The Villain Was A Victim!!

June 8, 1990

(Exodus 4 21/23 JPS translation of the Torah )

“And the Lord said to Moses, ‘When you return to Egypt, see that you perform before Pharaoh all the marvels that I have put within your power. I, however will stiffen his heart so that he will not let the people go. Then you shall say to Pharaoh. “Thus says the Lord: Israel is my first-born son. I have said to you, ‘Let my son go that he may worship me.’ Yet you refuse to let him go. Hence I will slay your first-born son.”’”

The rest of the story is well-known: the plagues, the slaying of the first-born of the Egyptians, the pass-over of the houses of the Hebrews, the escape from Egypt, the miraculous parting of the Red Sea and the mass drowning of the host of Pharaoh. Cecil B. DeMille didn't miss a trick in his epic film. Charlton Heston (Moses) was a splendid hero (with a distinctly Nordic profile). Yul Brynner (Pharaoh) was a cruel villain.

The instructions for the Passover celebration (Seder) were detailed in Exodus 12 14/20. For about thirty-two or thirty-three centuries Passover has been observed with memories, awe and thankfulness.

Why, then, was Pharaoh a victim and not a villain? Look again at Exodus 4 21: “I (the Lord) will stiffen his heart so that he will not let the people go.” Is this a way of saying that Pharaoh might have let the Hebrews go if his heart had not been “stiffened”? The Lord pre-destined Pharaoh to be cruel, repressive and stubborn. Pharaoh had no choice according to Exodus. Some years back, the TV comedian, Flip Wilson, explained away his mischief by saying, “The Devil made me do it.” If you think about it, Pharaoh had a much more impressive alibi, “Adonai (The Lord) MADE ME DO IT.”

All this suggests the never-ending debate about “determinism” and “free will.” Not only theologians but physicists and other scientists argue the subject vehemently. Einstein searched for an equation which would explain that all the forces of the Universe were in harmony with fixed, determined "laws." Defending his position against opponents, Einstein remarked, “God does not play with dice.”

But not all physicists agree, particularly those whose field is the sub-atomic universe. Quantum theory does posit, I think, that there is some random behavior in the sub-atomic world not explained by “natural laws.” Or, can only be explained by contradictory “laws.”

But to return to Pharaoh, was he not “set-up,” victim of a Divine “sting” operation? In modern law courts, could he not make a successful plea of entrapment? What kind of God must She/He be to choose a victim and then make him one of the notorious villains of history? Did She/He pre-determine that I should write this somewhat irreverent essay?