Parshas [VaEirah and] Bo - Hail to the Chief

 

In parshas Bo we notice a subtle change in Pharoah’s behavior. When Moshe warns him about the upcoming plague of locusts, Pharaoh takes a step toward negotiation. “Go and serve your G-d, just tell me who is going?”

When Moshe responds that he intends to take the entire nation out to the desert, Pharaoh retracts. But he gives a counteroffer, “Go and only take the men.” The negotiations end there.

But it is wondrous. Pharaoh is willing to negotiate at all. This is a first!

Hold on a minute. This is a first? Really?

Didn’t Pharaoh offer the Beni Israel to do their offerings within the land by the makka of arov? Didn’t he also say he will let them go while the hail was falling?

Those two don’t count. Aside from the fact that his offer for local worship during the makka of arov was saying that he will not release a single person from under his surveillance, there is another issue with these two earlier offers. Both of these “offers” were presented under duress when the relevant plague was in progress. A person in distress will make many empty promises for immediate relief. As soon as the plague was over, all bets were off the table.

Arbeh was different. This is the first time that Pharoah offered anything close to Moshe’s terms at just the warning stage. The first time Pharaoh waivered when there was no plague currently ravaging his nation. Not only that, but this is just a day or two after he officially hardened his heart after the plague of hail subsided as written in the closing pasuk of last week’s Parsha. The plague of hail didn’t faze him and there hasn’t been another plague just yet, but still Pharaoh suddenly changes his tune.

Locusts? Come on, we get locusts every seventeen years! The other plagues were unusual but locusts are nothing new. Pharaoh is not the type to be worried about food shortages at Kroeger’s. And they didn’t even come yet. What gives?

Well, the Torah does inform us that Pharaoh’s servants were getting nervous. And they confronted him. “Do you not yet know that the land is lost?”

This is a strong clue, but it still leads to many questions.

Did the servants tell Pharaoh something he didn’t know? Why are they speaking up now?

Obviously, they reached the breaking point, but why is this the breaking point? Why not earlier? Until now, there were warnings for five out of seven plagues. Not once did the servants flinch. Why is this warning different?

And… how could any servants confront Pharaoh anyway? Did he ask them for advice? Despotic kings are usually not interested in anyone’s advice. Giving a king unsolicited advice was usually a one-way trip to the chopping block. How could these servants dare to give Pharaoh advice? And why did he listen to them?

The answer is that there was something very unique about the plague of hail that did not apply to any of the other plagues.

Barad was the only plague where the Egyptian citizens were given a choice whether to get smitten by it or not. Moshe gave them an out. “Go gather your livestock and your people into your houses.” If you do so, they won’t be harmed. If not, they’re gone.

By now, Moshe should have had a bit of credibility. Why on earth would anyone who valued their possessions not take heed of Moshe’s warning?

There are three easy answers:

 

Answer 1 –

The Egyptians sheltered their animals in barns and pens and their non-Jewish slaves in ramshackle shanty towns. They had no qualms to keep them quartered there for the duration of the plague. But that wasn’t Moshe’s deal. Moshe insisted they bring all their animals and migrant workers into their own homes. Many Egyptians could not comprehend what should be the difference. Why should it matter which place of shelter they chose?

So they would not listen to Moshe to bring this zoo into their own homes and relied on the existing animal or servants’ shelters. But this wasn’t the deal and it wasn’t going to work.

 

Answer 2 –

Whenever there is a cultural battle, each side takes stubborn pride in their position. The Egyptians collectively had a master race ideology. Pharaoh was their Fuhrer. He brought their nation to prosperity (on the shoulders of Yosef) and he was always right. The Egyptians believed in Truth, Justice, and the Egyptian way! They believed in Egyptian science and religious mythology. Now comes a Hebrew upstart and is telling them that all the “truth" and science that they always believed in is a bunch of baloney and a Hebrew G-d with a long beard and payos is running the show.

Revelations such as these are a bitter pill to swallow. Diehard communists, socialists, fascists, democrats, evolutionists, Islamists – the list goes on, will always believe their ideologies and even fight wars and die for them. Even when the “truth” is staring them in the face. So, they must discredit the facts, explain away the precedents and convince themselves that the warnings are empty threats that will not actually come about.

 

Answer 3 –

When Moshe warned Pharaoh about the upcoming plague of hail and advised the citizens to bring their livestock into their homes, what do suppose was Pharaoh’s response? Did he concur with Moshe’s suggestion and advise his nation to comply?

Most assuredly not. More likely he actually forbade his nation to comply.

When the Irgun launched their attack on the British HQ at the King David Hotel in Jerusalem in July 1946, they called in a warning to the hotel switchboard about one half hour earlier. There is an unconfirmed legend that the warning reached the ears of Chief Secretary Sir John Shaw, and his response was, “I am here to give orders to the Jews and not to take orders from them.” Subsequently, he forbade any of his staff to leave the hotel. He himself felt an urge to exit the hotel to get himself a snack.

