VA'ERA 5772

SOFTENING THE HARD HEART

But I will harden Pharaoh’s heart that I might multiply my signs and marvels in the land of Egypt. [Exodus 7: 3]

Stubborn: Unreasonably or perversely unyielding; mulish (unreasonably and inflexibly obstinate). Merriam-Webster Dictionary

The Torah is clear that God intended to harden Pharaoh’s heart to justify the plagues He would rain upon him and Egypt. Yet since God set up Pharaoh to be unyielding in his refusal to let the Israelites go, why should he and Egypt have been devastated by plague after plague? How should we interpret God’s words, “I will harden Pharaoh’s heart.”?

Jewish and Christian commentators have long wrestled with this question. One widely accepted answer is that following each of the first five plagues, the Torah notes, “Pharaoh hardened his heart.” He continually assured Moses that with the lifting of the plague; he would honor his word and let the people go. Once the plague ended, Pharaoh continued his stubborn refusal.

From the sixth plague onward, the Torah records that God hardened Pharaoh’s heart. It was as if Pharaoh had ensnared himself in a web which he could not untangle. Thus the consensus of many commentators; there comes a point where God denies the sinner the opportunity to return. This argument, however, runs counter to the teaching that until the day of his death, God awaits and is ready to accept the sinner's repentance. God is willing to forgive those who are willing to meet Him halfway, and every human being, even the most sinful, has been endowed with the capacity to choose whether to repent or to continue on his evil course.

God, however, has not only endowed us with the capacity to do good or evil; He has also created us with a stubborn streak. In a sense once our behavior falls into a set pattern, it is difficult to effect any changes.
This stubbornness is a form of addiction. God has designed us to cling unto a fierce obstinacy. Thus Pharaoh could not overcome his stubborn self, and following each of the first five plagues, he demonstrated that he could not soften his hard heart. He thus inevitably reached that tipping point of being irrevocably addicted to his behavior. His inability to alter his ways flowed from God’s very design of the human psyche or soul, and it is in this sense that God hardened his heart.

Merely reflect on the difficulty we all have of admitting wrong, of saying I’m sorry, of having the dogged determination to reject our negative behavior. As long as we struggle to soften our hearts, we meet the formidable challenge God has set before each of us. When, God forbid, we reach the point where we are so set in our ways and are unable to consider any changes in our behavior, then it is as if God has cast our hearts in concrete.

God thus waits for each of us as we struggle against the tendency to sin. If and when we despair of the struggle, our stubbornness has the effect of God hardening our hearts.

We are all aware of our tendency to defend our behavior and to rationalize our stubbornness and our recalcitrance. The tension in our lives is to overcome this unworthy behavior. Hopefully we will be blessed with the courage and the will to soften our hearts to respond to the highest moral teachings. It’s not an easy reach, yet it will hopefully never be beyond our reach.

From the holy city of Jerusalem, Rae joins me in wishing all a Shabbat shalom u’mevorach, a Shabbat of peace and of blessing and fulfilling.

Rabbi Arnold M. Goodman
Senior Rabbinic Scholar
Ahavath Achim Synagogue
Atlanta, Georgia 30327
January 19, 2012
24 Tevet 5772