Maimonides, in his Mishneh Torah, counts free will as a “great principle”, citing the verse above in support. 

Free will is the foundation of the Torah. Without it, moral agency, and therefore accountability, is not possible. It is not the foundation of the Torah alone but of any religious or ethical system. 

Moses, followed by Maimonides, not only states the principle of free will, but sees it as overriding any other consideration. 

So often people tend to blame their upbringing, society, human nature and other circumstances for their shortcomings. We are tempted to see ourselves as victims of circumstances rather than free agents.

However, according to Moses, that is a path to human destruction. Such a person is referred to as “a root flourishing with gall and wormwood” and his destiny will be that “the entire imprecation written in this book will come down upon him and God will erase his name from under the heavens”. 

Moses does not accept one’s social or economic background as grounds for moral failure: “You are standing… all of you, before  God… heads of your  tribes… to your water drawer”. All bear equal responsibility and accountability. 

To those who blame their education and lack of knowledge, Moses says: “For this commandment that I command you today, it is not hidden from you and it is not distant... Rather the matter is very near you – in your mouth and in your heart”.

To those who blame their fate on a divine decree or nature itself, he answers: “It is not in heaven”. The Midrash explains this sentence of Moses to be a categorical dismissal of the possibility of astrological impact on anyone’s fate. 

Moses concludes with assuring Israel that their destiny, as a nation and individuals, is exclusively in their own hands. Nitzvavim is always read before Rosh Hashanah, awakening our consciousness to our tremendous responsibility, opening our hearts to repent and return to God.