Va'erah: Heart and Mind

This weeks parsha reports a conflict between a political leader, Pharoah and a revolutionary leader, Moses. It is a theme that has been repeated in history, the account in va'erah is certainly a paradigm.

Pharaoh's scientists ( the arrogance of our worldview calls them magicians and necromancers, but they were the most knowledgeable and technically advanced people in their time) soon tell him, at the plague of lice ( the third plague),  that the forces at work, coercing him to accede to the demands of Moshe, are "the finger of E", they are  beyond all imagination. .  The  ability of these technicians to reproduce the first two plagues, turning the waters to blood and the obnoxious proliferation of frogs, did not reduce the suffering from these blows, either. 

Why didn't Pharaoh kill  Moses and Aaron, these troublemakers, when they poisoned the water supply?   Was it because the previous Egyptian edict, drowning the newborns in the river, had justified this result?   Did the frogs remind Pharaoh of the benefit that would be derived from the expulsion of the Hebrews?  The Egyptians were disgusted by the large number of Hebrews intercalating themselves everywhere, the frogs reminded them of the feeling.

The Pharaoh's heart is hard. Gd has a plan, and it requires a ruler with an iron will. How much of  anyone's will is Divine intervention? How formative is the beating it takes from other wills, whatever their source? Does it get tougher?   Does it develop holes? Does a will collapse before a greater will? Can it stand up to an armed will?

The   king  does not listen to his best advisers. (We see this)  They are telling him that the situation is outside human control.  He should do what he can to control the damage; he does not listen. The National  Institutes of Magic  are telling the ruler about the effects of climate change: the river is too warm for the fish to survive, the dead fish attract the frogs, the dead frogs feed the lice, the lice-infested beasts run through the city, the invading animals carry viruses that  infect the livestock, the infection  in humans causes a rash.  The warming earth brings storms of extraordinary intensity.  It is all out of control.  The ruler does not trust these advisers. He knows best!

Pharaoh promises to send the people, but he continues to keep them.  The continuation is called Yosef.  The word means continue, but it also evokes Joseph, the great Hebrew viceroy who brought his people to this land, where they ended up slaves.  This Joseph model, this Egyptian-Hebrew is how the last 3 generations have seen themselves.  When Moses accuses Pharaoh  of "continuing"  does he mean that Pharaoh is reminding the people that they are Josephites? This could answer I question that I have long pondered: Why is Pharaoh credited with the exodus?:
וַיְהִ֗י בְּשַׁלַּ֣ח פַּרְעֹה֮ אֶת־הָעָם֒

When Pharaoh sent out the people

Was it not Gd that liberated the people through Moses? Perhaps it was only when the Pharaoh expelled the people that they could dissolve this illusion of Egyptian-ness. 

The expulsion also required a hard heart.