All Natural

Each year, as we begin to learn Sefer Shemos, and with it the Parshios of the Shibud and Geulah, a certain excitement sets in. Because we know that the Torah is no mere storybook, it matters not that we know how the story ends—the thrills does not stem from suspense, but from awareness of the fact that these Parshios teach us not just about our past, but about our present and future. Integral to the Pessukim about the bitter Shibud and the process of the Geulah are lessons that can help us survive the Galus that we find ourselves in, and bring about the Geulah that we so ravenously crave. If we learn each Passuk with this in mind, we can discover these messages, which lay not far below the surface.

At the very beginning of the Parsha, the Torah tells us that the Dor of the Shevatim ended, as the sons of Yaakov, and their peers, all passed on. At that time there was something of a population explosion, as the Passuk says “U’Bnei Yisroel Paru Viyirbu…Vatimalei HaAretz Osam,” the land of Mitzrayim seemed to be overcrowded with the offspring of Yaakov. It is at this point that the Torah relates a historical fact: “Vayakam Melech Chadash Al Mitzrayim Asher Lo Yada Es Yosef,” a new king, who did not know Yosef, arose and in short order made the Gezeiros that led to the Shibud.

Lest we assume that this Passuk is simple to understand, Rashi quotes a Gemarah in Sotah that discusses the identity of this new king: “Rav U’Shmuel, Chad Amar Chadash Mamesh, V’Chad Amar Shenischadshu Gezeirosav,” Rav and Shmuel disagree about just who this king was, one says that it was a new king, who took on the title Pharaoh, while the other posits that it was the same Pharaoh that we have been learning about since Parshas Miketz, but that he enacted new policies that made him like a new king.

Although the beginning of this Passuk, “Vayakam Melech Chadash”, is easier to understand in the first approach of the Gemarah, it can nonetheless be explained according to either Pshat. That said, the second half of the Passuk, “Asher Lo Yada Es Yosef”, seem a bit more difficult to explain. The Gemarah addresses the most glaring issue: how to understand this phrase according to the second Pshat, that it was the same Pharaoh, who clearly knew Yosef quite well, with the words “Asah Atzmo Kilu Lo Yado”, that Pharaoh acted as though he did not know Yosef. But really these words beg explanation according to either opinion.

In general, one may wonder why the Passuk tells us this at all; what do we learn from these words? The Medrash seems to assume that there was a lack of Hakaras HaTov in Pharaoh’s actions, that if he properly acknowledged the contributions made by Yosef to Mitzri society he would not have made the choices that he did. On one hand approach seems more relevant to the second Pshat brought in the Gemarah—that this was the same Pharaoh. After all, Pharaoh knew better than anyone that but for Yosef’s intervention his nation would have been decimated by the Shnos HaRaav, and his decision to act against Yosef’s relatives displayed true Kefias Tov.

But the truth is that this is really applies to the first Pshat, that it was a totally different Pharaoh, as well. Can we really imagine that the new king didn’t know about Yosef’s heroic actions? Rabbeinu Bachya suggests that this Pharaoh was a son of the previous one, and he was born when the Torah speaks of “Yom Huledes Pharaoh” at the end of Parshas Vayesehv. That would imply that he grew up in the confines of the palace during the years that Yosef was active in the governance of Mitzrayim. We can hardly then assume that he was ignorant of the good done by Yosef. If so, a new Pharaoh would have been just as complicit in Kfias Tov as if it was the same king.

There would seem to be two challenges with this approach, however.

First, would we really expect any less of Pharaoh? Is there any reason to believe that this Rasha would be well versed in the Midah of Hakaras Hatov? The fact that the Torah tells us Asher Lo Yada Es Yosef seems to imply that he should have be cognizant of Yosef’s influence and acted accordingly. Why would we presume even a most basic level of Mentchlachkeit from Pharaoh?

Perhaps more pressing, however, is the wording of the Passuk: “Asher Lo Yada Es Yosef.” If the Passuk is merely issuing a criticism of Pharaoh for his lack of Hakaras Hatov, the word “Asher” seems a bit out of place, for it implies cause. Kfias Tov was not the cause of Pharaoh’s actions, it is an element that makes them more abhorrent. Further, what does the Passuk mean by saying “Lo Yada Es Yosef”? Why not say “Asher Lo Zachar”, which would imply that Pharaoh, new or old, forgot or ignored Yosef’s actions and therefore acted inappropriately. In saying “Asher Lo Yada Es Yosef” the Torah seems to be telling us that because Pharoah did not know Yosef himself, the person, it caused him to act in the way he did. How can we understand this rendering?

