Bo 2022
Isaac’s Parsha Corner · 2022
Pharaoh’s Heart and Mind
From the very beginning at the burning bush God told Moshe that He was going to “Harden or strengthen Pharaoh’s heart, and that Pharaoh would not send out the Jews.” “And I knew that the king of Egypt will not release you and not with a strong hand.” (Ex 3:19)
Later when God revisits Moshe on the way to Egypt: And God said to Moshe, “When you return to Egypt perform these miracles in front of Pharaoh and I will strengthen his heart and he will not send out the nation”. (Ex 4:21)
Later when instructing Moshe to perform the miracle of the snake/staff:“And I will harden Pharaoh’s heart and I will multiply my signs and miracles in Egypt. And Pharaoh will not listen to you and I will place My hand on Egypt and I will take my hosts the Children of Israel from Egypt” (Ex 7:3-4)
After performing the miracle of the snake/staff: “And the heart of Pharaoh was strengthened and he did not listen to them just as God had predicted.” (Ex 7:13)
At the introduction to the plague of blood: And God said to Moshe, “Pharaoh’s heart is heavy, he is reluctant to send out the nation” (Ex 7:14)
After the miracles:
Dam - “And the Egyptian magicians were able to perform the miracle of blood with their magic, and the heart of Pharaoh was hard and he did not listen to them just as God had predicted”. (Ex 7:22)
Tzfardeah -“When Pharaoh saw that there was relief, he hardened his heart and did not listen to them as God had predicted” (Ex 7:11)
Kinim -“And the heart of Pharaoh hardened and he did not hear them as God had predicted”. (8:15)
Aruv -“And Pharaoh hardened his heart this time as well and did not send out the nation”. (8:28)
Dever -“And he hardened Pharaoh’s heart. And he did not send out the nation”. (9:7)
Shchin -“And God strengthened Pharaoh’s heart and he did not listen to them just as God had told Moshe”. (9:12)
Barad – “And Pharaoh saw that the rain and hail and thunder has stopped and he continued to sin. And he hardened his heart he and his servants. And Pharaoh’s heart was strengthened and he did not send out the Children of Israel as God had spoken into the hand of Moshe”. (9:35)
Arbeh – “And God said to Moshe, “Come to Pharaoh because I have hardened his heart and the heart of his servants in order that I may place these my signs into their midst.” (7:1) “And God strengthened Pharaoh’s heart..” (7:20)
Choshech – “ And God strengthened Pharaoh’s heart and Pharaoh did not want to send them” . (7:27)
Bechorot – “And God said to Moshe, “Pharaoh will not listen to you. This in order so I can increase my miracles in the land of Egypt. And Moshe and Aaron had done all these miracles in front of Pharaoh and God had strengthened Pharaoh’s heart and Pharaoh did not send out the Children of Israel from his land”. (11:9-10)
Half of the time Pharaoh hardened his own heart without divine intervention. God only needed to participate in the hardening some of the time. One guesses that even in those instances when God messed with Pharaoh’s free choice it did not take much hardening, Deep down Pharaoh was prepared to lose everything for his point of view. How many times do we see people especially leaders with giant egos destroy themselves and their people in justification of some past behavior? It was over two hundred years since an earlier Pharaoh decided that enslaving the Jewish nation was a good idea. Yet the two nations one master and one slave became so interconnected that the idea of “disconnecting” the master from the slave was something that neither Pharaoh nor his people could tolerate. Just imagine having slaves to perform all domestic and industrial labor to the point that even the supervision of the slaves was done by slaves. The idea of work had become so foreign that even the army was reduced to 600 chariots. Pharaoh had to set up his own chariot “And he Pharaoh tied up his own chariot” (Ex 14:6) All the slaves had gone and no one even remembered what work looked like. Pharaoh’s heart was heavy with the burden of 600,000 slaves. In next week’s Parsha Beshalach, after the Exodus, Pharaoh and his people are filled with regret. “How could we have let these people leave” (Ex 14:5) or, put another way, “How are we supposed to survive without them”. I can imagine the Southern plantation owner after the civil war having similar feelings! The South was similarly decimated by that war. Furthermore the fantasy of racial superiority so prevalent in Egypt was coming to an abrupt end with the Exodus of their Jewish slaves. The dream of being the master race was equally hard for Pharaoh to relinquish. God hardening Pharaoh’s heart was definitely a factor in the face of devastating plagues. Yet the foundational greed, sloth and arrogance was already deeply imbedded in Pharaohs heavy heart.
Dedicated to the memory of Joel Shulman A’H