Iyunim - Weekly insights on the Parasha with commentaries by Nehama Leibovitz, za"l
Can a A miracle Convince?
This was the instruction given to Moses before entering Pharaoh’s presence on the second occasion. On the first, their audience with him was accompanied by no sign or wonder. They came to Pharaoh "in the name of the God of Israel", and presented their demand: "Let my people go!" In the face of Pharaoh’s blasphemous reply, "I know not the Lord and moreover, I will not let Israel go" they had no answer. Pharaoh retaliated by intensifying the bondage. On this occasion, however, emissaries of the Lord appeared once again but this time accompanied by a sign and wonder. But they were distinctly warned that they were not to make the power of God manifest nor to perform the wonders before Pharaoh called for such proofs. Alshikh emphasised that God had said: Do not volunteer such a display lest it be thought that you had deliberately prepared a conjuring act, but wait till Pharaoh says: "Perform a wonder". But Abarvanel asks:
There is an even more serious difficulty. Ahaz king of Judah spurned Isaiah the prophet’s offer of a sign to confirm the promise of God. Here is how the Midrash motivates his refusal:
It is most reasonable to accept the view of those who maintain that Pharaoh was sure that these two old men of foreign extraction would not be capable of producing a sign, and that precisely because of this he would demand one. For let us recall what happened between the first and second audience (v. 1-4): aggravation of the bondage which sent the officers of the children of Israel, who saw their brethren in their evil plight, running to Pharaoh to intercede both for themselves and their brethren. But when their supplications were of no avail, they turned to Moses and Aaron and regarded them – not Pharaoh – as the source of all their troubles. It was they who had annoyed Pharaoh, lowered the prestige of the people and caused the aggravation of their sufferings. Pharaoh had achieved his goal. The increased severity of the persecutions did not intensify the hatred of him but kindled in the masses distrust of their leaders and even animosity against them. All that remained was to disgrace these two in public, show their impotence and they would be isolated, pilloried not only by the magicians and wise men but even by their own people. Consequently Pharaoh would say: "Perform a wonder for you" (not as he was used to saying: "Perform me a wonder"), since he required no wonder. He had known from the beginning that these emissaries were powerless. But he said: If you wish to show your power, on the contrary, perform a wonder for yourselves and we shall see! Alshikh who usually interprets the word le’mor – "saying" in the sense of saying to others ("And the Lord spoke unto Moses, saying" implying he said it to Israel), is forced to make an exception here in the passage: "when Pharaoh shall speak unto you, saying , Perform a wonder for you". He explains its force in the sense that Pharaoh would ask for a wonder only in order to have his say against Moses, to have a chance of showing up Moses’ impotence, and not in order to seek proof of the authenticity of Moses’ mission. Since this sign and wonder was calculated to unnerve Pharaoh, as well as authenticate the mission of the emissary, Pharaoh was not vouchsafed the same sign that was given Israel. Moses was given a special sign for the Israelites:
To Pharaoh it was:
This difference is rather vaguely interpreted in Cassuto’s commentary to Exodus:
But Cassuto did not observe the sting in this shift from a serpent to a crocodile, as the Midrash pictured it:
What God had commanded was performed:
As I frequently the case, the Torah refrains from unnecessary and laborious recapitulation. Pharaoh’s response "Perform for yourselves a wonder" is omitted and the whole action compressed into one verse. Our sages commented:
In Or Ha-hayyim the same point is elicited from an unnecessary duplication:
With all this, we observe that the performance of the wonder, even its symbolism of the overthrow of Egypt made no impression upon Pharaoh. Why? The Midrash gives us an answer and explains how Pharaoh avoided the logic of the wonder and invented a convenient rationalisation that dispelled the terror and indeed any impact of the sign. And Pharaoh called to the wise men and magicians". At that moment Pharaoh began to mock them and cluck after them like a hen, saying to them: Such are the wonders of your God! In the usual way, people bring merchandise to a place where it is needed. Do they bring fish to Acre? [i.e. coals to Newcastle]. Don’t you know that I am the master of all magic arts? He immediately sent for and brought the children from their schools for them to do likewise… Jahanai and Mammre (two magicians) said to Moses: You are bringing straw to Afaraim (city famous for its flour and straw). (Shemot Rabbah 9, 4) We see from here that the sign or wonder can only impress the one who is psychologically prepared to be convinced. Even Elijah who in his zeal for the Lord, resorted to this method of persuasion by miracle realized how momentary was its impact. Was not pharaoh aware of the worthlessness of all the magic of Egypt? It was not this that shook Pharaoh when he said: "I know not the Lord". When was his obstinacy shaken? This we shall see in the next chapter. Questions for Further Study:
read Deut. 13, 2-6. Cf. Also Rambam in his code, Yesodei Hatorah 8, 2-3:
Here we cite Moses Mendelssohn’s reply to the arguments of the Swiss priest Lavater who chose to adduce supernatural signs and wonders as an argument in favour of the truth of his faith:
Cf. Also the Biur:
It would seem that what is related in Exodus 4, 1-8 and in our chapter (7, 9) contradicts what is stated in Deut. 13, 2-6. Explain the contradiction and how it can be harmonised with the help of Rambam and Mendelssohn.
|