June 19, 2026 Categories: In Print / Sivan Rahav-Meir
Are The Elections Really Over?
(The Jewish Press)
These words are being written from a broadcast studio in Israel after a full night of live election coverage.
The elections are over, we chose another Knesset, but not all our choices have been made. Millions of Israelis made a political choice – which is important – but we don’t only choose when we vote. We choose in everything we do each moment of every day.
So alongside the political commentary we have heard in recent days, here is a small item from the Rambam on the continual choices we make:
“Free will is granted to everyone. If one desires to turn himself to the path of good and be righteous, the choice is his. Should he desire to turn to the path of evil and be wicked, the choice is his.
“There is no one who compels him, sentences him, or leads him towards either of these two paths. Rather, he, on his own initiative and decision, tends to the path he chooses.
This principle is a fundamental concept and a pillar of the entire Torah and of every mitzvah…. This is known without any doubt – that a person’s actions are in his own hands.”
May we all make good choices.
(translation by Yehoshua Siskin)
