Did the Serpent Have Free Will?
Question
Shalom aleicheim!
From learning about Judaism over the years I know that only descendant of Adam have free will. That means that angels, including Satan/yetzer hara do not have free will and are only capable of acting on the orders of the Creator. However, I have encountered a commentary that seems to suggest the opposite. A note in the Saperstein Edition of the Chumash Rashi Bereshis 3:14 (page 35) states the following:
“5. In capital cases, the court is commanded to search for any legal avenue for acquittal. Our verse teaches us that this is not so in the case of one who incites another to commit idolatry. The serpent here was guilty of that sin, for he convinced the woman of the idolatrous idea that she could be “like God.” See also Rashi to Deuteronomy 13:9.”
How can the nohosh be guilty of sin? Doesn’t he act on Hashem’s behalf?
Please help me reconcile this.
Thank you so much!
Answers
It is a fascinating question and I am not sure that I have a definitive to it. Chazal teach that the serpent was a unique creation. It was not a human but it was also not an animal. It was created to be the bridge between animal life and human life. That is why it had certain animal characteristics and certain human ones such as the power of speech and being able to walk upright. Accordingly, it seems that the serpent had a certain amount of “free will” that is utilized to seduce Chavah into eating from the Tree of Knowledge.
Best wishes from the AskTheRabbi.org Team