daism on unrestricted freedom of will for each
individual entirely excludes hereditary sin. This is shown in the
traditional explanation of the verse of the Decalogue: "Visiting the
iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth
generation of them that hate Me."(727) According to the rabbis the words
"of them that hate Me" do not refer to the fathers, according to the plain
meaning of the passage, but to the children and children's children. These
are to be punished only when they hate God and follow the evil example of
their fathers.(728) Despite example and hereditary disposition, the
descendants of evildoers can lead a virtuous life, and their punishment
comes only when they fail to resist the evil influences of their parental
household. To illustrate the Biblical words, "Who can bring a clean thing
out of an unclean?"(729) the rabbis single out Abraham, the son of Terah,
Hezekiah, the son of Ahaz, and Josiah, the son of Manasseh.(730) Man,
being made in God's image, determines his own character by his own free
choice; by his will he can raise or lower himself in the scale of being.

9. The fundamental character of the doctrine of free will for Judaism is
shown by Maimonides, who devotes a special chapter of his Code to it,(731)
and calls it the pillar of Israel's faith and morality, since through it
alone man manifests his god-like sovereignty. For should his freedom be
limited by any kind of predestination, he would be deprived of his moral
responsibility, which constitutes his real greatness. In endeavoring to
reconcile God's omnipotence and omniscience with man's freedom, Maimonides
says that God wants man to erect a kingdom of morality without
interference from above; moreover, God's knowledge is different in kind
from that of man, and thus is not an infringement upon man's freedom, as
the human type of knowledge would be. However, Abraham ben David of
Posquieres blames Maimonides for proposing questions which he could not
answer satisfactorily in the Code, which is intended for non-philosophical
readers. The fact is that this is only another of the problems insoluble
to human reasoning; the freedom of the will must remain for all time a
postulate of moral responsibility, and therefore of religion.

Chapter XXXVIII. The Meaning of Sin

1. Sin is a religious conception. It does not signify a breach of law or
morality, or of popular custom and sacred usage, but an offense against
God,