Parshas Beshalach: Pharaoh's Three-Day Deception and the Battle for Control

Rabbi Zweig addresses a fundamental question in Parshas Beshalach: why did Moshe Rabbeinu ask Pharaoh to let the Jewish people go for only three days when they were clearly leaving permanently? The request appears deceptive, especially since God had already told the Jews they were going to inherit the land of their forefathers. Yet Pharaoh genuinely believed it was only a three-day trip, as evidenced by his pursuing them only after three days had passed without their return. The shiur presents three compelling difficulties with the narrative. First, how could Moshe, speaking as God's agent, seemingly mislead Pharaoh about the duration of their departure? Second, from a pure business perspective, Pharaoh's refusal makes no sense—the plagues caused far more lost productivity than a three-day absence would have. Why not simply let them go for three days and avoid the devastating plagues? Third, Moshe acted seemingly irresponsibly by removing each plague before the Jews had left Egypt, repeatedly trusting Pharaoh despite his pattern of reneging on his promises.