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Rav Kook (Orot haTeshuva, 14:25)
And Pharaoh saw that the rain, the hail, and the thunder had ceased; so he continued to sin, and he strengthened his heart, he and his servants. And Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, and he did not let the children of Israel go out, as the Lord had spoken through the hand of Moses. (Shemot 9:34-35)
Sometimes bad traits come as punishment for a person’s previous sins. Then it does not suffice for a person to try and purify his bad traits in and of themselves. Rather, he will be able to return to his state of purity only when he examines his deeds and does teshuvah for his sins that caused him to be punished with the debasement of his traits.
Commentary (Rav Moshe Weinberger, Song of Teshuva Vol. 4)
Great rabbis such as the Ari and R. Chaim Vital teach that the essence of a Jew is holy and pure. Where then do a Jew’s bad traits come from? The Mussar literature answers that these traits come not from his essence but from his nefesh, his animal soul, and are superimposed upon his intrinsic goodness. Typically, a person’s bad traits are congenitally or environmentally shaped. But sometimes, Rav Kook states — in line with teachings of the Zohar and the Ari — G-d punishes a person for his sins by afflicting him with bad traits, in particular with a stubbornness of heart, as was the case with Pharaoh (Shemos 7:3). That is the worst punishment of all.
Thus, there are some people who stubbornly refuse to follow a halachah found in the Shulchan Aruch. Someone could speak to them day and night but they will not accept it. They will not listen to criticism, or agree to bind themselves to the most straightforward of Torah laws. This has nothing to do with intellectual differences or with an inability to subject themselves to the discipline that would be involved. It is due only to their having a hardened, stubborn heart. Even if someone demonstrates to them that their stubbornness is destroying their lives, they do not hear. They prefer to watch their entire kingdom, everything they have lived for, crumble before their eyes rather than comply.
Such people’s hardness of heart expresses itself in their indulgence in the trait of mockery. They make fun of Jews who keep Torah and mitzvos, of different types of Yiddishkeit, of serving Hashem. Such people should rather cry out to Hashem, “I know that this is a punishment for all of my sins. I have a sealed heart and I cannot see the truth.”
In the yearly cycle of the Torah reading, every time we come to the Parshiyos that tell about the Exodus, we think that Pharaoh was a fool for having contested G-d. But if Pharaoh could look at us, he would say, “What makes you any smarter? Aren’t you ruining your children and yourself with gossip, slander, looking at immodest sights and all kinds of filth? Isn’t your own life crumbling before your eyes? You make fun of me, yet although you constantly hear words of reproof, the words of the living G-d, from holy books, you still sin. You’re still destroying your life.”
Typically, when a person wants to rid himself of a bad trait that hurts him and others, he studies Mussar texts or follows the suggestions found in self-help literature. However, that approach may not help. And if so, it is possible that this trait has come as a punishment for his sins. Therefore, the way for him to rectify that bad trait is to do teshuvah for his sins, even though he may not see any connection between the two.
Food for Thought
Rashi (Shemot 7:3): Since he [Pharaoh] behaved wickedly and defied Me, and I know full well that there is no delight among the nations to make a wholehearted attempt to repent, it is better for Me that his heart be hardened, so that [I can] increase My signs and My wonders in him, and you will recognize My mighty deeds, and so is the custom of the Holy One, blessed be He. He brings retribution on the nations so that Israel should hear and fear, as it is said: “I have cut off nations; their towers have become desolate… I said, ‘Surely you will fear Me, you will accept reproof’” (Tzephania. 3:6-7). Nevertheless, in the first five plagues, it does not say, “And the Lord strengthened Pharaoh’s heart,” but “Pharaoh’s heart remained steadfast.”
Ramban (Shemot 7:3): I will answer the question that all who read this narrative are want to ask; “If G-d hardens Pharaoh’s heart what is his sin?” There are two reasons both of which are true.
The first reason is that Pharaoh, in his wickedness, committed unwarranted acts of evil against Israel. As a result, his ability to repent was removed. There are many verses in Scripture that suggest that one can be judged by one’s earlier actions.