Perhaps there is a different approach to understanding the words “Asher Lo Yada Es Yosef “ that can help us understand what the Torah is trying to teach us in this Passuk.

R’ Yosef Yehuda Leib Bloch, one of the the Telzer Roshei Yeshiva, has a lengthy discourse in Shiurei Da’as about the relationship between Moshe and Pharaoh. He bases his discussion on two rather simple questions. First, throughout the next few Parshios a pattern unfolds in which Moshe and Aharon come to Pharaoh on a regular basis and threaten, berate or criticize him. This is not behavior normally tolerated by kings—why didn’t Pharaoh have Moshe and Aharon executed? Why did he continually allow them access to his court and the leeway to speak to him as they did? The second question concerns Krias Yam Suf—why, after seeing all the Nissim of the Makos and Yestzias Mitzrayim, did Pharaoh think it wise to follow Klal Yisroel into the Yam Suf which had split to greet them?

R’ Bloch explains that Pharaoh had a skewed perception of the way the world works. He assumed that there is something called Teva, nature, and then there are forces that act outside of Teva, through Kishuf or other means. Therefore, when he saw the Makos he assumed that a supernatural force was at work, and he wanted nothing other than to harness this force for his own means. Because Moshe seemed to be the one who performed these feats, it would follow that he would be the one who could help Pharaoh understand how. He therefore continued to allow Moshe and Aharon to speak with him in the hopes that he could learn from them how to perform these acts.

This attitude, which apparently never abated, led to his mistake at the Yam Suf as well. Upon seeing the Yam split, Pharaoh assumed that this was yet another supernatural act, and if it could be done by Moshe there was no reason to think it could not be harnessed by Pharaoh and his cohorts for his purposes as well. he therefore charged into the sea, full steam ahead, because he thought it could be controlled through similar supernatural forces.

Pharaoh was of course mistaken. Our world exists not through Teva, but through Hashgachas Hashem, and really everything that occurs is part of the original Briah at the time of Ma’aseh Beraishis. That which happens on a regular basis, which we call nature, has been programmed, so to speak, but so has that which is out of the ordinary. Nissim do not happen through a suspension of Teva, but through an alternate version of it. The Makos happened only because included in Ma’aseh Beraishis was the ability for water to turn into blood and frogs to spontaneously regenerate.

That Pharaoh made this mistake, and had this distorted view of the world, may have been less surprising if not for the fact that Yosef himself addressed this misconception many years before.

As part of his Shiur Da’as, R’ Bloch explains that what we see on a regular basis is that which we are capable of perceiving as human beings. Because we rely on our natural senses, we perceive of events on a natural basis, which is linear. Our eyes can only see that which is happening right now, and our ears can hear only the sounds of the present. When we dream, however, we are not held back by these senses and we can perceive things that have not yet happened. This is not a version of seeing the future, but of sensing that which has already been ordained to happen within the Briah.

When Yosef is whisked from jail into the Bais Hamelech, Pharaoh tells him that he has had a dream and he requires a Pisron. Pharaoh’s first inclination was to tell his dream to the Chartumei Mitzrayim, for they relied on the supernatural, but their explanations were unsatisfactory and he now turned to Yosef whom he assumed would employ the same means. Yosef responds: “Biladai, Elokim Yaaneh Es Shalom Pharaoh.” He was saying: “This has nothing to do with me. Hashem has already ordained that which will happen, and has merely allowed you to sense it.” Yosef’s very first conversation with Pharoah was about thus the relationship between Hashgachas Hashem and Teva.

“Vayakam Melech Chadash Al Mitzrayim Asher Lo Yada Es Yosef” whether we assume this is the same Pharoah or a different one, Yosef’s words had no effect on him and that caused him to act as he did. Whether he should have known about Yosef’s attitude of “Biladai, Elokim Yaaneh Es Shalom Pharaoh” directly or from his father, the only reason Pharoah acted the way he did was because this concept was so totally beyond him. In telling us this, the Torah is introducing the Pharoah we will be learning about for the next few weeks: one whose worldview is so clouded by an obsession with the limits of Teva that he cannot heed the message borne by the Nissim that surround him. In holding fast to his belief that there are forces that are above Teva, he failed to recognize even the clearest signs of Hashgachas Hashem, and his downfall was quick to follow.

The Passuk in Tehillim calls us “Bnei Yaakov V’Yosef”. Each member of Klal Yisroel is suffused with the Kochos of Yosef Hatzadik, and we can truly live an existence of “Biladai”. As we learn the Parshios of the Shibud and Geulah, we should let the Pessukim ignite our perception of the Hashgachas Hashem, giving rise to an improved attitude that will help bring the Geulah HaAsida.