Hi, first I’d like to thank you for what you do by being available for Jews all over simply to answer their questions, it’s truly holy work and I am very grateful for the services of Yeshiva. I was lucky to grow up frum from birth and I say that with appreciation for how things were taught to me while at the same time I believe my learning isn’t over as an adult, and while I’m happy with my relationship with Hashem and love to keep the Torah through Emunah peshuta I would love to ask you one question that I always thought about, yes maybe it is a little emotionally charged that’s why I never asked it yet and rather I just chose to believe in Hashems plan, I’d love to ask it now so I can serve Hashem with a little more wholeness. In parashat beresheit it talks about how Hashem created man and women and they were in Gan Eden and Hashem was pleased. Only for so long before he told them all trees you may eat from except for the etz hadaas. Low and behold they ate from it thanks to Chana who thought she was making herself more like gd and thought she was going to bring about more godliness in the world… basically she thought she knew better, and Hashem gave her this iced power called free will and she acted on it and now the world we live in is a result of her exercising that free will. No more Gan Eden, we are further from Hashem, we have less clarity and we’re also cursed by Hashem the men and the women. If we couldn’t make it then? How will we make it now? The stakes are so much higher, so much more suffering, yes for the ones who make it I see it can be greater and that was maybe Chava’s idea but Is that what Hashem even wanted? Wasn’t the world created for Hashem to give good, I understand the greatest level of that is earned in olam Haba but boy did I like the sound of Hashems original plan.. but then there was the concept of free will which is so crazy powerful Hashem gives us power to choose…. It’s amazing that he trusts us!!!! and also it’s hard to understand at times… How can we trust the greatly quoted women’s intuition? I heard Rav manis freedman touch on This on YouTube and it’s the closest I’ve ever heard to what my questions were pulling at but it just seems so so far from what we’ve been taught. I’d love to hear another perspective. Thank you.

Nice question! Obviously, from the start, we must remember that we don't have "an ice-cube's chance in hell" to totally understand Hashem and His world. Especially regarding the classic question of His knowing everything beforehand, while nevertheless giving us "free will" (how free is it if He knows ahead of time what's best for us and what will be). For He created "time", so the issue of "before" is really beyond our realm of understanding. That being said, in a nutshell, God gave us the ultimate gift, which is the ability to be like Him, to be partners with Him, and destine our fate. Our lives, and in fact, all of history, is a give-and-take between us and Him, moving and counter-moving respectively. God willed for man to have free will, so that we can be “Godly”, which was the greatest gift that He can altruistically give. Accordingly, if man or Israel, chooses something which is clearly counterproductive or if it contradicts the Godly plan, God is obviously “smart” enough to know how to maneuver in a way that man’s, or Israel's, choice doesn’t mess things up (for ourselves!). Like a chess master who, despite his opponent’s free will, knows exactly how to react and counter-react to fit his needs (just that regarding our topic, we and God are “on the same side”). Or like a caring parent who wants to teach his child independence, yet lovingly watches over and sometimes intervenes. In other words, Hashem wants us to live in Gan Eden, but we chose the "track" of "raising the stakes" of free-will, in order to get there. Just like (lehavdil) in gambling, if someone loses a lot of money, the only way to gain it back and earn even more, is by raising the stakes, which includes the possibility of also losing more. That way, just like Hashem, we are Independent and earn through many stages of "trial and error", how to choose correctly (= Godly). Yes it's challenging, but if it was programmed that we always "win", we would lack the important element of Independently succeeding, for if it was just "programmed" to succeed, than it's not "me" who's doing it, so it's not free-will. It’s also true that part of maturity is to choose to accept the truth from others (e.g. G-d, rabbis, and parents…) who are more intelligent and experienced. In other words, our "will" isn't totally free, for we didn't choose our height, genetics or into which generation or family to be born, rather this is our Godly FATE and job which is for us to DESTINE and grow through our choices, which should be beneficially guided with the help of others. Just like the choice to listen and learn from others (or not), so too "intuition" is just one of the many factors which CAN help us make good (or wrong) decisions. It's always good to remember that we do the best we can, and Hashem knows that and even if we choose wrong, he can, as above, maneuver things to right that wrong. On the other hand, truly big and clearly wrong decisions are our responsibility, e.g. if someone jump off a high building, G-d will not do a super-natural miracle, but I imagine you would not make such a mistake! Remember R. Nachman's words: "The world is a narrow bridge, and the main thing to recall is to have no fear at all"!