.1111111.11111k -4111110.- IT IS WITH EXTREME PLEASURE TO ANNOUNCE MY ASSOCIATION WITH JAMES D. RELLE, M.D. UROLOGICAL SURGEON With Each Opportunity, Weigh The Choices RABBI SIGMA FAYE CORAN SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS SPECIALIZING IN: UROLOGICAL ONCOLOGY FEMA LE UROLOGY STONE DISEASE MALE INFERTILITY Michael D. Lutz, M.D. 29201 Telegraph Road Suite 460 Southfield, MI 48034 (810) 353-3060 ■ COLORWORKS STUDIO OF INTERIOR DESIGN You've said we're in a class by ourselves & we thank you for the compliment! Complete interior design services from blueprint review & construction specifications, to furniture selection & custom fabrication; from windows & walls to the last scented soap.. . These are the services that set us apart. We're so glad you've noticed the difference. Barbi Krass allied member ASID • Linda Bruder • Jo Meconi Wayne A. Bondy The Courtyard 32500 Northwestern Highway • Farmington Hills • 851-7540 II , , '41.4, 0 , 1. , -; p ficil,1 , , lit101) N Y 0 U II r I- SEEN BLOOMFI LD PLAZA • TELEGHAPH Al MAPLE Breast self-examination — LEARN. Call us. AMERICAN 117 CANCER SOCJETY e all have free will, don't we? We can choose to read this col- umn; we can choose what to do tonight, what to wear — right? Or are we mere- ly puppets acting out some di- vine puppeteer's plan? God moves a string and I am here, writing this column? Judaism has always taught that free will is a part of being human, but this week's Torah portion seems to contradict such a be- lief. Before each of the 10 plagues, Moses asks Pharoah to "Let my people go." Nine times in a row, Pharoah says no, even though the plagues are killing people and destroying the quality of life in his country. The last five times, it seems as if Pharaoh is about to be persuaded by such destruction and power. But "God hardened Pharoah's heart" and he did not let them go. These events are narrated in our last two Torah portions, Va'era and Bo. In Beshalach, God again "hardened Pharaoh's heart" and so Pharaoh and his army gave chase to the Is- raelites he had released (Exo- dus 14:8). But didn't Pharaoh have free will like the rest of us? Wasn't he evil enough on his own? And why would God want Pharaoh to say no? Doesn't God want the Israelites to go out with the least amount of destruction? Not surprisingly, these ques- tions have been the subject of debate for almost as long as the Torah has been in existence. One answer to these questions is that Pharaoh did act com- pletely with his own free will. The first five times he refuses to let the Israelites go, without any hardening of the heart. The last five times, and when Pharaoh chases the children of Israel, the Torah says God hardened Pharaoh's heart. Per- haps this does not mean an ac- tive hardening, but de facto. Pharaoh has the ability to choose between good and evil, but the more and more he chooses evil, the more en- trenched he becomes. The more and more he says no to Moses, the more hardened his heart be- comes; it's as if God is harden- ing Pharaoh's heart. What Pharaoh seems to have missed is that he has the abiltiy to look Rabbi Sigma Faye Coran is the interim rabbi at Temple Beth Enzeth in Ann Arbor. at each choice one at a time. He can make each decision fresh, but he does not, and so then this is the reason Pharaoh's heart is hardened. He does not look at each choice and weigh good and bad and this leads to his demise. Nehama Lebowitz writes in her Studies in Exodus that a person can choose any path he or she desires — good or evil — but as soon as the choice is made the opportunities facing the individual are no longer bal- anced. The more the evil path is taken, the harder it is to re- turn to the good path. Pharaoh limited his choices from the be- ginning when he said "No" to Moses. We, too, limit our choic- es, whether in our individual Shabbat Beshalach: , Exodus 13:17-17:16 Judges 4:4-5:31. lives, or as communities. We are often, like Pharaoh, becoming entrenched in our previous decisions, basing each choice on our past choices, re- fusing to look at all the options. We do not weigh anew the good and the bad. We do not really exercise our free will to our best ability. Our hearts are often hardened in our personal lives, when we deal with friends and especially family. We often don't do the right thing because we are so used to doing the wrong thing. We often do not choose good because our patterns of behavior are set on the wrong path. Countries and peoples often set themselves on the wrong path, as well. I think of many struggles around the world that seem to have no end. Aggres- sors are so used to being ag- gressors that they cannot be compassionate. Those who fight become so used to fighting that they do not even see the choice of peace. For years, this seemed to be the case in the Middle East. Pharaoh had free will but he did not exercise it. He was hard- ened against freedom, against goodness. If he did not have free will, Pharaoh would not have had the option to repent. Jew- ish thought rejects this scenario as impossible. Each of us has the ability to repent, no matter how evil. Each of us can turn around and return to the path of good. Pharaoh could not see that repentance was an option. He