I call heaven and earth to witness against you this day that I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse: therefore choose life that you may live, you and your seed. [Deut. 30:19]
If God is absolutely good, why did He create a world that has so much evil?
Kabbalah teaches that goodness that isn’t chosen is not the greatest good. Only after we struggle with evil, beat it and choose goodness can true and complete goodness be expressed. That’s why we’re in a world so full of allurements to do evil—so that we can rise to the challenge and choose the good.
God created the world in order to facilitate the possibility for the expression of ultimate goodness, which means goodness that has been chosen. And therefore, what’s so good about this world is the evil in it that we can struggle with, beat and choose the good.
Life is all about choices and the goal is to choose the good. Every day we are all handed choices. Every day we all get different challenges. Don’t expect life to be a piece of cake in a world of choices. But don’t worry. Try your best, and if you make a mistake, you can do teshuvah [repent]. You can be forgiven. God knew the stakes were high. And God is always on our side.