Va'era
Developing a Good Heart
Torah teaches: After each of the
first five plagues, Par'oh does something to his own
heart that makes him not want to allow the Israelites to leave Egypt.
Sometimes he makes it chazak,
strong, and sometimes he makes it kaved, heavy. As readers, we should not be surprised to
infer that Par'oh considers a strong, hard heart an
important kingly quality.
Torah also teaches: After each of
the last five plagues, God makes Par'oh's heart chazak, strong,
and kaved,
heavy. This is surprising! We cannot imagine that the God who responds to the
pained cries of the Israelites would make a person immune to the suffering of
others. How, then, should we understand this teaching?
Rambam teaches: a person becomes ethical by developing good
habits through education, right action, and self-reflection. Conversely, a
person becomes unethical by developing poor habits of thought, feeling, and
action. After a certain point, repentance is only a theoretical possibility.
During the story of the first five plagues, Torah shows us how Par'oh develops poor habits of feeling. During the story of
the final five, Torah lets us know that Par'oh's
reactions are out of his control. He is now simply subject to the
scientific laws of human behaviour, acting out the habits he has developed.
Please review the tikkun olam opportunities and
take the opportunity to develop habits of compassion!
Return to Reb
Laura's "Taste of Torah" list.
Return to
"Teachings from Our Rabbis and Friends" list.
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