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Parshas Bo - Who You Lookin’ At?

By Rabbi Zvi Teichman

Posted on 01/26/23

Parshas HaShavua Divrei Torah sponsored by
Dr. Shapsy Tajerstein, DPM - Podiatry Care.
(410) 788-6633

Have you ever been so angry at someone and blurt out, “I never want to see you again!”


Pharaoh most certainly was.


After the latest plague of darkness debilitated his people, he was quite irate and desperate. He summons Moshe back and begins to negotiate the terms of a deal that Moshe had formerly requested to permit the Jews to leave for a short reprieve to serve G-d. The talks break down with Pharaoh quickly retracting, angrily declaring, “Go from me! Beware — do not see my face anymore, for on the day you see my face you shall die!” (שמות י כח-כט)


Why is Pharaoh oddly emphasizing Moshe never seeing ‘his face’ again? Isn’t it Moshe’s face, that so arouses his hatred, that Pharaoh so despises and never wants to look at again?


What happened at this juncture more than all the other confrontations, where Pharaoh each time dismisses them, ‘driving’ Moshe and Aharon out from his presence, but never threatening them with their lives? 


The Holy Kohen of Tzfas, Rav Mordechai Hakohen, the Sifsei Kohen, a 16th century Kabbalist offers an eye-opening interpretation of this verse.


At the introduction to the plague of darkness, G-d said to Moshe, “Stretch forth your hand, toward the heavens... and there shall be darkness... Moshe stretched forth his hand... (שם י כא-כב)


The Zohar points out that it is only with this plague that both in the instruction and implementation of the plague, only the stretching out of Moshe’s ‘hand’ is mentioned without any citation of the staff that accompanied the other plagues.


The staff had the שם המפורש — The Explicit Name, etched into it. When Moshe would enter accompanied by the staff, a brilliant radiance enveloped Moshe that made him appear as a מלאך — an angel, whose face cannot be seen due to the powerful illumination, yet still able to see the face of Pharaoh.


Until now, each time Moshe entered the palace, Pharaoh cowered in awe of the one who was, he assumed, invincible as an angel.


This time after the plague of darkness, which lacked the usually attending staff, Moshe suddenly appeared without the blinding ‘headlight’ that emanated from him. Pharaoh wondered why he was now able to see Moshe normally. He surmised that he must have been duped all along by the sleight of hand of Moshe’s magical trick and concluded that Moshe was no angel and just as vulnerable as any human would be to attack, and summarily threatened him.


Go from me! Beware — do not see my face any more...


Pharaoh was warning Moshe to no longer resort to his deceptive maneuver in falsely portraying himself as an angel who is unseen, yet able to see Pharaoh. He wasn’t merely saying he didn’t want to see him, but rather demanding that Moshe ceases and desist from feigning an ability to see yet remain unseen.


In that light Pharaoh went on to confidently imperil Moshe, the ‘impostor’, with his life, stating: “...for on the day you see my face” — and try to dupe me with your magic techniques — you shall die!


What was the deeper intention of this apparent tactic that Moshe employed of ‘now you see me, now you don’t’?


G-d said to Moshe, “Come to Pharaoh, for I have made his heart and the heart of his servants stubborn, so that I can put these signs of Mine in his midst.” (שם י א)


Rashi interjects that the statement of ‘Come to Pharoah’ is intended as a directive to first ‘warn’ him.


The Holy Sochatchover, in his epic work, Shem MiShmuel, addresses the obvious question. If indeed Moshe was to ‘come’, to initially warn Pharaoh, then how are we to understand the reason given for warning him — ‘for I have made his heart... stubborn’? If he evidently cannot choose freely anymore, what purpose is there in a warning?


The Holy Sochatchover builds his answer on the foundation of a life-changing principle expounded by his illustrious father.


The Torah informs us that Torah is readily accessible, “It is not in heaven, to say who can ascend to the heaven for us and take it for us, so that we can listen to it and perform it”


(דברים ל יב)


The Talmud though sees an intimation in this statement, that were it in heaven we would be expected to scale the heavens to study it. (עירובין נה.)


That is certainly a noble sentiment, but technically how could it be possible?


