Deuteronômio 31:16 Halacá: Mishneh Torah, Repentance

But what is this that king David said: "Good and upright is the Lord; therefore doth he instruct sinners in the way. He guideth the humble in justice; and He teacheth the humble His way" (Ibid. 210.11)? This is a reference to the prophets who were sent to make the ways of God known, and to turn the people to repentance. Moreover, He endowed them with a power to study and understand, as it is the tendency of every man to pursue wisdom and righteousness as long as he is trained in the ways of wisdom. This is in harmony with what our Masters, of blessed memory! said: "He who comes to be cleansed receives aid"³Shabbat, 104a; Yoma, 38b. Minahot, 29a. G., as if saying: "He will find himself aided in the matter he strives after. Now, reverting back to the subject of predestination is it not written in the Torah: "Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them" (Gen. 113), lo, here is a decree against the Egyptians to do evil? And it, moreover, written: "And this people will rise up, and go astray after the foreign gods of the land" (Deut. 31.16), lo, here is a decree against Israel to worship idolatry, then why visit retribution upon them? Because He did not decree that that particularly known person shall be the one to go astray. Forsooth, every individual of those who did go astray to worship idolatry, had he not done so to worship of his own free will, he would not have worshiped. And God made known no more than custom of the world. This is like to one who says: "Among this people will be righteous and wicked". Not because of this will the wicked one say that it had long since been decreed that he should be an evildoer, seeing that God made known to Moses that there will be wicked people among Israel. Or, this is like the subject of poverty, of which it is said: "For the poor shall never cease out of the land" (Ibid. 15.11). Likewise the Egyptians, if each and every one of those who vexed and wronged Israel had no desire so to wrong them, he had it in his power to refrain from doing it; for, He did not decree against a particular man, but made known to Abraham that in the end his seed will be enslaved in a land which is not theirs. But we have already stated that it is not within the power to comprehend the foreknowledge of the Holy One, blessed is He!