Torah Commentary with Rabbi Laurence Rosenthal

The issue of freewill is on display in this sidra as the God of Israel and Pharoah battle it out for the Hebrews who were enslaved in Egypt. After seven devastating plagues described in last week's Torah portion and into this week's Parsha with the three final 'signs and wonders' brought upon Egypt for their crimes against humanity, Pharoah experiences a very human condition – hardening of one's heart. This week's Parsha starts with the cause of Pharoah's cardiac event:

בֹּא אֶל־פַּרְעֹה כִּי־אֲנִי הִכְבַּדְתִּי אֶת־לִבּוֹ וְאֶת־לֵב עֲבָדָיו לְמַעַן שִׁתִי אֹתֹתַי אֵלֶּה בְּקִרְבּוֹ:

"Come to Pharoah because I hardened his heart and the heart of his servants in order that I may display these, My signs among them" (Exodus 10:1).

God begins our reading this week by accepting blame for the hardening of Pharoah's heart. Pharoah's heart was in the hands of the divine and God will harden it to display His signs and wonders. According to this opening line, we can assume that Pharoah doesn't have a choice in the matter. His freewill has been taken away. This idea makes Pharoah into a puppet, a patsy who is being manipulated to allow for God's greater point, a display of power and wonder for the people Israel. This has disturbed Torah commentators for generations. What does it say about a loving and forgiving God if He is preventing people from repenting and changing their direction in life? But what about the end of last week's Parsha:

וַיַּרְא פַּרְעֹה כִּי־חָדַל הַמָּטָר וְהַבָּרָד וְהַקֹּלֹת וַיֹּסֶף לַחֲטֹא וַיַּכְבֵּד לִבּוֹ הוּא וַעֲבָדָיו: וַיֶּחֱזַק לֵב פַּרְעֹה וְלֹא שִׁלַּח אֶת־בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל כַּאֲשֶׁר דִּבֶּר יְהוָֹה בְּיַד־מֹשֶׁה:

"But when Pharaoh saw that the rain and the hail and the thunder had ceased, he hardened his heart and the hearts of his servants. And he added to his guilt, and he hardened his heart, his and his servants. So, Pharaoh's heart stiffened, and he would not let the Israelites go, just as the LORD had foretold through Moses" (Exodus 9:34 – 35).

Is the end of last week's sidra different than this week? In Parshat Bo, it seems like God is responsible for the hardening of Pharoah's heart. Whereas at the very end of last week's reading, Pharoah appears to be in control of his own heart. Remember, our Torah is one long continuous document. The breaks and divisions from week to week are a much later innovation. Therefore, these verses aren't separated by anything. What is our sacred scripture trying to inform us when there seem to be disparate verses one right after another? Which one is it? Did God harden Pharoah's heart or did Pharoah harden his own heart? The answer is a very spiritual one – Yes!

Life is filled with experiences. Some of those experiences are blessed and welcomed while others aren't. We can't choose the experiences we'll encounter, but we can choose our reaction to them. It's meaningful that the Torah shares Pharoah's role in hardening his own heart before the verse which assigns this responsibility to God. We are the first cause in our own experiences. Once we decide which heart to bring to an experience, God will approach in kind, affirming our choice. When he decided to harden his heart in response to God, Moses, and the plight of the Hebrew and Egyptian people, Pharoah chose the characteristic of God he was going to experience. The same is true about any of our spiritual postures. If we bring an open mind, we will be approached with openness and opportunity. If we bring a giving hand, we will be met with generosity. We cannot choose our lot in life, but we can decide how we plan to approach it.