Timeless Torah

Although Judaism postulates belief in an Omnipotent and Omniscient Creator, it still ascribes the power of free choice to homo sapiens. This fundamental concept is clearly expressed in the opening words of this week's Torah portion, "Look, I give you this day a blessing and a curse. The blessing, that you will hearken to G-d's commandments…and the curse, if you will not hearken to G-d's commandments."
The use of the expression, "I give you", connotes blessing and abundance. The Hebrew word for give, notein, is from the same root as the word matana - gift. How then is it possible that the term connected with blessing is also mentioned together with curses? Can a curse actually be a "present" that G-d "gives" us?
In answering this question, we must first discover why G-d gave us both blessings and curses. In other words, why do both good and bad exist? Evil exists so that we can have free choice. If only good existed, we would be forced to do good for lack of any alternative.
The importance of choice is immeasurable. It is man's greatest advantage over all other creatures. Animals can only be animalistic, acting out their natural tendencies. Even the celestial angels are deprived of choice. It is only man, who being created in the image of G-d, can choose.
Evil then does not exist to harm us, but rather to make possible the greatest blessing G-d can give us - the ability to make our own decisions. All of this is alluded to in the words, “Look, I give you…” It signals to us that bad does not exist to stand against us or make life difficult. Evil was only designed to push the person toward the correct path, a path that should be traveled with the power of freedom of choice and desire.
Understanding this gives us the strength to not fear evil or even to be intimidated and overwhelmed by the bad that surrounds us. So appreciate your opportunities and remember - an animal has no choice but to be an animal; and an angel is forced to act angelic - but you can choose to be an animal or an angel.