This legend has not been verified and it is challenged by the fact that there is no indication that the warning to the hotel switchboard made it into the British command. Nevertheless, it fits the arrogant British caricature and is all too believable. Pharaoh was no less arrogant.

Thus, we have to believe that the “advice” of Moshe Rabbenu was the quintessential challenge to Pharaoh’s authority and credibility. Moshe was challenging the Egyptians – “Do you believe your god Pharaoh and trust that he is interested in your well-being? or do you trust the G-d of the Jews? It’s your choice.”

By no other plague did the Egyptians have such a choice. Therefore, by no other plague was Pharaoh’s authority put to the test. This wasn’t just a bit of hail. It was a Hail to the Chief. The only question was, who is the true Chief?

The Torah tells us clearly that "he among Pharaoh's servants who feared the word of G-d refuged his servants and his livestock in the houses." How many people did this?

Interestingly, this pasuk is versed in the singular as if there was only one person who took up Moshe on his offer. It also mentions "from among Pharaoh's servants". This implies that only those in Pharaoh's inner circle were aware of Moshe's magnanimous offer. The ordinary citizen was not let in on it. Even among Pharaoh's servants it was probably very few. As the pasuk later states (9:30), “And you and your servants, I know that they have not yet come to fear in the face of Hashem Elokim”. Not only Pharaoh, but even his servants.

But certainly, some did listen to Moshe. And to do so, they had to defy the orders of Pharaoh. Their properties were not harmed. (I wonder if for these believers, perhaps even their crops were miraculously spared from harm.) 

Everybody in Egypt saw this and it shook Pharaoh to the core. Until now, even though he was unable to prevent the plagues, he still had total obedience from his nation and his inner circle. His statement was that the plagues are just augmented events of nature (if not witchcraft). “Perhaps I can’t beat the plagues, but the plagues can’t beat me, either. I am the god Pharaoh and I am too strong for that.”

And his nation was with him. They hated the Jews as much as he did, and they all rallied to his side. Nobody broke ranks against Pharaoh, but nobody had the opportunity to do so, either.

Makkas barad changed all that. For the first and only time, Moshe told them that if you listen to me, you will be better off than if you listen to Pharaoh. And, for the first time, some people listened. And some people defied Pharaoh. And they came out ahead.

Pharaoh is not reliable. Pharaoh does not have it all figured out. Pharaoh is not invincible. Pharaoh is not a god.

So, immediately after the plague of hail, the servants looked at Pharaoh differently. He is not building up his empire. He is presiding over its destruction. When Moshe comes to warn him about the upcoming plague of locusts, his servants were no longer so docile and obedient. They had their own personal interests, and for once, they were bold enough to confront Pharaoh and let him know.

And Pharaoh was willing to negotiate. Just a little bit. But why?

It was not because he was horrified by the impending plague of locusts. He wasn’t worried about losing his wheat and his spelt. He’ll import from the Ukraine. But he was afraid of losing his royal guard. He heard what happened to Gaius Caligula and he didn’t want to be there when it happened to him.

In today’s world we have an acronym to refer to those who sit in the drivers’ seat – TPTB. It stands for “The Powers that Be.” It means, “The people that we have to listen to.”

Why do we need to listen to them?

Because they “call the shots” and “they have the big guns” and “they have all the money” and “they make the rules”. And mostly because, “if we don’t, we’ll be sorry”, or “we don’t really have much choice”.

But all this only works if one believes that they “call the shots” and one believes “they have the big guns” and that “they have all the money” and that “they make the rules”. And especially if one believes that “we don’t really have much choice”.

But sometimes it’s just an illusion. TPTB put up a convincing show and we fall for it. But this usually happens when there is nothing else to believe. Or so we think.

I wrote in my book that, ironically, due to environmental influences (television, magazines, and museums), I, from a strictly Orthodox background, was indoctrinated in evolution before I started learning chumash in school and learned about Creation. When I discovered Breishis at the age of eight – after evolution – it enlightened me that I now need to choose what to believe. Integrated in this choice, is the determination of who is the true PTB.

Once we know who is the true PTB, every other candidate, real or imagined, is a powerless imposter. Pharaoh wasn’t sharing his title with anybody. But neither was Moshe’s G-d. There can be only one winner in this game.

When anybody claims or acts like they call the shots, it pays to look around first and see if there are any competing contenders. If there are, there is something to choose. The candidate with the best press and glitzier campaign is not automatically the one that’s going to deliver the goods. It’s the One with the clearest vision and the truest message.

The first five plagues came from the ground. The second five plagues – the boils and the hail (and the rest) came from the heavens.

העדתי בכם היום את השמים ואת הארץ; החיים והמות נתתי לפניך, הברכה והקללה, ובחרת בחיים – למען תחיה אתה וזרעך.

And –

HAIL TO THE CHIEF!