[6:1] There are some verses in the Torah (five books of Moses) and Prophets that seem to contradict this fundamental principle, that the human being has free choice to do good or evil. Because of these verses, people think that God decrees whether a person does good or evil. I will explain a fundamental principle of faith to help you understand the true meaning of these verses. The rules that govern divine retribution dictate that an individual or the people of a country who sin consciously and willfully, must be punished. God is the judge. There are certain sins for which the transgressor is punished in this world. Either he is physically punished, or punishment is meted out to him through financial loss. Sometimes he is punished with his young children who are not yet bar/bat mitzvos, that they suffer with him, because young children are considered his property. This is expressed in the verse, "Every man shall die for his own sins." (Deuteronomy 24:16). This verse implies that only after one has become "a man," (bar/bat mitzvah) will he not die for his father's sins. (Kesubos 8b).

There are other sins for which punishment is meted out in the World to Come, and he is not punished for this sin while he lives¹. There are other sins for which one is punished both in this world and in the World to Come.

[6:2] The aforementioned punishments are meted out if the transgressor does not repent, however, if he repents, his repentance acts as a protective shield against punishment. Just as a person has the freedom to sin consciously and willfully, so can he repent consciously and willfully.

[6:3] A person may commit a grave sin or many sins, that deserve unusual punishment, and God does not permit him to repent in order that he be (made an example of) and punished for these specific sins. And so, speaking through Yeshayahu, God says, "Dull that people's mind, stop their ears, and seal their eyes, lest seeing with their eyes and bearing with their ears, they will grasp with their minds, and repent and be healed." (Yeshayahu 6:10). Likewise it is written, "But they mocked the messengers of God and disdained His words and taunted His prophets, until the wrath of God against His people grew beyond remedy." (Chronicles II, 36:16)². The text implies that they willingly sinned to such an extent that they were barred from the "remedy" of repentance. That is why it is written, "I will harden Pharaoh's heart," (Exodus 14:4). Since Pharaoh sinned on his own, causing hardship to the Jews who lived in his land, as it is written, "Let us deal wisely with them." (Exodus 1:10), he deserved to be punished by not being allowed to repent, and God hardened his heart.

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