Mishneh Torah, Repentance 6

Hook

If God controls the outcome of history, how can we be responsible for our choices? Maimonides argues that the "hardening of hearts" isn't a violation of free will—it's the consequence of it.

Context

Maimonides (Rambam) wrote the Mishneh Torah to provide a clear, systematic code for Jewish life. In Hilkhot Teshuvah (Laws of Repentance), he confronts a theological crisis: if the Torah says God hardened Pharaoh’s heart, does that nullify the human capacity to choose?

Text Snapshot

"The Almighty did not decree that Pharaoh should harm the Israelites... They all sinned on their own initiative and they were obligated to have Teshuvah held back from them... [God] merely informed [Moses] of the pattern of the world." — Mishneh Torah, Repentance 6:3 (Sefaria)

Close Reading

• Structure: Rambam moves from a philosophical defense of free will to a radical judicial claim: punishment can involve the removal of the opportunity to repent.
• Key Term: Kinyano (Property/Possession). Rambam classifies young children as a parent's "property" to explain why they suffer for a parent's sins—a harsh, legalistic framework that treats familial life as an extension of the self.
• Tension: The tension between God’s omniscience (knowing Pharaoh would sin) and human agency (Pharaoh choosing to sin). Rambam resolves this by arguing that God’s foreknowledge is not a cause of the action.

Two Angles

• The Seder Mishnah: He defends Rambam’s view on "children as property" by linking it to the Sifrei (an ancient Tannaitic midrash). He argues this isn't just Rambam’s invention; it’s the legal logic of the Torah: once you are an "adult," you are liable for your own sins; before then, you are an extension of your parent’s "estate."
• The Ohr Sameach: He addresses the "heretics" who use the hardening of Pharaoh’s heart as proof that God forces sin. He counters that God warns the sinner repeatedly; only after repeated, willful resistance does God "lock" the heart as an act of divine justice.

Practice Implication

Rambam warns that sin can become a self-reinforcing trap. Your daily decision-making matters because habits aren't just actions; they are the mechanism by which you either keep the "door" to change open or accidentally shut it on yourself.

Chevruta Mini

1. If repentance is a "shield" that can be removed as punishment, is it still a universal right, or is it a privilege earned through prior moral choices?
2. Does viewing children as "property" in a legal sense help us understand collective responsibility, or does it clash with modern notions of individual autonomy?

Takeaway

Free will is not just a right; it is a resource that we can deplete through repeated, conscious wrongdoing.