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In this week's Torah portion, Parashat Va'eira, Moses and Aaron are told by God to go to Pharaoh and to tell him that he must send the children of Israel out from Egypt. However, in the very next verse, we learn something which may sound strange and surprising. God informs his servants, Moses and Aaron, that they will not be successful in their mission, at first, due to God's very own intervention.
As God says in chapter 7, verse 3, of the book of Exodus, "But I shall harden Pharaoh's heart and I shall multiply My signs and My wonders in the land of Egypt."
How perplexing it is to learn that God does not permit Pharoah to allow the Israelites to go free. Could it be that God does not desire the repentance of Pharaoh? This does not seem possible. God must want all of us to repent and to discover the path toward righteousness. However, the motivation for repentance should not be fear of retribution or punishment.
God does not want Pharoah to free the ancient Jewish slaves simply because he is seeking to avoid the punishment for his evil ways. This is not repentance at all. This would simply be an act of self preservation. What God wants is for Pharaoh to truly acknowledge the error of his ways and release the Jewish people because he realizes that it is the right thing to do.
We learn a related teaching in Pirkei Avot, the Ethics of our Sages. It is taught that we should not act righteously because we expect and anticipate a reward for our positive actions. Instead, we should act with righteousness simply for its own sake. As is stated in chapter 1, verse 3 of this monumental work of Jewish values, "Be not like servants who serve their master for the sake of receiving a reward; instead be like servants who serve their master not for the sake of receiving a reward."
We are not supposed to act morally because we feel that there will be some eventual compensation. We act this way for its own sake! Similarly, we should not do the right thing only because we fear punishment for doing something wrong. This too should be done for its own sake!
And this can explain why the heart of Pharaoh was hardened. He needed to search for the proper motivation. Although, as we find out in the Torah readings to come, Pharaoh never does seem to find that true path.
Let us all find the proper motivations to do what is right, to avoid what is wrong, and to make this world a better place. Certainly, simply seeing and being a part of the goodness around us is an outcome that we can all treasure.
Shabbat Shalom.
Cantor Zachary Konigsberg
[email protected]
917-696-0749
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