Parshat Bo: Pharaoh did not hear

In Parshat Bo we find perhaps the most dramatic example of Hashem’s might so far in the Torah: “In the middle of the night, Hashem struck down all the first-born in the land of Egypt...and Pharaoh arose in the night, with all his courtiers and all the Egyptians—because there was a great cry in Egypt; for there was no house where there was not someone dead.”1 One can imagine the Jews hunkered down in their houses, listening to the agonizing screams of their captors outside. Rashi goes on to write that in those houses that lacked a firstborn son, the chief person in each house died. Furthermore, those firstborn sons born out of wedlock also died, so that every house had at least one dead.2 It is this that finally breaks Pharaoh.

Much can be learned from Pharaoh’s reaction to the ten plagues. We see, demonstrated through the evolution of Pharaoh’s responses, from his first encounter with Moshe to the final plague, an archetype for the process most of us take when confronted with uncomfortable truth. It happens to all of us at some point. A truth comes along that challenges us – the way we live our lives, the conclusions we have decided upon, the way we treat those around us. Conflicting truth threatens us personally to the degree that we identify ourselves with our egos – with our opinions and with what others think of us. When our egos are confronted by such truths, we feel OURSELVES challenged, and thus grow defensive. Pharaoh is the ultimate egotist for he believes himself to be a god-king – there is no higher level of self-absorption. To Pharaoh, the existence of Hashem, who is infinitely more powerful than him, challenges his very essence. Ultimately, we can follow Pharaoh’s lead and fight truth, but it is a battle we will always lose. The only question is how many plagues must we encounter before our surrender? If we live our lives according to truth, then it only takes a simple realignment when conflicting information arrives. However, when we identify and live according to our egos – pursuing power, honor, and greed – then we perceive ourselves attacked by such truth. If we place ourselves at war with truth, eventually, it is we who must surrender. And this is how Hashem challenges Pharaoh: “How long will you refuse to humble yourself before me?”3

We see that the first few encounters Pharaoh has with truth only strengthen his ego. He doubles down on the evil he is committing, “Let heavier work be laid upon the men; let them keep at it and not pay attention to deceitful promises.”4 Even when Pharaoh seemingly loses the first encounter – a battle between Moshe’s staff and the staffs of his sorcerers – he ultimately walks away more confident than before. Rabbi Bernstein wrote a beautiful piece about this saying, “in manipulating his ego-driven tendency to reach conclusions instantly and then stick with them even as they unraveled before his eyes, Hashem was furthering the hardening of his [Pharaoh’s] heart, allowing him to conclude that he was winning even as he was losing! And so, while Pharaoh’s wise men all left that meeting in a hurry to go acquire new magic staffs, Pharaoh went home to celebrate another round of victory.”5 Pharaoh is not the only one who has this tendency. Often, we can see in ourselves a sudden clenching, a defensiveness, when a position with which we identify is threatened. In that place of defensiveness, we have no interest in Truth, merely in holding the high ground. Often, we dig trenches even when we can clearly see that the other ground is higher. Despite that his nation is suffering, Pharaoh will not relent. “Pharaoh turned and went into his palace, paying no regard even to this.6...”And all the Egyptians had to dig round about the Nile for drinking water, because they could not drink the water of the Nile.”7

We see two recurring aspects of Pharaoh’s resistance. First, we see Pharaoh’s heart being hardened, sometimes by himself, and sometimes by Hashem. Second, we see the recurring phrase: “וְלֹ֥א שָׁמַ֖ע אֲלֵהֶ֑ם - and he did not hear them.”8  The Sefat Emet in his commentary teaches that there are three levels to Pharaoh’s response. We can see each level mirrored by our own reactions to challenging truths. The first is that we hear and respond. We might respond with anger, but we at least demonstrate that we heard. The second level is when we ignore. Ignoring is actively “not listening.” We close our ears off intentionally. Such was Pharaoh’s response to the first three plagues – “and he did not hear them”8 – until that of lice. When Hashem smites Egypt with wild beasts, Pharaoh reaches the third level, he no longer “doesn’t hear.” He does not ignore, for ignoring requires action; rather, he is simply not there. He, in many ways, knows that the battle is lost. He cannot even find a place of strength in himself to actively resist. Only his ego will not let him surrender. And so he stands, lost in himself and silent.

