Dear Readers, Thank you so much for your patience and understanding over the last few weeks. We are happy to be back sharing new Divrei Torah with you!
This week’s parsha, Parshas Bo, contains
the last three of the Ten Makkos. Even with the increasing intensity of each Makkah,
Paroh continued to refuse to allow Bnei Yisrael to leave Mitzrayim. Hashem had
told Moshe that He would harden Paroh’s heart so he would not let the Bnei
Yisrael leave, in order to make sure Paroh received his just desserts and would
recognize Hashem as the true God. However, in certain aspects, Paroh didn’t need
any help from Hashem and denied Moshe’s requests of
his own volition. And after a point, Moshe had had enough.
At the beginning of the Parsha, Moshe is
sent to warn Paroh about the upcoming plague of locusts, the eighth plague to
hit the country of Egypt. After declaring that this plague would be so
incredible, the likes of which would never be seen again, the pasuk says, “וַיִּ֥פֶן
וַיֵּצֵ֖א מֵעִ֥ם פַּרְעֹֽה” And he (Moshe) turned and left Paroh” (Shemos 10:6). Understanding
the proper context in the pasuk, this was a very big deal. Throughout Moshe’s
interactions with Paroh, he had always gone to great lengths to treat him with
the respect befitting a king. Numerous examples of this appear throughout these
parshiyos, including the first pasuk in this week’s parsha when Hashem Himself
tells Moshe, “בֹּ֖א אֶל־פַּרְעֹ֑ה”, “come to Paroh” (ibid:
1). (This verbiage is a sign of respect towards the office of a monarch,
regardless of whether he might deserve it on a personal level.) What caused
Moshe to finally snap?
The Ohr HaChaim
explains that that this was indeed the last straw for Moshe. He had tried so
hard to continue to show Paroh respect even after his continued denial of
Hashem’s wishes; and at this point, Moshe thought he had finally made a
breakthrough. At the end of last week’s parsha, following the Makkah of Barad
(Hail), Paroh had admitted to his wrongdoings, “חָטָ֣אתִי
הַפָּ֑עַם יְהֹוָה֙ הַצַּדִּ֔יק וַֽאֲנִ֥י וְעַמִּ֖י הָֽרְשָׁעִֽים”
“I have sinned this time. Hashem is righteous and I and my people are the
guilty ones” (9:27). Paroh asks Moshe to daven for him, which he does, but
then Paroh immediately returns to his previous attitude; prompting the Makkah
of Arbeh, and Moshe’s disrespectful exit.
The Ramban explains a
bit differently. The Makkah of Barad was extremely frightening; while the wild
animals of Makkas Arov might appear more dangerous than some extreme weather
conditions, the fact remains that they were still natural beings. However, the icy
hail mixed with fire of Barad went against all laws of nature; a truly
frightening sight! But the Egyptians had survived; still, not without cost. The
Barad knocked out half of the Egyptian crops, and with the locusts threatening
to eat the rest, the Egyptians would soon starve. Moshe felt he could play on
this, and instead of allowing Paroh time to respond to the threat of locusts
like he’d done by other Makkos, he turned and left immediately to allow Paroh
to stew in his dread. His tactic worked as Paroh’s servants convinced him to call
Moshe back in to negotiate, but ultimately, Paroh continued to allow his heart
to be hardened.
Shabbat Shalom!
Click here for last year's Dvar Torah for Parshas Bo
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