Quoting his father, the saintly Avnei Nezer, he explains that every command we receive is a summons to act as a שליח, a proxy, authorized by the ultimate authority — G-d, our משלח — The Principal, the primary dispatcher.


That which every humanly performed mitzvah has the power to effect the upper spheres, is due to the fact that man is an agent to do the mitzvos of Hashem, and just like there exists a principle of ‘the agent of a man is virtually like himself’, and כח המשלח בשליחthe power of the principal is invested within his proxy, his hand is like his own hand, so too, כביכול — as it were, the one dispatched by G-d is like Him, and considered as if G-d, כביכול — as it were, is acting and doing.


In essence, if G-d were to command us to scale the heavens, then were we to undertake the mission as His proxy, we would de facto be invested with the G-d given abilities to pull it off.


He sent darkness and made it dark, ולא מרו — and they did not accept the authority of His word. (תהלים קה כח)


This is how the Midrash interprets this verse from Psalms. The doubled darkness was in retribution for not consenting to G-d’s mastery. (שמות רבה יד א)


Isn’t it obvious that the Egyptians were punished due to their defiance of G-d’s word?


The Shem MiShmuel answers that this verse is not simply speaking of their recalcitrance, which was G-d manipulated, as the Torah testifies how G-d ‘hardened’ Pharaoh and his people’s hearts, by withholding their free-will, to choose. 


Though may one find oneself in a predicament beyond his control, there is one antidote to that paralysis. If one accepts fully to become an agent in carrying out G-d’s mission, one can overcome any disability perforce the rule of ‘the power of the principal is invested within his proxy’.


In all those moments when Moshe confronted Pharaoh and his nation, demanding in the name of G-d, שלח את עמי — Send out My people, he was offering him the only way out for those who are stuck in their ways — become His agent, because with it comes super strength, the power of theמשלח  — The Principal!


When finally, Pharaoh ‘gets it’ and considers consenting to their request to leave, he falters and negotiates his own terms. That is not the character of a proxy. One who dutifully represents his ‘boss’ asks no questions and does exactly as he is told. A proxy who negotiates is an oxymoron. It is this lapse of full submission to the directive that the verse in Psalms addresses. Because he did not accept ‘authority’ he remained in the dark, not only physically but more significantly, mentally, losing his opportunity to be freed from his shackles.


The staff that accompanied Moshe was symbolic of man’s ability to be an extension of G-d, His proxy. מטה is rooted in יטה, to extend. When Moshe bore it, as the proxy exemplar of G-d, the radiance was so compelling to even influence Pharaoh to quiet his resistance and hear the message of G-d. It was only when Moshe left, after Pharaoh refused to become a ‘staff’ in the hand of G-d, that he slipped back to his hardened attitude.


Moshe’s ability to ‘see’ Pharaoh was not a superficial view of him, it penetrated to the core of his being, inspiring even Pharaoh, in the presence of the illuminated truth, to respond positively.


The Midrash in fact states that in the presence of Moshe, פרעה נעשה מטה — Pharaoh became a staff!   (שמות רבה ט ד)


Before the very last plague — Pharaoh’s last chance to pull himself out of the mud and select to be an agent for G-d — Moshe removes the ‘veil’ of his staff. After all these failed attempts, Pharaoh would be tested to see if he can discern that even a human alone can transcend to becoming the very scepter of G-d. He fails miserably, rationalizing his own agenda and now finally threatening Moshe with his life. He no longer can even absorb the radiance that emanated from Moshe, that compelled him to think twice, vowing he will never again permit Moshe to ‘see his face’, i.e., influencing him with the undeniable truth he simply refuses to accept.


We all possess a little Pharaoh within us. We refuse to budge on our own needs and perceptions of our personal limitations, attempting to tailor the directives from G-d to suit our self-proclaimed limited abilities.


We may indeed be deficient and sincerely think we have good excuses, in claiming we don’t have what it takes. But we do. If only we dare to become non-negotiating proxies for His will, will we be empowered by the greatest and sole power, to overcome anything that impedes our noble mission!


באהבה,


צבי יהודה טייכמאן