Parashat Va'era, Exodus 6:2-9:35

What is the purpose of Pharaoh's stubborn hard-heartedness?

Back in the days before Nike referred to footwear, it was the name of one of the guardians of Zeus' throne. Nike personified victory, as is attested by her Roman name, Victoria. She had a bunch of siblings who were also part of this Olympian posse. Vicki's brother Zelos, for example, personified dedication and zeal (the word actually comes from the name Zelos). Lucky Zeus to have such wonderful bodyguards; he needed them given the ongoing "clash of the titans" that took place in the Olympian realm.

For whatever reason, we love pitting competitors against each other. Times change and so do the competitions: gladiators in the ancient coliseum, knights jousting, and professional wrestlers locked in a cage match. Our voyeurism is insatiable. Reality TV consists of pitting people against each other in unrealistic situations and seeing who can manipulate their way to victory.

Whether the competition is a sporting match or an attempt to be the last "survivor" on the island, the competitors prepare and brace themselves for the events that are to take place. In addition to the physical training is the mental and emotional preparation. This is evident in the most artificial of these events and even more so in real life struggles.

Such is the case in parashat Va'era. In one corner we have Pharaoh aka the king and god incarnate of Egypt. In the other corner we have Moses, whom the Divine has place in the role of God to Pharaoh. (Exodus 7:1) The competition is a grueling series of ten plagues. At stake is the reputation of Pharaoh versus God. The prize is nothing less than the future of an enslaved nation. Our saga this week consists of plagues one through seven, with the final three taking place in next week's episode. As with the best competitions each event is increasingly difficult. How will the contestants bear up under all that pressure?

The answer may be found in a series of phrases that recur throughout the saga. Every time there is a plague, Pharaoh becomes more adamant about not releasing the Hebrew slaves. Sometimes we are told that his heart is hardened, that he is stubborn, or in a beautiful translation by Everett Fox, Pharaoh's heart is "heavy with stubbornness" (the Hebrew root is kaved, heavy), and sometimes we are told it is stiffened (the Hebrew is from the root hazak, strong). With the first five plagues Pharaoh is solely responsible for his heart condition, with the latter five plagues God is doing this to Pharaoh.

What is the purpose of Pharaoh's stubborn hard-heartedness? Well, it does make for a great story. It also increases the dramatic build-up to that last plague, which cannot be matched by the Egyptian priests or explained by modern science. The more hard-hearted Pharaoh becomes, the greater God's victory. This is repeated a number of times. It occurs this week before the plagues begin: But I will harden Pharaoh's heart, that I may multiply My signs and marvels in the land of Egypt. When Pharaoh does not heed you, I will lay My hand upon Egypt and deliver My ranks, My people the Israelites, from the land of Egypt with extraordinary chastisements. And the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord, when I stretch out My hand over Egypt and bring out the Israelites from their midst." (Exodus 7:3-5) It is reiterated next week at the plague of the first-born son: Now the Lord had said to Moses, "Pharaoh will not heed you, in order that My marvels may be multiplied in the land of Egypt." (Exodus 11:9) And once again, in two weeks when Pharaoh gives chase to the newly freed slaves: Then I will stiffen Pharaoh's heart and he will pursue them, that I may gain glory through Pharaoh and all his host; and the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord. (Exodus 14:4)

Still, there is more to the story than that. Maimonides claims that what Pharaoh is undergoing is simply measure for measure; Pharaoh will get what he deserves. The 13th century French commentator Hizkuni says that the king's heart is hardened so he will suffer from the plagues (comment on Exodus 4:21). Sforno, commenting on the same verse, understands that Pharaoh's complete submission to God is necessary.

Let's call a timeout and focus a bit more on Pharaoh's heart. Remember that when the Hebrew word lev (heart) is used in the Bible, it does not have the modern emotional connotation. The biblical use of "heart" is the equivalent of the modern "mind"; it is the center of rational thought. This is crucial to Carol Meyer's explanation of Pharaoh's behavior:

 … we see a pattern indicating that what may begin as the pharaoh’s resistance to doing something deemed against his or his nation’s best interests ultimately becomes an act produced by God. Divine causality, although in tension with human will, is understood as part of the human as well as the natural realm, that is, as part of the decisions that humans make as well as of the workings of nature. The fact that the "heart" which is consistently part of the idiom of the pharaoh’s resistance, represents all aspects of a person — cognitive and rational as well as affective — in the anthropology of the Hebrew Bible indicates that the pharaoh’s recalcitrant behavior is considered conscious and deliberate, affecting the course of events.

Carol Meyers, New Cambridge Bible Commentary, Exodus, pp 70-71

Pharaoh's problem is not that God is playing games, but that he is stuck in a rut, or more accurately, he's boxed in. How can he possibly imagine a power greater than his own? Leonardo DiCaprio may have voiced this, but Pharaoh knew that he was "king of the world." The problem is, there is a vast universe outside of that world and he couldn't see it; it was beyond his understanding. Our ancient king suffers from a very modern malady called the "curse of knowledge":

This so-called curse of knowledge, a phrase used in a 1989 paper in The Journal of Political Economy, means that once you’ve become an expert in a particular subject, it’s hard to imagine not knowing what you do. Your conversations with others in the field are peppered with catch phrases and jargon that are foreign to the uninitiated. When it’s time to accomplish a task — open a store, build a house, buy new cash registers, sell insurance — those in the know get it done the way it has always been done, stifling innovation as they barrel along the well-worn path.

Janet Rae Dupree, Innovative Minds Don’t Think Alike, 

New York Times, December 30, 2007

While this article deals with engineering and marketing, it can also be applied to Pharaoh's heart. Pharaoh's problem was our ancestors' problem as well. It is not only Pharaoh or the Egyptians who needed to witness God's might. Our Israelite ancestors had yet to make God's acquaintance. They couldn't think outside the squalid box of slavery. Even when they were finally redeemed from bondage they still looked back to the "good old days" in Egypt.

Here's a "thinking outside the box" look at the struggle to free the Israelite slaves. It comes from a beautiful midrash on the Exodus story by the African-American writer Zora Neale Hurston. In her retelling of the tale, the struggle takes place on a number of levels: There is a personal struggle between Moses and Pharaoh, who had grown up as rivals in the Egyptian court. There is the struggle to show God's power; and there is the struggle to create a nation. As Moses explains to Aaron, he is counting on Pharaoh to be hard-hearted:

So the more he rears and pitches the more the people will believe when I whip him down. It ain’t just to get you all out of Egypt, it’s to make something out of you afterwards. That’s the main idea. If Pharaoh lets the Hebrews go peaceably it won’t be six months before they will be back here ready to serve him again. If I’m to make a nation of you, you’ve got to be cut loose forever.”

Zora Neale Hurston, Moses, Man of the Mountain, pp. 146-7

Pharaoh's hard-heartedness starts as fortitude on his part. Any competitor can understand this as "digging deep" and finding that "inner reservoir." Then it appears in part to be Divine manipulation, or strategic maneuvering. In the end, it has little to do with Pharaoh and everything to do with the transformation of a people from slavery to freedom. How odd that the mighty Pharaoh and the lowly slave were both afflicted by the same plague: the security of complacency that comes with the "curse of knowledge."

In the end, after a long struggle, it is the newly freed slaves who acquire the necessary change: a new way of thinking and behaving. This ongoing transformation served our ancestors in many different times and places. May we always be ready to engage in the struggle against hard-hearted complacency. Or as Zelos' footwear-branded sister might have said: Just do it!

Shabbat shalom,
Rabbi Michal Shekel