Tinyana 110 · תנינא ק״י

I heard that someone asked Rebbe Nachman about the nature of free will. The Rebbe responded matter-of-factly, that free will is in a person’s hands, simply: If he wants, he does, and if he doesn’t want, he doesn’t do.

I recorded this because it is crucial. Many people are very perplexed by this. Having become creatures of habit, following the same old patterns of behavior since childhood, people think that they no longer have any free will, God forbid, and that they are incapable of changing the way they act. In fact, this is not the case. For without a doubt, every individual has free will—always, and in all matters. A person does what he wants!

Understand this well.