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Chapter Two: | 27 30 | A New Light | 3

And this is especially true of those people who have fallen prey to Consider this: you think that you lack free will. That is because A New Light
every sort of addiction: cigarettes and drugs, alcohol and gambling, you assume that your free will lies in the realm of action, and
overeating and computer games, videos and social media. Some you see that you lack the strength to control and change your
people aren’t even aware that they are imprisoned and in terrible behavior. But that is where you are wrong. It is true that you do By
darkness. But none of them nurse any hope of leaving their situation, not have control over your behavior (as will be discussed further
because they see no way of freeing themselves from the chains of on). What do you control? Only your will. At the moment that
their addictions. you discover the power of free choice that you do control—which Rabbi Shalom Arush shlit"a
is your will—you will understand that every person on every level
Everyone and His Burden possesses complete free will, and that everything that Hashem
wants of us is easy, simple, and accessible to everyone, even the Author of:
Not only people who are immersed in the depths of evil feel that most debased, degraded and godless individual—literally,
they have no choice, but even people who keep the Torah and every person in every situation! The Garden of Emuna
its commandments, even scholars who learn Torah, pray carefully The Garden of Peace
and are exacting about every halachah, whether easy or hard. Each Everything Is in the Hands of Heaven The Garden of Yearning
one has his own challenges and an area or areas in which he does
not conceive of himself as being able to change. There may be a Allow me to explain. You are wrong to think that your free will In Forest Fields
particular desire that overcomes him, a challenge to wake up on lies in the realm of action. Simple faith tells us that everything is Women’s Wisdom
time, to guard his eyes or guard his tongue, he may face tests of in Hashem’s hands, including our deeds, words and thoughts. A
his faith, he may struggle with evil traits such as anger and envy, he person’s deed is not in his hands. Rather, Hashem is the Master of The Garden of Riches
may be unable to maintain peace in his home, and the like. all deeds. As the first Principle of Faith based on Rambam’s view The Garden of Gratitude
states, “I believe with perfect faith that the Creator, blessed be
Every individual has his own burden, an area in which he thinks He, creates and guides all created beings, and that He alone made, The Universal Garden of Emuna
he cannot change. He feels broken. And sometimes he despairs so makes and will make all things.” That is the foundation of faith: The Garden of Wisdom
completely that he no longer even feels broken. Instead, he makes that the Creator Himself performed, performs and will perform all
his peace with his “reality” that overcoming his difficult challenge is actions. The Garden of Education
beyond him. Every individual on every level has the feeling that at The Garden of Knowledge
some point he lacks free will. This is to be understood in the most literal sense as including even
your own actions that appear to depend solely on you. Be aware The Garden of Purity
Such a person is not permitted to comfort himself with the that even such actions only come about by the power of Hashem, The Garden of Healing
thought, “I have worked hard on myself, and except for this or because He is the Master of all forces. A person’s every capability
that particular issue, I choose the good. My failure isn’t so terrible. comes from the Creator of the universe. That being so, a person’s The Garden of Emuna for Young People
Will heaven be exacting with me just because of this one issue?” every action derives from the power of the Creator. Regarding this, I Said Thank-You and I Saw Miracles
It is absolutely forbidden to think this way. A person must know the verse states, “All of our deeds You performed for us” (Isaiah
that a challenge that is so difficult that he makes no headway in 26:12). and other books
overcoming it constitutes the essence of what he must rectify. That
is the mission for whose sake he came to this world. Conversely, In that case, what role does the individual play? His only role
something easy for him to master is not something for whose sake is to implement his will. That is the meaning of the statement in
he came to this world. the Gemara that “in the way that a person wishes to go, he is Tammuz 5778
led” (Makkot 10b). A person does not go anywhere or do anything