GEN570 Some are still shocked by the assertion that certain things are impossible even for God. Yet it can be shown that such an acknowledgment does not constitute a limitation or an imperfection. For even as God is bound by the laws of logic Maimonides, Guide 3:15 (Friedlander trans., p. 279) – He cannot make a square circle – so, too, the process of soul-making, with its possibility for personal fellowship with God, necessarily involves freedom for man with a large degree of noninterference by God, which inevitable spells suffering and pain. Thus, the Torah in Genesis seems to suggest not only that mans’ disobedience results in direct punishment to himself but that it brings about a deterioration in man’s entire environment, making for general hardship as a “given” condition for all men. In this connection, let us examine the expression, “And it repented the Lord that He had made man on the earth and it grieved Him at His heart.”  [this verse; Genesis Rabbah 27:4]  Surely even a rudimentary notion of God’s omniscience would find such surprise, regret, and grief on the part of God rather anomalous, to say the least! But perhaps this should be seen as the Torah’s way of saying that in spite of God’s omnipotence and omniscience, there was no other way for God to have proceeded to give man freedom except as He did. If it should then be asked why God is so surprised when man chooses badly, the answer is that God’s goodness nevertheless cannot make peace with the idea! God “regrets” and God “grieves” because the reality of man’s corruption and suffering, while in a sense inevitable and expected, cannot go unnoticed by God. The Torah assumes all the risks of anthropomorphism in order to teach that God’s goodness and mercy, however you understand them, are in disharmony with the evil on earth. SPERO 114-5