Pharaoh and The-Egyptian-On-The-Street
In a beautiful and cogent essay, Rabbi Moshe Lichtenstein, explores the differences between last week’s parsha of Vaera and this week’s parsha, Bo. He starts by pointing out that the allocation of 7 plagues (Blood through Hail) in Vaera and 3 (Locusts, Darkness, Death of the First Born) in Bo is not accidental. He explains that there were two ultimate goals to be achieved – that Pharaoh, who had refused to recognize the God of the Hebrews in any way, finally recognize the Power that is God of Israel, and then that the Israelites be allowed to leave Egypt in freedom from slavery and oppression. These goals piggy back one on the other. At then end of Vaera, an exasperated Pharoah finally breaks and exclaims, “This time, I have sinned. The Lord is the Righteous One while I and my people are the wicked ones.” The first goal is achieved. Now the stage is set for Pharaoh to release the slaves and allow them to leave Egypt.
As we know, it would take another three plagues before Pharaoh would finally free them. These three plagues were markedly different than the previous seven. The first seven plagues in Vaera were designed to harass and discomfit the Egyptians. Water became bloody and undrinkable. Frogs were getting into everything, and so on. Egyptian magicians and astrologers, who clearly had Pharaoh’s ear, were consulted as each plague came. Their role was to “defend the faith” of Egypt and the theology of Pharaoh. The plagues in Bo, however, were much more severe. They destroyed the Egyptian food supply (locusts), Egyptian infrastructure (darkness), and ultimately destroyed Egyptian society (death of the first born). Now, it was no longer the magicians and astrologers, but Pharaoh’s cabinet members and government officials who were consulted. The situation was now a full-fledged social and political crisis. But even his advisors had a difficult time getting Pharaoh to move in the right direction. Egypt would not only lose, but would be lost, in the end.
To my mind, a painful theme in this entire saga in the price that the Egyptian people, as a whole and as individuals, had to pay for the intransigence and stubbornness of its leader, Pharaoh. The Egyptian-on-the-street felt the effect of every Pharaonic policy and decision.
In the Book of Jonah, when the city of Ninveh was condemned by God to destruction unless it changed its ways, the king of Ninveh sprang into action and effected a mass behavioral change that rippled through every level of society. Ninveh repented and was not destroyed. Interestingly, the Midrash identifies the king who motivated his people to take Jonah’s warning seriously and to change their ways as none other than Pharaoh from our parsha! The king was the same Pharaoh who initially would not recognize the Lord of Israel and who for the longest time, could not see the societal impact of his policies. In the eyes of the Midrash, that very same Pharoah apparently transformed himself and was able to transform his society. Unfortunately it was not the Egyptian society under his stewardship, but that of Ninveh, that would be transformed.
You can read the entire essay of Rabbi Lichtenstein
HERE
Shabbat shalom!
