Entering the Crocodiles Den

Moses was expected to not only enter in to Pharaoh’s palace, but to penetrate his inner sanctum, where he was in his most secure, physically and psychologically, space and taunt him by his very presence, thereby destroying his power. Moses found this to be daunting. For this new task, he was in need of G-d’s assurance that He would accompany Moses. Life is filled with surprise and confrontation. Like Moses, we find ourselves in situations where we come face to face with the greatest challenge of our life. It is precisely at these times that we need and receive G-d’s special support.

Moses was Mortified!

This week’s parsha is named Bo, the key and defining word of the Torah portion that details the final steps that led to the Exodus from Egypt.

The opening phrase of this parsha reads: “And G-d spoke to Moses, ‘Bo-come to Pharaoh.”

The Zohar, the principle work of Kabbalah, raises the question: Why does it say “Bo-Come to Pharaoh” instead of the more common expression “Lech-Go to Pharaoh?”

The Zohar’s answer is that in this command, G-d asked Moses to enter into the innermost chamber of Pharaoh’s palace with the goal of confronting him in his most secure and fortified domain. Pharaoh, according to the Zohar, was not just a cruel and powerful monarch. Pharaoh was the ultimate force of evil in the world at that time.

And now was the time for Moses to wage “war” against Pharaoh, destroying the evil that was personified in him.

When Moses leaned of his new mission — to enter into the most private inner sanctum of Pharaoh and confront the force of evil on its home turf — the Zohar says that he was mortified.

The Zohar, thus explains, that G-d comforted Moses: “Don’t worry, I will go with you.” When G-d tells Moses “Bo-come to Pharaoh,” He is actually saying: “Come with Me to Pharaoh.” Moses will not have to confront Pharaoh on his own. He will be accompanied by G-d Himself.

One can still raise the question. Why did the Zohar provide this analysis as to the Torah’s usage of the word “Bo-come to Pharaoh,” rather than “Lech-go to Pharaoh,” here in the beginning of this week’s parsha? This is not the first time the Torah employed the word “Bo.” In last week’s parsha, the Torah used the word “Bo-come to Pharaoh” instead of “:Lech-go to Pharaoh” several times. Yet, the Zohar did not probe there why the Torah used the term “come” instead of “go.”

Second, if Moses was so intimidated by Pharaoh at this point why was he not afraid of him previously? After all, Moses had confronted Pharaoh numerous times, as recorded throughout the last two Torah portions. Yet, only now did he require G-d’s accompaniment and support. What is the difference?

Entering into a New Phase

Upon closer reflection, one can find a fundamental difference between G-d’s command to Moses to “Come to Pharaoh” in the preceding Torah portion and the seemingly identical command “Come to Pharaoh” in this week’s parsha.

Previously, G-d told Moses to come to Pharaoh for the express purpose of delivering a verbal message to him to “Let My people go, so that they may serve me.” There was a distinct utilitarian purpose in his coming to Pharaoh, and it was not indented as a threat to Pharaoh’s essential existence and power. As the Ba’al Haturim explains that If Pharaoh was in his palace, Moses would come to the palace. In those instances, the command to Moses was “Come to Pharaoh, meaning that he should come into his palace. If Pharaoh happened to have gone out to the banks of the Nile River, then Moses was told to “Go to Pharaoh.

The Rebbe explains that in this week’s parsha, the Torah introduces a completely new phase in Moses’ coming to Pharaoh:

To understand what this new phase was, we must note something unusual about G-d’s statement to Moses to “come to Pharaoh.” After these words, one would have expected the Torah to continue with the words, “and say to him,” as the Torah has done before on numerous occasions.

Yet, in this one instance, when G-d tells Moses to “come to Pharaoh,” it is not followed by the statement “and speak to him/ For that matter, it is not followed by any other instruction as to what Moses should do when he comes to Pharaoh!

Just Come

From this we can see that his purpose of coming to him was not to convey a message or make any specific demands of him. Moses’ coming to Pharaoh was intended to be a confrontation with him for the express purpose of destroying his pride and confidence, as well as the forces of evil that he represented.

To do that he did not have to say anything or convey any message to Pharaoh. Just coming to him sufficed.

Moses was expected to not only enter in to Pharaoh’s palace, but to penetrate his inner sanctum, where he was in his most secure, physically and psychologically, space and taunt him by his very presence, thereby destroying his power.

At this juncture—as opposed to earlier meetings with him—Moses was expected to enter into Pharaoh’s psyche and penetrate into the very core of Pharaoh’s power.

This new task, of entering the “den of the huge snake [or crocodile],” Moses found daunting. For this new task, he was in need of G-d’s assurance that He would accompany Moses.

Dealing with Anxiety

Life is filled with surprise and confrontation. Like Moses, we find ourselves in situations where we come face to face with the greatest challenge of our life. At these times we feel we are ill prepared by all of our previous achievements to deal with the new and radically different challenge. And it is precisely at these times that we need and receive G-d’s special support.

To address our anxiety we need to allow the comment of the Zohar on the words “come to Pharaoh” to reverberate in our minds and hearts. At precisely the time we experience the ultimate challenge of our lives, G-d provides us with unparalleled energy and succor.

This is true on an individual level and it is especially true on the collective level. When the Jewish people—and indeed the entire world—experience its greatest challenges, it is a sign that G-d comes along with us to defend, sustain and support us even, nay especially, in these perilous times.

The Darkness before the Dawn

Particularly now, in the momentous times when the world is poised to enter into the new phase of its history — the Age of Redemption that has been predicted by our prophets and sages thousands of years ago—the unprecedented forces of opposition that we confronted were predictable.

And while we enjoy the great gifts of freedom and prosperity with its attending opportunities, we cannot ignore the assimilation, secularism, hedonism, hostile nations and all the other isms and forces that are anathema to Judaism and the Jewish people, not to speak of the scourge of anti-Semitism, wars, terrorism and other forms of evil that have plagued and continue to plague the world in the last century.

We are living in a time that has thrust upon us the daunting task of entering into the caves and dens of unmitigated evil, not to engage it in conversation but to eradicate its very power. Even a Moses will feel intimidated and overwhelmed by the enormity of the task. How can we survive this test?

To be sure, the Jewish people have always known that the key to survival is their dedication to the study of Torah and the observance of its commandments. However, in this day and age, so many of our brothers and sisters have lost touch with their roots and traditions. When we consider the degree to which Jewish values have been forgotten, neglected or challenged we might feel powerless to change.

If we were to meet “Pharaoh” on our turf we may feel confident that we can prevail. Even if we have to enter onto his turf, but we stand aloof from him, we can still see how we can contend with him. But when we are compelled to enter into Pharaoh’s inner space, how can we possibly vanquish him?

From this week’s Parsha, we can all take solace. When G-d gives us these unprecedented challenges, and expects us to confront the “Pharaoh” in his inner sanctum, G-d goes along with us. Indeed, the closer we are to the realization of G-d’s plan for the world, a world of peace, harmony and universal spirituality, the bolder and more dangerous the job of preparing the world for that end becomes. In times like these, G-d not only gives us the strength to cope, He “comes along with us,” every step of the way, until we finally experience the full exodus from exile.

From the book Light from the Future: Parshas Bo by Rabbi Heschel Greenberg, published by the Jewish Discovery Center.