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Parshat Bo

By: SFW Students & Alumna
Chani Schonbrun, SFW ’04-‘05

A famous discussion about this week's parsha, and about the makot in general, is the discussion about the hardening of Paroah’s heart. Many mifarshim deal with the issue of free choice, and various explanations are given to reconcile the conflict between Hashem's manipulation of Paroah and our belief in the free choice of man. The Rambam, for example, explains that it is possible for a person to sin in such a great way that Hashem takes away his ability to do t'shuva.  There comes a point when a person loses the privilege of being able to return from his evil ways. This is why, according to the Rambam, Hashem had to harden Paroah's heart. Paroah had sinned so greatly that he lost his right to do t'shuva!

There is an interesting question that can be raised about the Rambam.  In the beginning of Parshat Bo, Hashem commands Moshe to go to Paroah: "Vayomer Hashem el Moshe Bo el Paroah ki ani hichbaditi et libo v'et lev avadav." Rashi comments that Hashem wants Moshe to go to Paroah to warn him. The question is, if Hashem is completely taking away Paroah's ability to do t'shuva, what is the point of sending Paroah warnings?  We would have to say that Rashi doesn't agree with the Rambam that a person can completely lose his ability to do t'shuva. But even so, the question still remains on the passuk itself. If Hashem says that He is going to harden Paroah's heart, then what purpose do the warnings serve?

Netivot Shalom gives a beautiful answer and explains that a person has kochot tivi'im, natural abilities and talents, and is aware of these special qualities that he possesses.  However, a person also possesses kochot al tivi'im, supernatural abilities.  He is unaware of the existence of these abilities and remains unaware of them until he comes into a situation where he is forced to use them. Only when he finds himself in a dangerous situation that he cannot get out of using natural abilities, does he discover his kochot al tivi'im. Netivot Shalom says that this concept of hidden powers also applies to the spiritual arena, and even to the realm of t'shuva.  When it comes to t'shuva, there are first natural kochot through which we can repent, and then there are kochot al tivi'im, such as the misirut nefesh that a Jew possesses, through which we can return to Hashem. The only way that we can arouse these dormant supernatural strengths is through the belief that Hashem is really running the show and that He truly wants our t'shuva.  

We can now apply this concept to Paroah. Despite the fact that Hashem hardened Paroah's heart, Paroah still has the ability to do t'shuva throught his kochot al tivi'im.  This is why Hashem continued to send Moshe to Paroah, because Paroah still had it within himself to do t'shuva. But Paroah denied Hashem's overseeing of the world when he said, "lo yadati et Hashem, mi Hashem asher eshma b'kolo." As a result, Paroah couldn’t tap in to his kochot al tivi'im!

This is a main concept of yitziyat mitzrayim.  Through natural means, Bnei Yisrael were not worthy of being redeemed -- they were on the 49^th level of tumah. It was only through "vaye'eman ha'am," through the nation's belief in Hashem’s leadership  that Hashem was willing to take Bnei Yisrael out of slavery and make them into His chosen people. And as a result we’re commanded "l'ma'an tizkor et yom tzaytcha m'eretz mitzrayim kol yimay chayecha," and chazal learn that the word kol is there to include the nights. This is meant to reassure us that in the bleakest of situations, when we feel completely lost in the dark with no natural way out, we must still have faith in our supernatural kochot that will help us out of the worst of situations. 

Shabbat Shalom.