28 Jan PARASHAT BO: RECOGNIZING HASHEM’S ABSOLUTE CONTROL

Before the tenth and
final plague, Makat
Bechorot, Moshe
came before Pharaoh
and warned him
about the impending calamity that G-d
would bring upon Egypt. Moshe then
predicted that this plague would cause
Pharaoh to finally relent and allow Beneh
Yisrael to leave Egypt: “And all these
servants of yours will come down to me
and say: Leave, you and all the people
under your charge! – and afterward, I
will leave” (11:8).
The question arises, why did Moshe need
to say, “Ve’ahareh Chein Eseh” – “and
afterward I will leave”? Beneh Yisrael
had been waiting for centuries to leave
Egypt. Moshe had spent a year repeatedly
urging Pharaoh to let Beneh Yisrael go,
and Pharaoh continually refused. Is it not
obvious that they would leave Egypt after
the plague of the firstborn, when Pharaoh
told them to leave?
The Seforno (Rav Ovadia Seforno, Italy,
1475-1549) explains that Moshe was
telling Pharaoh, “We will leave later.”

He was emphasizing that Beneh Yisrael
would leave Egypt “Ahareh Chen,” at
some later point, and not the moment
when Pharaoh would order them to leave.
Pharaoh commanded Beneh Yisrael to
leave in the middle of the night, right
after the plague of the firstborn struck,
but Beneh Yisrael did not leave until
morning. This, the Seforno explains, is
the meaning of “Ve’ahareh Chein Eseh”
– that Beneh Yisrael would not leave
immediately, but only later.
We must then ask, why was this case?
Why, in fact, did Beneh Yisrael delay
their departure from Egypt until morning?
Wouldn’t we have expected them to leave
immediately when they finally had the
opportunity to do so?
Rav Shalom Schwadron, the “Maggid of
Jerusalem” (1912-1997), explained that
this was done to demonstrate to Pharaoh
G-d’s absolute, unlimited control.
Pharaoh all throughout assumed that he
enjoyed full control over Beneh Yisrael,
and so he refused the demand that He
allow them to leave. And even when
he finally was forced to yield, Pharaoh

thought he could still exert his control
over Beneh Yisrael, and drive them by
force out of the country. G-d wanted to
show Pharaoh that he had no control
whatsoever over Beneh Yisrael – neither
to keep them in Egypt, nor to send them
out of Egypt. And so even when Pharaoh
finally relented, G-d did not allow Beneh
Yisrael to leave when Pharaoh wanted
them to leave, and their departure was
delayed until the morning. They left on
G-d’s terms, not on Pharaoh’s terms.
Developing this point one step further,
Rav Schwadron explained that Pharaoh’s
enslavement of Beneh Yisrael was
commissioned by G-d. Hashem had
decreed that Beneh Yisrael should
spend hundreds of years in bondage, in
preparation for their receiving the Torah
at Sinai. Pharaoh was nothing more than
a pawn, the means through which G-d
fulfilled His decree. It was therefore
critically important for Beneh Yisrael to
leave Egypt when G-d decided, and not
when Pharaoh decided. G-d wanted to
show Pharaoh that he never had control
over Beneh Yisrael, that it was always

G-d who orchestrated the events.
Of course, this message is intended not
only for Pharaoh, but also for us. We must
remember at all times that G-d exercises
full, unlimited control over the universe,
and there is nobody in nothing in the
world that acts independently of His
power. Anything that happens has been
decided by G-d. This awareness should
bring us comfort and solace during times
of hardship and distress, assuring us that
G-d’s control over the world – and over
our lives – is absolute, and He is always
caring for us, even under the most trying
circumstances.