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Why did Pharaoh refuse to release the Jews for just three days when it cost him so dearly? The struggle between God and Pharaoh was never about losing the Jewish workforce—it was a battle over who was in control. The shiur develops the principle that control issues, not rational concerns, drive human conflict, and applies this insight to marriage, parenting, and self-discipline.
Rabbi Zweig opens with a fundamental question that challenges childhood assumptions: Why did Pharaoh continue to resist God despite witnessing the plagues, and why did Moshe remove each plague before ensuring the Jews' release? The conventional reading—that this was about freeing slaves—misses the deeper dynamic at play. The core insight is that the entire narrative of the Exodus plagues centers on control, not practical outcomes. Pharaoh wasn't actually concerned about losing the Jewish workforce for three days (which is all Moshe requested). The economic cost of the plagues far exceeded any loss from a brief absence. Rather, Pharaoh was fighting against submitting to an external will. When God commands through Moshe, Pharaoh experiences this as a total takeover of his autonomy—regardless of the reasonableness of the request itself.
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Parshas Bo - Exodus plagues narrative
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