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What does it mean that Hashem (ה׳) hardened Pharaoh's heart? The Yalkut Shimoni's mashal of the fox, lion, and donkey reveals that Pharaoh's resistance wasn't about losing his workforce—it was a control issue. When people lack self-discipline, any external authority becomes an existential threat, driving even self-destructive choices to preserve autonomy.
Rabbi Zweig addresses a fundamental question about Parshas Bo: What does it mean that Pharaoh's heart was hardened, whether by himself or by Hashem (ה׳)? Pharaoh couldn't have been turned into an automaton; he must have thought he was making rational decisions. The question is: what was the psychological basis of his irrational choice to refuse Moshe's demand? The shiur brings a remarkable Yalkut Shimoni on the words "kiveid lev Pharaoh" that presents a mashal of animals traveling on a ship. A donkey serving as a tax collector demands payment from a lion, the king of animals. When a fox protests that the king himself is aboard, the donkey replies that he's collecting for the king's treasury. The lion responds by killing the donkey. When the fox prepares the carcass, he eats the heart and tells the lion the donkey never had a heart—if he had, he wouldn't have dared collect tax from the king.
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Why does the Midrash connect Pharaoh's expulsion of the Jews to the mitzvah of shiluach hakan? The shiur develops a chiddush that Pharaoh's sin wasn't only drowning the children, but the insensitivity of expelling the parents afterward. The deeper analysis reveals that Pharaoh may have valued the Jews greatly and wanted to control them—making his expulsion an act of tremendous cruelty, not liberation.
Why does Moshe respond to the splitting of the sea with shirah rather than praise or thanksgiving? Rashi's use of "al libo" reveals that shirah is an emotional expression—a response of love to love. When Hashem shows personal care, the only adequate response is "I love You too," not mere gratitude or praise, and this principle applies to all relationships.
Parshas Bo
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