One of the basic tenets of Classical Judaism is the belief in divine providence. After bringing the world into existence, God continues to guide it toward its ultimate destiny; nothing that transpires in the world can happen contrary to the will of God. At the same time, we believe that people have choice and free will and that they are accountable for the choices they make. How do these seemingly contradictory concepts coexist?

Can one person kill another if God has not decreed that the victim should die? The Torah describes the plan of Joseph’s brothers to kill him and his rescue by Reuven (Bereishis 37:20-21), “And they said to each other, ‘Here comes the dreamer, and now, let us kill him and toss him into one of the pits, and we will say that a wild animal devoured him, and then we will see what becomes of his dreams,’ and Reuven heard, and he rescued him from them, and he said, ‘Let us not strike him a mortal wound.’” Did Reuven really rescue Joseph? Would he have died if Reuven had not intervened?

The Or Hachaim famously writes, “Reuven did indeed rescue him. People have free will. They can even kill a person who does not deserve to die.” There are also opposing views in the rabbinic literature. It is not my purpose here to discuss the relative merits of the different approaches. I would just like to present what I believe to be the Rambam’s view …

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