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In Search of Freedom

Let’s begin this section with an allegory by Baal HaSulam: Once there was a king who wanted to know which of his subjects were trustworthy. He announced that anyone who wanted to come and work for him would be handsomely rewarded by a festive meal, fit for kings. When the people arrived, there was no one at the gate, just a sign indicating where to go and what to do, but no guards to watch over the arrivals. Those who worked in the designated area were unknowingly exposed to a magic powder, and those who went elsewhere were not. In the evening, 

when everyone sat at the table, those who worked where the
sign indicated enjoyed the meal tremendously, but to those who
didn’t, the food was the worst they’d ever tasted. Thus, only
those who freely chose to follow the king were rewarded with
enjoying what the king enjoys.
It has long been said that people are only truly happy if they
are truly free—free from bondage, free from oppression, and free
to make their own decisions. Likewise, people have long wondered
how to reconcile the concept of free will with the existence of a
greater power, and in the case of Kabbalists—the Creator.
The Creator’s singular desire is for you and me to be
fulfilled and made joyful. This state can occur only when
we reach His state, His degree. This can happen only when
our desire to enjoy is equal to the Creator’s desire to bestow
enjoyment. If it sounds circular, it is: it’s the reciprocity that
brings us ever closer to perfection and the Creator’s wish for
us. So how do we reconcile this idea of free will with what the
Creator wishes for us?
Here’s the Kabbalist’s logic, step by step:
The Creator is absolutely benevolent.
As a result, He wants to grant us absolute pleasure.
Absolute pleasure means being in His state:
omniscient, omnipotent, and benevolent.
Therefore, we have to come to feel that His state is
the absolute good state. In other words, we have to
choose it of our own free will.
Free choice can only be made on condition that the
Creator does not apply force on us, so that we are
independent from Him.
Therefore, He is hidden and gave us the existence
in this world where we don’t sense the Creator as
vividly and as tangibly as we sense physical objects.

Without feeling Him as either fearsome or good,
but from a completely “neutral” state, we could
decide freely that being like Him is the absolute
good