Shabbat Parashat Bo - 5786

Shabbat Parashat Bo - 5786

Rabbi Hal Miller

  Then all these slaves of yours will come down to me and bow to me saying, leave,

  you and the entire people who are at your feet. And after that, I will go forth." And he

  went forth from Pharaoh's presence in burning anger. [Shemot 11:8]

What is Moshe telling Pharaoh here? Why would Pharaoh's slaves come bow to Moshe and tell the Jews to leave Egypt? And if they did, why would that make a difference to anything, such that after it happens, Moshe "will go forth" and lead the people out? How does burning anger fit into this?

Who are these 'slaves' referred to? Malbim calls them the "people of Egypt", meaning merely all are servants of the king. Onkelos says "servants of yours" as spoken to Pharaoh, which could mean only the court attendants. Or HaChayim writes that they are the ones who would survive the plague of the death of the firstborn, in other words non-firstborn Egyptians in general who had spoken evilly against the Jews or had hidden their eyes from the anti-Jewish activities of Pharaoh or their evil neighbors and were due for punishment in another fashion. In verse [11:3] above, we read "the man Moshe was highly esteemed in the eyes of Pharaoh's servants and in the eyes of the people" which Rav Soloveitchik brings to indicate that slaves in our verse denotes the Egyptians who already felt support for Moshe.

Rashi takes a different direction, explaining from Shemot Rabbah [7:3] and Zevachim [102a] that Moshe had been commanded to show deference and respect for Pharaoh as a king. Thus, what Moshe meant was that, instead of the euphemism of slaves, Pharaoh himself would come accord honor to Moshe, which he did in [12:31], and that our verse is Moshe showing respect to the king. Rashi also looks at the phrase "you and the entire people who are at your feet", which seemingly refers to Moshe and the Jews, but he reads it as those who will be saying "leave" by explaining it as "those who follow your advice and your way."  Rav Hirsch applies the "you and the entire people" to Moshe and the Jews, that Pharaoh is telling him to get out and not come back. Sforno then reads the phrase "And after that, I will go forth" to mean that although Pharaoh and the people would be saying leave, Moshe would not go out until the next morning, after they beg him to leave.

Moshe informs Pharaoh that Egypt will order the Jews out, Moshe then leaves Pharaoh's presence. What is the burning anger for? Rashi refers to verse 10:28, "because Pharaoh had said to him, 'do not see my face again'" which may be the reason for Moshe's anger at this point more than at other points. Torah Temimah notes that "all burning wrath in the Torah is accompanied by some result". In verse [11:9] God informs Moshe that "Pharaoh will not heed you" and in [11:10] He strengthens Pharaoh's heart, which perhaps is the "some result". What follows in the text is a couple dozen verses of interruption, with God commanding the Pesach service, then the plague of the death of the firstborn. This seems more likely to be the "result" of Moshe's "burning anger".