Q: Where and how is the freedom of choice expressed? During one’s life, when exactly does one choose, and what should one choose?
A: The choices that we have in the course of our lives are narrowed down to the discovery of the causes that compel us to study Kabbalah. Besides the study of the Kabbalah, all other occupations that we pursue are considered animate because they are transitory and expire when the physical body does. As human beings, we have freedom of choice only in our decision to study Kabbalah. There are three reasons that compel us to study Kabbalah:
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Reward and punishment in this world;
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Reward and punishment in the next world
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For the Creator - when we are driven by the desire to resemble the Creator in His ability to give (to attain the attribute of bestowal). For that purpose, we study Kabbalah as a means to attain the altruistic goal: the will and the desire to bestow upon the Creator.
Because of the above, spirituality is higher than us; it is above the boundaries of time and space. We cannot convince our bodies to give to the Creator because our bodies immediately retaliate with the question, “What will I get out of it?” By their very nature, they cannot understand any better.
Thus, we have no choice but to ask the Creator to give us the desire and the will to bestow; to act and to think regardless of considerations of self-gratification. If we focus all our thoughts and desires on attaining that trait, the Creator will replace our corporeal nature with a spiritual one.
Then, in contrast to when we could not understand the possibility of working for others, now we cannot understand not working for the Creator.