore he cannot divorce her. The Gemara asks: What is the practical halakhic difference that emerges from this statement? The Gemara answers: It is significant as it teaches one to accept those afflictions with love, knowing that they will exempt him from the punishment of Gehenna. It was similarly taught: Three classes of people are liable to die while conversing with others, i.e., to die suddenly, although they appear to be in good health and are capable of engaging in conversation, and they are: Those afflicted with intestinal sickness, and a woman in childbirth, and one who is sick with edema [hidrokan].
אָמַר רַבִּי יִצְחָק בָּא לְקַלְּלוֹ, אָמַר לוֹ הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא הִזָּהֵר שֶׁאִם אַתְּ מְקַלְּלוֹ לְנַפְשְׁךָ אַתְּ מְקַלֵּל, דַּאֲמַרְתְּ (בראשית כז, כט): אֹרְרֶיךָ אָרוּר. אָמַר רַבִּי לֵוִי שִׁשָּׁה דְבָרִים מְשַׁמְּשִׁין אֶת הָאָדָם, שְׁלשָׁה בִּרְשׁוּתוֹ וּשְׁלשָׁה אֵינָן בִּרְשׁוּתוֹ, הָעַיִן וְהָאֹזֶן וְחֹטֶם, שֶׁלֹא בִּרְשׁוּתוֹ, חָמֵי מַה דְּלָא בָעֵי, שְׁמַע מַה דְּלָא בָעֵי, מְרִיחַ מַה דְּלָא בָעֵי. הַפֶּה וְהַיָּד וְהָרֶגֶל, בִּרְשׁוּתוֹ, אִין בָּעֵי הוּא לָעֵי בְּאוֹרָיְיתָא, אִין בָּעֵי לִשָּׁנָא בִישָׁא, אִין בָּעֵי מְחָרֵף וּמְגַדֵּף. הַיָּד אִין בָּעֵי הוּא עָבֵיד מִצְוָתָא, אִין בָּעֵי הוּא גָנֵב, וְאִי בָּעֵי הוּא קָטֵיל. הָרֶגֶל אִי בָּעֵי הוּא אָזֵיל לְבָתֵּי טְרַטְסִיָאוֹת וּלְבָתֵּי קִרְקַסְיָאוֹת, וְאִין בָּעֵי הוּא אָזֵיל לְבָתֵּי כְנֵסִיּוֹת וּבָתֵּי מִדְרָשׁוֹת. וּבְשָׁעָה שֶׁהוּא זוֹכֶה הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא עוֹשֶׂה אוֹתָן שֶׁבִּרְשׁוּתוֹ שֶׁלֹא בִּרְשׁוּתוֹ, הַיָּד (מלכים א יג, ד): וַתִּיבַשׁ יָדוֹ אֲשֶׁר שָׁלַח עָלָיו. הַפֶּה, (בראשית כז, לג): גַּם בָּרוּךְ יִהְיֶה. הָרֶגֶל (משלי א, טו טז): בְּנִי אַל תֵּלֵךְ בַּדֶּרֶךְ אִתָּם, כִּי רַגְלֵיהֶם לָרַע יָרוּצוּ:
Rabbi Isaac said: He [Isaac] was going to curse him [Jacob], but the Holy One, blessed be He, cautioned: "Beware, for if you curse him, you curse your own soul, for you said: 'Cursed be they who curse you' (Genesis 27:29)." Rabbi Levi said: six things serve a human - three are under one's control, and three are not under one's control. The eye, the ear and the nose are not under one's control, as one sees what is not wished for, one hears what is not desired, and one smells what is not wanted. The mouth, the hand, and the foot are under one's control. If one wishes to, one studies Torah, while if one wants to one speaks badly, and if one wants to one blasphemes and reviles. Regarding the hand, if one wishes one can offer charity, while if one wants one can rob, and if one desires one can murder. Regarding the feet, if one wishes one can go to the houses of theatre and the houses of circus, while if one wants one can go to the houses of assembly [synagogues] and the houses of study. And in the moment that one merits, the Holy One, blessed be He, makes those which one usually controls, no longer in one's control. The hand: "but the hand that [Jeroboam] stretched out against him withered" (Kings 13:4); The mouth: "now he [Jacob] must remain blessed" (Genesis 27:33); The foot: "My son, do not set out with them...for their feet run to evil" (Proverbs 1:15-6).
Talmud Bavli Shabbat 88a
“They stood at the bottom of the mountain” [lit. underneath the mountain]. R. Avdimi b. Hama bar Hasa said—This teaches that God overturned the mountain like a barrel and said to them, “If you accept the Torah, good; and if not, this will be your grave.”
In the wedding that R. Avdimi describes, the huppah is not beautiful and protective, woven with the beautiful tapestries described in the Song of Songs. The huppah was a mountain ripped from the earth, flipped over, and held like a barrel over our heads. God does not say, “I love you unconditionally.” Instead God says, “Accept My conditions, or I will kill you.” These two moments of commitment, the splitting of the Reed Sea and the giving of the Torah, could have been imagined as smooth, beautiful, and loving, but they are not. They could have been characterized by joy and excitement, but instead are described as being dominated by fear and anger and the threat of annihilation.
These moments are presented in this way because this is the nature of romantic commitment. If I ask you to marry me, but you say “no,” we don’t usually continue on as if nothing has changed. It is because the stakes are so high that the feeling on the other side of strong, fierce love is not apathy or a neutral affection; it is anger, and it is fear. God’s suspending the mountain over our heads is not a description of an arbitrary threat that God makes, but rather an expression of the reality of this kind of proposal. If we choose to reject God at the moment that He asks us to be with Him, God will not stay with us. That is the end of the relationship. Similarly, when God pulls back the waters of the sea, inviting us to walk through the dry land and into a committed relationship with God, there is a lot of hope, but also a lot of vulnerability and fear. If we choose to walk through the walls of water, good. The water will stay suspended; we will remain safe. However, if we choose to reject God, the walls will crash around us and bury us in a watery grave. We will be consumed by God’s disappointment and fury.