The second reason is that his sin was his unwillingness to liberate Israel resulting in the first five plagues, where it only says, “Pharaoh’s heart was stiffened,” or “Pharaoh’s heart was hardened.” This exhibits that he did not want to liberate Israel to honor G-d. However, when the plagues intensified and he began to suffer from them, his heart was softened and he was wont to free them because of the plagues and not in recognition of divine will. At that point, G-d hardened his spirit and strengthened his heart in order to make His name known…
Rambam (Hilchot Teshuva 6:3): And, it is possible that a man should commit either one grievous iniquity or a multitude of sins so that the Judge of Truth will decree against him that, whereas this sinner committed those sins of his own free will and consciously, repentance should be withheld from him altogether, and grant him no leave to repent, so that he might die and perish in the iniquity he committed. Even this is what the Holy One, blessed is He! said through Isaiah: “Make the heart of this people fat, and make their eyes heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they, seeing with their eyes, and hearing with their ears, and understanding with their heart will return and be healed” (Is. 6.10). It is, moreover, said: “But they mocked the messengers of G-d, and despised His words and scoffed at His prophets, until the wrath of the Lord arose against His people till there was no remedy”. (II Chro. 36.16)—as if saying: “They sinned of their own free will and they have multiplied iniquities, until their guilt carried the punishment to withhold repentance from them, which is the remedy”. It is, therefore, written in the Torah; “And I will harden Pharaoh’s heart” (Ex. 14.4), because at the beginning he sinned of his own free will, and meted out evil to Israel who sojourned in his land, even as it is said: “Come, let us deal wisely with them” (Ibid. 1.10). Thereat justice demanded to withhold repentance from him, so that due punishment might be visited upon him. Wherefor, the Holy One, blessed is He! hardened his heart. If it be so, then why did He delegate Moses to him, charging him to let Israel go forth and turn to repentance seeing that the Holy One, blessed is He! long since told him thou wilt not let them go forth, saying: “But as for thee and thy servants, I know that ye will not yet fear the Lord G-d” (Ibid. 9.30), and again saying: “But in very deed for this cause have I made thee to stand, to show thee My power, and that My name be declared throughout all the earth”(Ibid. –16)? To demonstrate to the future generations whenever the Holy One, blessed is He! withholds repentance from a sinner he cannot repent, but must die in the original evil which he perpetrated of his own free will. Sihon, too, by the measure of his iniquity became guilty of an offence which carried the punishment to have repentance withheld from him, even as it is said: “For the Lord thy G-d hardened his spirit, and made his heart obstinate” (Deut. 2.30). Likewise the Canaanites, according to their abominations, did He withhold repentance from them so that they engaged Israel in battle, even as it is said: “For it was of the Lord, to harden their hearts, to come against Israel in battle, that they might be utterly destroyed” (Joshua, 11.20). Even so was with Israel in the days of Elijah, because of the multiplied iniquity repentance was withheld from the gross evildoers, for it is said: “For Thou didst turn their heart backward” (I. Kings, 18.37)—as if saying: “Thou didst withhold repentance from them”. Thus, as a consequence hereof, we must say: G-d’s predestination prompted not Pharaoh to wrong Israel, nor Sihon to sin in his land, nor the Canaanites to be abominable, nor Israel to worship idolatry; for they all sinned of their own free will and accord, and, therefore, were they all guilty of an offence which carries along the punishment to withhold repentance from them.
Rabbi Jonathan Sacks (Covenant and Conversation, Va’era 5775): A second approach, in precisely the opposite direction, is that during the last five plagues G-d intervened not to harden but to strengthen Pharaoh’s heart. He acted to ensure that Pharaoh kept his freedom and did not lose it. Such was the impact of the plagues that in the normal course of events a national leader would have no choice but to give in to a superior force. As Pharaoh’s own advisers said before the eighth plague, “Do you not yet realize that Egypt is destroyed.” To give in at that point would have been action under duress, not a genuine change of heart. Such is the approach of Yosef Albo and Ovadiah Sforno.
Questions for Discussion
- We usually think of punishment and involving pain and suffering. How is a bad character trait experienced as a punishment?
- Why is free will an important concept in Torah? What are some basic Torah concepts that hinge on free will?
- Is free will uniquely important to Judaism, or is it a basic premise of any religion?
- What are some of the differences between the solutions presented by Rashi, Ramban and Rambam on the problem of G-d hardening Pharaoh’s heart? What are some similarities?
- How can a person know if a bad trait is a punishment for his sin’s, like Rav Kook discusses, as opposed to something he acquired from outside influences or was born with?
- Can you name some bad character traits that could come as a punishment?
