Mishneh Torah, Repentance 5

Hook

"Behold, man has become unique in the world... knowing good and evil, and doing what he desires."

Context

• Source: Mishneh Torah, Hilchot Teshuvah (Laws of Repentance), Chapter 5.
• Era: 12th century, authored by Maimonides (the Rambam) in Fustat, Egypt.
• Community: The foundational legal and philosophical framework for Sephardic and Mizrahi halakhic life, bridging Aristotelian logic with the uncompromising demand of the Torah.

Text Snapshot

"Free will is granted to all men. If one desires to turn himself to the path of good and be righteous, the choice is his. Should he desire to turn to the path of evil and be wicked, the choice is his... There is no one who compels him, sentences him, or leads him towards either of these two paths. Rather, he, on his own initiative and decision, tends to the path he chooses."

Minhag/Melody

This concept of Bechirah Chofshit (Free Will) is the engine of the Sephardic Selichot tradition. During the month of Elul and the Aseret Yemei Teshuvah, Sephardi and Mizrahi communities recite piyutim like "Adon HaSelichot." These poems assume that we are not merely passive recipients of divine decree, but active agents capable of "turning" (teshuvah). The urgency of these melodies reflects the Rambam’s insistence that our destiny is not written in the stars, but carved by our own hands.

Contrast

While the Rambam’s rationalist view emphasizes that God’s knowledge does not compel human action, other traditions—particularly some Hasidic schools—might focus more on the paradox of Yediah (Divine foreknowledge) and Bechirah (Choice) as a mystery to be felt rather than solved. The Sephardic approach, rooted in Maimonides, is less inclined to leave the contradiction unresolved, preferring to categorize it as a limit of human comprehension ("Its measure is longer than the earth").

Home Practice

The "Choice Journal": At the end of each day, identify one moment where you felt a strong impulse toward a "negative" trait (e.g., anger, impatience) and chose to act with a "positive" one instead. Acknowledge that this act was entirely your own. By naming the moment you exercised your will, you fulfill the Rambam’s requirement to "search and examine our ways."

Takeaway

You are the architect of your own character. The Sephardic heritage asserts that because you are free, you are responsible—and because you are responsible, you are infinitely capable of change.