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Mordechai Silverstein

Pharaoh’s Choice

Human beings have forever pondered how much we control our own behavior. Do we truly make our own decisions or do other factors decide for us? Do we really have the ability to change? The quest for answers to these questions is fundamental to Rabbinic Judaism’s outlook on the meaning of human existence.

Is is questions such as these which make God’s response to Pharaoh’s denial to release the children of Israel from Egyptian slavery so perplexing:

And the Lord said to Moshe, ‘Come into Pharaoh, for I Myself have hardened his heart and the heart of his servants, so that I may set these signs of Mine in his midst, and so that you may tell in the hearing of your son and your son’s sons how I toyed with Egypt, and my sons which I set before them, and you shall know that I am the Lord. (Exodus 10:1-2)

It is readily apparent from this passage that God’s primary concern in manipulating Pharaoh’s behavior was to proclaim His divine sovereignty in the world, but for later generations, God’s actions brought to a fore the question of whether human beings really have free will, namely, the ability to determine the course of their actions. This debate is represented in a discussion between two of the most famous sages of the Talmudic period in Eretz Yisrael:

“As I Myself (God) have hardened his heart” – Said Rabbi Yoḥanan: From here there is an opening for the heretics to say that he (Pharaoh) had no [opportunity] to repent, as it is stated: “As I Myself have hardened his heart.” Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish replied to him: Let the mouths of the heretics be sealed; rather, “to the scorners He scorns” (Proverbs 3:34). He (God) forewarns a person the first time, the second, and the third, and if he does not relent, He locks his heart from repentance in order to exact retribution for his sins. And so, with wicked Pharaoh. Since the Holy One blessed be He sent [him warnings] five times, and he disregarded His words, the Holy One blessed be He said to him: You were stubborn and hardened your heart; therefore, I will add impurity to your impurity. That is: “As I have hardened [hikhbadti – from the root letters: kaf bet daled] his heart.” What is hikhbadti? The Holy One blessed be He rendered his heart like this liver [kaved – kaf bet daled], which, when it is cooked twice, becomes hard. Thus, Pharaoh’s heart became like that liver, and he did not accept the words of the Holy One, blessed be He. That is: “As I have hardened his heart.” (Shemot Rabbah 13:3, Shinan ed. p. 257)

Rabbi Yohanan, the most prominent rabbinic sage in Eretz Yisrael during the period of the Talmud, makes us aware that the above verse offers “heretics” the opportunity to assert that God sometimes denies human beings the possibility to change their behavior. It is not clear whether Rabbi Yohanan agrees with this contentious conclusion or not, however, his regular “hevruta – debate partner”, Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish (Resh Lakish) quickly shuts down this possibility, asserting that God gives people ample opportunity to change, but God has His limits and, at some point, the behavior of the wicked becomes locked in (or should we say, part of their punishment).

Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish’s defense of free will here should not surprise us since he is renowned for his opinion that the concept of teshuva (repentance) was created by God even before the creation of the world. In other words, he held that God created human beings with the innate ability to control and change their behavior. It is this idea which has become an intrinsic element of the rabbinic tradition. Nevertheless, even he recognized that there are limitations to this belief.

(Rambam codifies Resh Lakish’s thinking in this midrash. (See Mishnah Torah, Hilkhot Teshuva 6:3. I must note though, that his conclusions are drawn from other sources since he likely was unaware of the existence of this midrash.)

While Resh Lakish’s conclusions regarding free will do not offer a definitive answer to whether God interferes in the process of decision making or not, nevertheless, he does raise some important points. His insight into the effect of human behavior on shaping a person’s identity are perceptive. As other sages have noted, good actions define a good person and evil actions an evil person. It is therefore likely that Pharaoh’s wrongdoing defined who he was, leaving him ultimately to bear the consequences of his actions.

About the Author
Mordechai Silverstein is a teacher of Torah who has lived in Jerusalem for over 30 years. He specializes in helping people build personalized Torah study programs.
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