Thursday, January 12, 2023

Human freedom exists because of divine self-limitation.

Human freedom exists because of divine self-limitation. So Adam and Eve found they were able to sin, and Cain even to commit murder, without God stepping in to intervene. Through voluntary self-restraint God makes space for man. …

Just as God had to practice self-restraint to make space for the finite, so human beings have to practice self-restraint for the infinite. The holy, in short, is where human beings renounce their independence and self-sufficiency, the very things that are the mark of their humanity, and for a moment acknowledge their utter dependence on He who spoke and brought the universe into being.

Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, Covenant & Conversation: Leviticus

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