There is a major debate about something that happens a bunch of times in our parashah and the next: God hardening Pharaoh’s heart. The most simple understanding is that God made Pharaoh more stubborn during the plagues so that he wouldn’t free B'nei Yisrael. Was this a fair thing to do?
Here is the Rambam’s explanation:
וְאֶפְשָׁר שֶׁיֶּחְטָא אָדָם חֵטְא גָּדוֹל אוֹ חֲטָאִים רַבִּים, עַד שֶׁיִּתֵּן הַדִּין לִפְנֵי דַּיַּן הָאֱמֶת שֶׁיְּהֵא הַפֵּרָעוֹן…שֶׁמּוֹנְעִין מִמֶּנּוּ הַתְּשׁוּבָה וְאֵין מַנִּיחִין לוֹ רְשׁוּת לָשׁוּב מֵרִשְׁעוֹ...לְפִיכָךְ חִזֵּק הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא אֶת לִבּוֹ.
It is possible for a person to sin so greatly, or so many times, that their punishment is that they are unable to do teshuvah, and they lose the ability to return from their wickedness… This is why God hardened Pharaoh’s heart.
According to the Rambam, God hardening Pharaoh's heart was a punishment. Most people have the opportunity to do teshuvah—to repent and then be forgiven—no matter what they do wrong. But Pharaoh had acted so terribly that the right punishment, for him, was to lose his ability to do teshuvah.
Rabbi Yosef Albo understands this differently:
הִנֵּה הַשֵּׁם יִתְבָּרַךְ מְחַזֵּק אֶת לִבּוֹ
...כְּדֵי שֶׁיָּסוּר מִלִּבּוֹ הַמֹּרֶךְ שֶׁקָּנָה מֵחֲמַת הַמַּכָּה וְיִשָּׁאֵר עַל טִבְעוֹ וּבְחִירָתוֹ מִבְּלִי מַכְרִיחַ.
God hardens his heart... in order to remove from his heart the softening effect which came from the plagues. This made Pharaoh able to choose freely, without being forced.
For Rabbi Albo, hardening Pharoah's heart was how God made sure Pharaoh kept his free will and the ability to do teshuvah correctly. Without his heart being hardened by God, Pharaoh would have freed the Israelites immediately after the first plague because he would have been so afraid. But God wanted Pharaoh to do the right thing not because he was forced to do it, but because he really wanted to. By hardening Pharaoh’s heart, God gave Pharaoh extra courage, and made sure that Pharaoh could really be free to say “yes” or “no” on his own.
Discussion Questions
- Which explanation do you like more? Why?
- How do Rambam and Rabbi Albo each understand the meaning of a "hard" or a "soft" heart?
- The hardening of Pharaoh’s heart is mentioned 20 times in the story of the Exodus from Egypt)! Why do you think the Torah repeats this idea so many times?