Every person is given free will. If we wish to turn to the good, to the way of the righteous, we have the power to do so. Or if we wish to turn to evil and to be wicked, we have that power, too… Do not believe what the fools and the blockheads say: to wit, that the Holy One of Blessing decrees whether we will be righteous or wicked at the moment of our creation. It is not so. Every person may become righteous like Moses or wicked like Jeroboam. Wise or foolish, compassionate or cruel, miserly or generous, and so on with all the other qualities.
— Maimonides, Laws of Repentance
Certainly we are shaped by our history, our experiences, our environment, and so forth. But now is the time to acknowledge that, ultimately, we are responsible for our behaviors and our actions—for the people that we are. It is a choice. We know what is right. Let us choose wisely.
— Rabbi Yoshi Zweiback