With the first five plagues, Pharaoh doesn’t need Hashem’s assistance resisting truth. With the sixth plague, however, that of boils, Pharaoh starts to break. He has not even “not heard” for the last two plagues. His advisors have abandoned him. The question that is always asked is why does Hashem strengthen Pharaoh’s heart? What about Pharaoh’s free will? There is a Midrash that states that Hashem is simply helping Pharaoh achieve what he already wants.9 The Sefet Emet adds a beautiful commentary that says we can use this reality for our benefit. For when we want anything strongly enough, even if it might be above our means to achieve it, Hashem will also strengthen our own heart, as he did with Pharaoh’s. It is interesting to note that Hashem first strengthens Pharaoh’s heart with the sixth plague, that of boils, and with this additional support, Pharaoh once again returns to “not hearing,” i.e. actively ignoring. When Hashem removes his support with the seventh plague of hail, Pharaoh again withdraws and is once again not even capable of “not hearing.” When Hashem restores his support for the eighth and ninth plagues, Pharaoh is already sufficiently broken that his “not hearing” does not even return.

We also see Pharaoh strengthened in his evil ways by those around him. When his magicians stand confidently and reproduce Hashem’s plagues, Pharaoh stands strong. “But when the Egyptian magicians did the same with their spells, Pharaoh’s heart stiffened and he did not heed them.”10 Here, Pharaoh exemplifies the effect that our surroundings have upon us. Even when we stand in lies, we often feel that since we are surrounded by those who agree with us, we MUST be right. It is notable that what seems to break Pharaoh is that his advisors begin to turn on him. With the plague of lice, his magicians exclaim, “This is the finger of God!”11 Directly after this with the following plague, that of wild animals, Pharaoh ceases to even “not hear.”12

Pharaoh also tries to negotiate with truth, something we often all try to do. We think that maybe we can have our cake and eat it too. Maybe we can align ourselves and still do that thing, you know that one, the thing we’re all still doing even though we know it’s not aligned with truth. Pharaoh tells Moshe that the Jews can go, they just can’t leave Egypt: “I will let you go to sacrifice to the LORD your God in the wilderness; but do not go very far.”13 At another point, he says that only the men can go: “No! You menfolk go and worship the LORD, since that is what you want.”14 Pharaoh understands that he is fighting a losing battle, yet he is still unwilling to surrender.

There are those among us who have reduced their egos enough that they can more seamlessly change their ways and opinions when they encounter contradictory truth. Others, like Pharaoh, only do so when there is no other alternative. This was the nature of the ten plagues. Until the death of the first born, no permanent damage is done to Pharaoh. Crops and livestock are ruined. People die. But for Pharaoh, the land will recover, his populace is expendable. Only when his firstborn son dies does Pharaoh grasp that it is now final. At this point, there is no going back. It is irreversible. Only one path is left for him: surrender: He cries to Moshe: “Up, depart from among my people, you and the Israelites with you!”15

In the end, truth always prevails. If we live focused on truth, contradictions in our lives and selves can be resolved smoothly. We can change because we know deep in our hearts that we are trying our best – we define ourselves not by our flaws but by how much we are striving towards truth. Thus, we simply strive in a slightly different direction and trust Hashem to strengthen our hearts. But for those who live in contradiction to truth, who use reality to strengthen their egos, who see the world as a zero sum game – it is either win or lose. And if the war is against truth, they will always lose. May we be among those who strive towards truth and may we always remain open to listening. May we not determine truth through the opinions of those around us but rather use our own da’at to decide. Most important, may we all merit to have the strength and courage to realign, rather than surrender, when we encounter truth.

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Thank you to Rabbi Bernstein and Rav Natan Greenberg for their lessons on this week’s parsha.