Midreshet Amit

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Parshat Bo sees the final three plagues afflicted on the Egyptians, after having just experienced the severity of seven beforehand. Yet both the threat and the actualization of locust swarms feeding on fertile crops, pitch darkness to the extent of immobility, and the death of the first-born in every Egyptian household would not subdue the stubbornness of Pharaoh in his refusal to let the B’nei Israel free.

However, the interesting element of Pharaoh’s adamancy lies with his proximity to the perceived problem. Pharaoh’s servants, who were devoted to their master and his every need, had complete clarity with regards to the outcome of their country and its inhabitants if B’nei Israel would not be let out. They understood the warnings of destruction to the extent that they waged complaints against their master’s actions and doubted his decision-making abilities.
But why was Pharaoh blatantly unaware of a reality so abundantly clear to everyone around him?

The reason resides with his vicinity to the immanent situation which clouded his objective judgment. Since it was Pharaoh who was speaking directly to Moses, he became too emotionally involved with the plagues invading his country, to allow for a rational reflection on the ultimate cause for the punishment. In our own experiences, we may find ourselves too close to something, leading to the mistaken belief that we feel we know the situation best, and thus we also assume we are in the best position to know what should be done. The role of perspective leaves our conscious awareness, our emotions take over from objectivity, and we no longer entertain other ideas or viewpoints.

This is why it is vital to seek opinions from others, and listen intently to their advice. Humility is certainly necessary in such situations: Pharaoh did not want to embrace the thoughts of his servants as this would have involved a recognition of his own poor choices and irrational judgement. This attitude however, breeds a lack of change and self-improvement, and one ends in a cycle of poor behavior continuously rationalized. New, productive decisions cannot be made, and arrogance is born from a refusal to admit mistakes.

The message we can learn from this Parsha is summarized perfectly by Rudyard Kipling: “If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you/But make allowance for their doubting too”, then you have achieved the perfect balancing act between acting independently and letting go of the ego to value the good advice of others, in order to achieve ultimate greatness.