The opening parshiot in the
book of Shemos are particularly interesting and challenging because much of the
action is repetitive. God speaks to Moshe and Aaron and tells them what to say.
Moshe and Aaron confront Pharaoh and tell him what God has said. Pharaoh scoffs
at them. A plague ensues. Pharaoh begs for forgiveness causing the plague to be
lifted, but, shortly thereafter, Pharaoh hardens his heart, leading to an
almost complete repetition of the cycle. For all of its repetition, however,
this is a narrative that has always captured my imagination, particularly the
concept of Pharaoh hardening his heart.
One interesting thought that crossed my mind (totally unsubstantiated by any research into commentators) is that perhaps Pharaoh thought, at first, that Moshe was competing with him. Perhaps he thought Moshe’s references to Hashem were a code name for himself. After all, Pharaoh had been raised to believe in himself as a deity so someone coming to lead a coup would have to assume a seemingly equal status. From Pharaoh’s perspective, it is not a far-fetched assumption since Hashem cannot be seen and Moshe appears to be the one with the power. And let’s face it, Pharaoh’s belief in real gods must have been somewhat stilted given his own deification.
Even as Pharaoh realized that the power Moshe could wield was beyond mortal control, that there might really be something bigger than his own self, he spun into denial. This is his continued hardening of his heart even after his magicians have acknowledged that they cannot replicate the plagues. Denial is real - I mean, most of us have been in situations where we know something to be true, but we still try to act as if it was not (and vice versa). Alas, by the time Pharaoh was ready to begin acknowledging that he was mistaken, the end was nigh and Hashem hardened his heart so that the Children of Israel could move forward and the world (and Pharaoh) could truly bear witness to God’s awesomeness.
The hardening of Pharaoh’s heart is also a situation that I believe is important to think about in relation to situations that we see today. For instance, the United Nations’ incredibly strange record toward Israel (condemnation after condemnation) or the blind eye of so many defenders of social justice to acts of anti-Semitism. The only way that these constant distortions can continue and be accepted by such a large amount of people is, truly, by an act of God.
There is one more quick but important lesson that I think can be learned from Pharaoh’s hardening of his heart. While we all perceive Pharaoh as a rasha, a wicked man, his first act of hardening his heart was not so unbelievable. While most of us don’t have our drinking water turn to blood, we do have readable signs of God’s involvement in our lives that we choose, actively or passively, to overlook because truly recognizing the awesomeness of Hashem is overwhelming. Choosing to have a heart open to messages from the Divine sounds easy but is, in fact, one of our primary responsibilities - I wish us all success in this task of being.
One interesting thought that crossed my mind (totally unsubstantiated by any research into commentators) is that perhaps Pharaoh thought, at first, that Moshe was competing with him. Perhaps he thought Moshe’s references to Hashem were a code name for himself. After all, Pharaoh had been raised to believe in himself as a deity so someone coming to lead a coup would have to assume a seemingly equal status. From Pharaoh’s perspective, it is not a far-fetched assumption since Hashem cannot be seen and Moshe appears to be the one with the power. And let’s face it, Pharaoh’s belief in real gods must have been somewhat stilted given his own deification.
Even as Pharaoh realized that the power Moshe could wield was beyond mortal control, that there might really be something bigger than his own self, he spun into denial. This is his continued hardening of his heart even after his magicians have acknowledged that they cannot replicate the plagues. Denial is real - I mean, most of us have been in situations where we know something to be true, but we still try to act as if it was not (and vice versa). Alas, by the time Pharaoh was ready to begin acknowledging that he was mistaken, the end was nigh and Hashem hardened his heart so that the Children of Israel could move forward and the world (and Pharaoh) could truly bear witness to God’s awesomeness.
The hardening of Pharaoh’s heart is also a situation that I believe is important to think about in relation to situations that we see today. For instance, the United Nations’ incredibly strange record toward Israel (condemnation after condemnation) or the blind eye of so many defenders of social justice to acts of anti-Semitism. The only way that these constant distortions can continue and be accepted by such a large amount of people is, truly, by an act of God.
There is one more quick but important lesson that I think can be learned from Pharaoh’s hardening of his heart. While we all perceive Pharaoh as a rasha, a wicked man, his first act of hardening his heart was not so unbelievable. While most of us don’t have our drinking water turn to blood, we do have readable signs of God’s involvement in our lives that we choose, actively or passively, to overlook because truly recognizing the awesomeness of Hashem is overwhelming. Choosing to have a heart open to messages from the Divine sounds easy but is, in fact, one of our primary responsibilities - I wish us all success in this task of being.
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